{"id":142887,"date":"2023-10-23T11:09:58","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T15:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=142887"},"modified":"2023-10-23T11:09:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T15:09:59","slug":"wright-state-social-work-graduate-named-ohio-caseworker-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2023\/10\/23\/wright-state-social-work-graduate-named-ohio-caseworker-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State social work graduate named Ohio Caseworker of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Wright State social work graduate Haleigh Young received the Caseworker of the Year award from Matt Damschroder, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.<\/p><\/div>\n

Haleigh Young, a 2021 Wright State University social work<\/a> graduate, was named the Ohio Caseworker of the Year, and while she was happy and surprised by the honor, she is not going to rest on that laurel.<\/p>\n

What drives her is knowing that she has been in similar situations as the teenagers who make up her caseload, and she wants to help them as she wishes she had been helped.<\/p>\n

Young, a caseworker for Clark County Job and Family Services, was honored by the Public Children Services Association of Ohio during a statewide social worker conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea I was getting the award,\u201d she said. \u201cI was surprised that my daughter and my mom and my advocate were all there. My coworkers had the option to tell me, but they kept it as a surprise. I was excited and just really grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The award presentation said, \u201cThis worker goes above and beyond by recognizing milestones and ensuring that her clients know they are cared for. Her clients describe her as the first person who truly listened to them. This worker\u2019s personal experiences have shaped her into a compassionate and effective advocate, not just within her agency but also in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young said the Social Work Program at Wright State helped her immensely.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned a lot from the staff,\u201d she said. \u201cTheir values and the things they taught me apply a lot to how I practice social work. I went into the job having a good understanding, and the practicum experience helped me build my caseload and not be overwhelmed. I\u2019m thankful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young moved from Columbus to Springfield several years ago and transferred to Wright State because it was affordable.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd as a single mom, I could take classes while I worked. It was a good option,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

As an undergraduate student, Young did her practicum at Clark County Job and Family Services and after graduation started working there as a caseworker.<\/p>\n

Young is now an independent-living caseworker, working with boys and girls 14 and older who are in the agency\u2019s custody. The goal is to find them permanent living arrangements and connections with support while also teaching them life skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese children try to cope with past trauma or struggle with substance abuse or have been bounced to a lot of different placements,\u201d Young said. \u201cThey\u2019re trying to find stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young said she loves working with teenagers.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of them have had a lot of placements, and I\u2019m that one consistent person for them. I get to build a stronger relationship with them that they might not get. I like being able to advocate for them and make sure their voices are heard,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Young\u2019s empathy for them is derived from her own experiences. She experienced sexual abuse and human trafficking throughout her childhood and into her young adult life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was never in foster care,\u201d Young said, \u201cbut I had to go to a child advocacy center, and I had some contact with children services. I can\u2019t go back and change what happened to me or how people responded, but that\u2019s empowering me to make a change for someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

To effect that change, Young plans to apply to law school, taking an entrance exam in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hopeful I can get a law degree and help as an attorney for children\u2019s services,\u201d Young said. \u201cI want to help. I want to be the person who I would\u2019ve needed when I was young.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Haleigh Young, a 2021 Wright State social work graduate, works with teenagers as an independent-living caseworker with Clark County Job and Family Services. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":142893,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,744,725,715,4889,2089],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-education-human-services","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-social-work-social-work-human-services","category-social-work"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142887"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142905,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142887\/revisions\/142905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}