Do you ever have those days where the more stressed you get, the more everything else falls apart?

One big source of stress for me at work is multitasking, and I feel like the more I do that, the more errors I make. And the more errors I make, the worse my day becomes.

I was having one of those days last Friday. I was driving up to the mountains with my family that night, a million thoughts running through my mind, and I saw this sign for a runaway truck ramp. “Yes!” I thought, “that’s what I need! A runaway ramp to slow me down!”

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We are excited to try out a new podcast format called GPS Community Table Talk! The concept is simple, we invite some interesting and fun people to answer the same 2 questions in 5 minutes. It is a fun way to examine a topic in a quick way and get several different viewpoints from different people. The name comes from the idea that we are all part of a larger community and during the last year sometimes it has been easy to forget that. The table reminds us that some of our most favorite conversations take place over sharing a meal or a cup of coffee. So as you listen, imagine we are asking each other questions while we are sipping on a delicious oatmeal latte in a cozy coffee shop. Hopefully we can all do that for real sometime soon.

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In the world of online engagement, strategically incorporating Search Engine Optimization (SEO) within your human service's website is one of the underlying keys to success, for you and the families. There is an immeasurable amount of content throughout the internet and, according to Siteefy, 380 new websites are being created every minute. No, they are certainly not all child support or human service related businesses, but this should give you a pretty good idea just how much competition you are up against and why SEO should be a priority.

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This concept of self-care is very difficult, especially for a lot of us in the human services and court industries who got into the careers we did to help others. During the beginning of the pandemic, there seemed to be a great sprint of helping others and running on adrenaline. As we all started to learn that this was not just a matter of staying inside for a few weeks, and this more likely going to be a marathon a different set of emotions set in, isolation for some, despair and hopeless for others. The pandemic has caused so many to loose jobs, have lasting health effects, loose loved ones, and many other negative effects. The effects of these can be or look like post-traumatic stress disorder.

How with all that is going on can we take care of ourselves and one another?

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It seems as though 2020 has brought us a lot to feel down about, but at the same time 2020 has also brought into focus what we have to be grateful for as well. Now more than ever we are keenly aware of what and who is important. In uncertain times, we cling to what can be stable and reassuring. Showing gratitude and expressing gratitude have been known to decrease depression and increase feelings of hopefulness. I asked my team if anyone had things that they have been grateful over the past year and here are what some of them said.

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In the weeks following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota and the protest that followed, I felt compelled to be part of the conversation. I couldn’t sleep one night and started googling speakers on this topic to be part of the Western Intergovernmental Child Support Engagement Council’s Micro Learning series. I ran across a video clip of Dr. Rita Cameron Wedding and in the clip she says, “talking about racism doesn’t make us racist.” This really resonated with me. Although Grays Peak has done implicit bias training and I have personally attending trainings on implicit bias this felt different. The conversation is now more raw.

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Election season growing up meant going to a lot of chili dinners and hanging out with my parents while they went door-to-door or made calls explaining why my dad was the best guy for the job (Superior Court Judge in Lafayette, Indiana). On election morning it meant getting up before sunrise to get donuts and then head out to put signs in at all the polling places. It was exciting and nerve-wracking. There was a lot of camaraderie down at the courthouse to watch the results come in.

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On this podcast I am able to talk to one of my most favorite speakers, Ron Haskins, to discuss the impact that the current COVID crisis has had on Child Welfare.

Ron Haskins is a Senior Fellow and Co-director of the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution, where he holds the Cabot Family Chair in Economic Studies.

Together with Morgan Welch, a project coordinator on Children and Families also at the Brookings Institution – published an article about the impact this crisis is having on our Child Welfare system. “What COVID-19 means for America’s Child Welfare System” which was very applicable to the child welfare work that we are currently doing in Colorado.

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Having a difficult conversation can be dreadful and often times we put them off and let things fester. Danielle has some great insight on this podcast on why we dread it so much and therefore how we can make it goes as smooth as possible. It’s important to come at conversations with curiosity and making sure we are asking questions to gather information rather than relying on our assumptions.

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