Many agency workers who serve the foster care community choose this path out of a passion for helping others. But transitioning into this challenging career can often be a very overwhelming experience. Even when workers are doing their best, they can start to feel like they’re not doing enough and that they don’t have a support system to fall back on in their times of need.
Brian Gazdziak is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker as well as a foster and adoptive dad. He has spent years providing specialized mental health therapy to help people, such as those in the foster care community, cope with life challenges. As someone who has experienced foster care from the perspective of both an agency worker and a foster parent, Brian has unique insights and empathy surrounding the topic of these complex relationships.
In this episode, Brian shares what it’s like to work with children and families in a hands-on capacity, how churches can provide much-needed support to foster care workers, how to build a better relationship with case workers, and so much more.
Show Notes: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/brian-gazdziak-226/
Join Team 3:10: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/team310
Episode 209: Developing Empathy & Renewing Your Calling to Serve the Vulnerable (w/ Herbie Newell)
Episode 208: The Impact of Secondary Trauma on Social Workers (w/ Blake Boyer)
Episode 207: A Journey From Addiction to Advocacy (w/ Jody Golston)
Episode 206: Waiting for a Place to Call Home (w/ Darien Karenbauer)
Episode 205: Navigating Hardship & Pursuing a Dream (w/ Kate Wilson & Secilia Bedolla)
Episode 204: Refugee & International Foster Care (w/ Jamie Bartlett)
Episode 203: Creating Connections Through Advocacy (w/ Abby Callison)
Episode 202: Holding Onto Hope After Aging Out of Care (w/ Antonio Grate)
Episode 201: Practical Support for Parenting Children from Hard Places (w/ Kayla Moffitt)
Episode 200: Celebrating The Forgotten Podcast (w/ Jami Kaeb & Holly Gnuse)
Episode 199: A Unified Call to Foster (w/ Anna Koon)
Episode 198: A Story of Resilience (w/ Kamille Justus)
Episode 197: From Kinship Care to Kinship Adoptive Mom (w/ Raquel McCloud)
Episode 196: From Foster Youth to PhD (w/ Dr. Danisha Keating)
Episode 195: A Family Reunified (w/ Jackie Polk)
Episode 194: Celebrating Reunification, Listening to God's Call, & Resting Regularly (w/ Ryan MacDonald)
Episode 193: Influencing Policy and Practices in Foster Care (w/ Danika Briggs)
Episode 192: The Journey of Becoming Foster Parents (w/ Jonah & Sarah Wilson)
BONUS: Building Trust Between a Church and Agency in Carver County, MN
Episode 191: Embracing Your Identity Outside of DNA (w/ Anna Bernacki)
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