Child Welfare Workers are on the front lines of seeking permanency and safety for vulnerable families, children, and communities. This often means they are right in the middle of the chaos and heartache of broken lives. Their work is demanding, stressful, and they are often under-resourced and over-burdened. The average caseload recommended per social worker is 12-15, but the average worker has 24-31 cases. Most agencies are experiencing significant turnover and burnout! Social Star connects individuals and small groups to a Child Welfare social worker to provide simple monthly words of encouragement, gestures of support, and recognition as they work on behalf of vulnerable children in our region. Social Workers are busy, so these forms of encouragement need to look like thoughtful emails, letters, flowers from your yard, a candy bar, a $5 coffee card, etc. Your role is to simply remind them they are seen, doing a good job, and they are important. Currently, there are 10+ child welfare workers in Fredericksburg / Spotsy waiting to be paired with a church volunteer. We ask all volunteers to make a one-year commitment to providing monthly encouragement for their social worker.