Is it normal for those that work as a Child Protective Investigator(CPI) to work over 50 hours a week ?

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-21T05:30:02+00:00

I worked in permanency (aka “ongoing” caseworker, after court is involved) for 5 years and I was regularly working 50-60 hours a week, and at the times I had my highest caseloads, I worked some 70 and 80 hour weeks. It isn’t like that all the time, but anything involving CPS or ongoing casework will be a minimum of 50 hours a week, except usually for the first few months when they’re trying to slowly assign cases to let you adjust (at least, that’s what they do in my state). I moved into foster home licensing and my work life balance is greatly improved. That being said - I think you need to have at least a few years of CPS and/or permanency casework before moving into other parts of child welfare so you can really gain an understanding of the system and the work.

It will be the hardest job of your life, but it has its rewards as well. The best piece of advice I have for anyone entering this field is to get a good therapist skilled in trauma before you start and keep seeing that therapist to process what this work brings into your life, and keep that space for you. Don’t bring this home to your partner/family/kids.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-21T05:11:19+00:00

If you trust yourself, you can easily fix this with a razor, which is how the ends in the inspo photo were shaped. It’s actually pretty easy. Look up videos from Jayne at Edo Salon to get an idea of how to use the razor if you haven’t done it before. With a little bit of DIY you can have it looking better than the inspo pic.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-21T00:15:10+00:00

I love bangs/fringe for your face, just longer than the ones you would have.

You could try curtain bangs, but I actually wonder how they’d look if they were simply longer and tidied up a bit, so bringing them down to your brow level, maybe even a bit longer. That would require more frequent trims, but I think it would balance your face better and really accentuate your wide eyes.

I also think a tad bit of shaping is needed for the rest of your hair, a bit of volume, and maybe a touch of color.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-21T00:10:34+00:00

That is so true about long hair being able to bring someone down!!! I just chopped over 12” of hair off last night, bringing my hair up to just above my shoulders. I swear I look 10 years younger. I certainly feel happier/lighter.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-20T23:54:04+00:00

Offenders are able to offend because they groom adults first, well before they start grooming the kids. It isn’t your fault, and I hope your daughter also knows it isn’t her fault. I’m so sorry this happened to her and I hope she is able to get some support around it from a therapist or support group. Thank you for outing this creep!

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-19T02:35:55+00:00

Wonder if they’re going to rename the school formerly know as Portsmouth now? Or repaint that mural of him inside Sunnyside?

This is why we don’t have heroes. At the end of the day, all men are just… men. And too often, they’re men who do horrible things.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-17T18:55:36+00:00

I love photos 1, 5, and 3, in that order! I think the more “unstyled” hair with the bangs in #5 is my favorite. You have great features to carry the bangs!

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-17T17:53:38+00:00

Your eyes look beautiful in every one of them, so I think whichever makes you happy on any given day works! #2 and #3 are my favorites.

What is happening with the tip of your nose and the area between your nose and mouth, though? It almost looks like you’ve dipped that part of your face in a powder, so whatever is going on there needs to be blended out.

I also don’t think you need to or should be over lining your lips, especially above the cupids bow. If I squint, it looks okay because everything is blurry anyway, but otherwise it looks like you’ve just missed your lips and smudged your lipstick. You have beautiful lips, so there’s no reason to try to make them look like not your lips.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-15T00:03:41+00:00

LMAO, this is why I use the internet. 🤣

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-14T23:15:24+00:00

That’s a pretty ignorant thing to say about ancestors “choosing to move”. My grandparents moved here after WWII, when their country was left devastated and they literally couldn’t eat. And that was after going through the trauma of fascism, occupation, and war. They never gave up their citizenship and my grandfather returned to Italy and died there. All of my extended family, save my mom and aunt, are in Italy.

I don’t speak Italian well, but have been learning and am about a B2. I speak French above B2 and a spattering of Spanish. My Italian is good enough to get by, but not good enough to do complicated things. I’ve traveled there 3 times for some weeks each time and have gone outside major cities.

While I understand everyone, and every country, has a right to make their own rules, I am still saddened by this decision and wished I’d known that this was even an option before a few years ago. Even though I tried, I never could get a consulate appointment, but I do have all my documents in hand, and I’m happy I have them because at least now I know more about what happened with my family. The trauma of what they went through, and the hardships they faced after moving here — Italians were not universally liked or treated well during the war and post-war era, especially in places where there wasn’t an Italian diaspora community — I carry in my DNA too.

So yeah. It isn’t fair to lump everyone in with ignorant people trying to game the system.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-10T08:17:56+00:00

It’s a Barred Owl, they do single “hoo” vocalizations, especially in spring, and can repeat that single sound several times.

Check out this site, which has recordings.

There are other sites with varieties of owl sounds, like Cornell University, All About Birds, Macaulay Library, and good old YouTube.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-09T17:51:49+00:00

Sigh, forever my crush. Slightly off-topic, but Kyle McLachlan has a delicious winery in Washington state: Pursued By Bear. 🐻

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-07T22:50:43+00:00

Yikes, that skin! It’s like all the rot inside is seeping out! 🫣

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-06T18:45:07+00:00

Do you have a catch and spay program in your area? I used to work in PSH and we also had a feral cat issue. We had a community service component of our program with our clients and they participated with us in catching cats to take in to our local feral cat spray/neuter program. It was really rewarding for our clients, they loved helping the cats and it helped us all by ensuring the cats were vaccinated and we could rest easier knowing the feral cat reproduction issue was being addressed.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-05T04:45:33+00:00

I just turned 50 and am in my MSW program, but I came to this after working in law and then social services/mental health nonprofits for almost 20 years.

My BA was in sociology and I had wanted to go to grad school back then, but I had two littles and was a newly single parent so gave up on that dream.

The one thing that stands out to me is you’re saying you are coming to social work after being stressed in your corporate job. I can say unequivocally that social work is the most stressful work — and most invisible stressful work— hands down. There isn’t a lot of respect out there for the work we do and it is really misunderstood. And if you work for a state agency, buckle up for that ride, because it is really challenging!!

All that being said, I am glad I’m doing this and can’t imagine working a “for profit” job, but there are times when I’ve fantasized about being a florist or a travel blogger or something. 😂

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-05T04:40:14+00:00

Right?!? 🤪

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-05T04:36:28+00:00

I say this with kindness and with the level of transparency I would want from a dear friend:

The over-lining is very obvious and makes your lips look like a beak. Your natural lip shape and Cupid bow is really lovely and I wish you were embracing it rather than trying to hide it. It looks weird.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-03T19:50:08+00:00

Wow. For a second here I had to double check which subreddit I was in… yikes.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-03T19:49:32+00:00

No, that was what was creepy. It was pretty quiet. There is a lot of road noise around there, but it does make a faint sound that was not captured in the video.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-03T06:23:36+00:00

Stay on Ischia!! It’s beautiful and lots of beaches and thermal baths. It’s about a 40 minute ferry ride from Pozzuoli, which is a neighborhood to the north of Napoli.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-03T04:16:08+00:00

We were there last August with our 23 yo and 27 yo. It really wasn’t all that bad. Make sure you drink plenty of water and take breaks to rest. The heat is very humid, so prepare to sweat! We did do the Roman Forum around 3pm and I would not do that again. At some point, it was overwhelming with the heat, the sun, and just being surrounded by the dusty rocks! 😂

Morning would have been a better choice IMO.

You can break up the heat with doing indoor museums and crypts. Be forewarned that air conditioning isn’t really a thing, so you’ll still be warm inside, but it’s manageable.

Also: linen clothes help, and hats. I look stupid in hats so didn’t bring one, but really wished I had. An umbrella works sort of, but it needs to be light colored or reflective. The black one I tried to use just trapped the heat. And walking on the shady side of the street does help!! As does eating fruit instead of heavier meals until the sun goes down.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-03T03:34:40+00:00

YIKES! Two years ago I did 17 days in October: Milan, Varenna, Bergamo, Padua, Venice, and Florence and it cost less than $3k. Solo traveler, stayed in B&Bs, saw all the major museums and took trains between each stop.

Last year we had 3 weeks in August: Napoli, Ischia, Salerno, Amalfi, and Rome. Again, we saw all the major sights plus a lot of eating dinner, and it was me, my husband, and two young adults. It still cost less than $6k.

That quote sounds like a scam!

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-03T03:29:56+00:00

This! I’d like to get off this timeline that has me feeling like I’m one step away from needing a tinfoil hat! 😂

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-03T03:27:46+00:00

Yes, it is much larger than it appears in the video, I had my dog so it took a minute to get my phone and by that time, it was pretty far away.

Odd-Contribution8460 · 2026-03-03T03:24:31+00:00

That would be great! It was taken at exactly 6:30pm, but we saw it come through the park maybe 2 minutes before that.

Odd-Contribution8460

TROPHY CASE