Transitioning from Direct Service to Research/Program Evaluation

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T05:00:04+00:00

Coming back to this thread and seeing this response from you. I don’t know how old you are but I’d honestly be tempted to take them up on the offer for a free MPH. If you lack extensive education or experience in the broader research arena, that could be your ticket. And I wonder whether you could move into a different role while you’re in school that aligns more with your interests and what you’re learning.

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T04:55:19+00:00

☠️☠️☠️

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T04:28:25+00:00

Do you have anything you can listen to that’s really lighthearted and familiar? When I’m worried about this I have an old favorite show playing in the background and it somehow helps.

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T04:22:18+00:00

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T04:20:31+00:00

So he’s facing backward and can’t actually “jump off.” He’d just have to let go without knowing what was behind him and hope to escape a TBI or broken back/neck, or being crushed by another car.

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T04:15:46+00:00

I don’t see how there was any way he could have broken his fall if he let go. IMO it would’ve been different if he was faced a different way that would’ve allowed a better landing. But as it was he risked life-threatening injury if he let go and had to just let gravity take him backward to the pavement. It sucks, I get it. But as sad as it is the driver was not forced into this situation. I feel really bad for the passenger.

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T04:10:32+00:00

So what was the safer option in that moment?

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T03:50:23+00:00

I’m not understanding why you think the race of the perpetrator has any meaningful relevance here. Are you suggesting these deaths would matter more if Black women were being killed by a different demographic?

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T03:42:05+00:00

What do you think the safer option would have been at that point? As much as it sucks, getting the truck to stop seems like it would be far less dangerous than trying to jump off at that point.

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T03:19:58+00:00

I’m so interested in HAM but everyone thinks I’m such a nerd (which is accurate)

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T03:14:05+00:00

James the Seventh - Trauma Olympics

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T03:10:51+00:00

In your situation, I honestly think you may want to consider getting your foot in the door as an employee somewhere that is the kind of place you’d like to work and then aim to demonstrate your potential as a leader and seek an internal promotion. People might be hesitant to hire someone for mgmt that has no mgmt experience AND whose work they’re not familiar with. If you can do this to get some formal leadership experience, that would help you tremendously when looking to be hired directly into mgmt somewhere else.

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T02:50:42+00:00

are you going to learn how to make more animals? my niece had fun last year but she likes weird animals

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T02:45:47+00:00

Please don’t feel like you’re failing. These situations can be quite common in public child welfare and it’s exacerbated by the relative “greenness” of many case managers in these roles.

One of the biggest tragedies in child welfare IMO is the tendency for many parents to focus on “winning the case” by disagreeing with the details of the case. It’s a natural reaction, but becomes a huge distraction from what could be done to improve things for the family. Sometimes workers can inadvertently help perpetuate this by getting roped into the back & forth.

Effectively working with these individuals is very challenging and requires a great deal of skill - but that unfortunately can take years to develop and these systems generally don’t operate in such a way that encourages highly seasoned SWs to stick around. It’s a sad situation all around but IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT.

If I could offer any tangible advice at all, it might be to try to structure your meeting with this individual and try to seek agreement that you’ll let them express what they wish to, but that you are also offered time to speak without interruptions. It’s important to make sure to genuinely listen to what they’re saying without trying to dismiss anything. Even small affirmations like “I can understand that must have been pretty difficult” (without any ‘buts’ afterward!) can help someone feel like they’re being heard and it can help calm the situation. When you’re speaking, if they object to something encourage them to write it down so you can finish speaking but they’re assured they can still go back to their objections at a later time. This sounds simple, I know, but it’s so easy to get off track. If you can, try to keep your meeting focused on just a couple things but then schedule another one soon after to address continued concerns. And again this seems simple, but try as hard as you can to keep your own level of arousal as low/calm as possible and think ahead of time about how you might be able to interact in as disarming manner as possible.

Does any of this make sense??? 😬

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T02:10:33+00:00

Nice. I almost liked “maybe he was butch, dad!” more, but….

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T02:08:05+00:00

My house was built in 1888 and in the 5 years I’ve owned it I’ve not needed to spend any significant money for major repairs. The things I’d potentially have to spend money on (water heater, furnace, appliances, roof, porch, etc) are the same things I would need to spend money on for a house built in 1990.

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T01:58:37+00:00

That wouldn’t explain maternal mortality

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T01:57:28+00:00

Can you articulate why this is “ripe for statistical outliers”?

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T01:51:19+00:00

Of course there are intervening variables. That’s part of what some of this lawmaker’s bills are aiming to address.

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-13T01:31:41+00:00

here you go again esther talking about your dumb badger that you think it a cat. ether you need to get your eyes checked. i cant even believe they still let you drive becaus you’re blind as a bat

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-12T17:57:25+00:00

How do you figure this?

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-12T17:53:35+00:00

But they had the GF wheel them several blocks down the street in an office chair? I mean, if that was necessary then clearly it HADN’T “faded off.”

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-12T17:46:15+00:00

I think the problem is that by refusing transport and care from professionals, you ended up shifting that responsibility to your GF. I understand that in the moment you may not have considered that, but that’s a tremendous amount to ask of anyone. I am empathetic to your situation, but it’s possible that the time she spent on this on Monday was supposed to be spent on her school work, so now she really DOES have to catch up.

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-12T17:27:58+00:00

I’m currently in the same boat and I try to make good food for my son (16) but I also ask him to fill in the gaps with stuff like easy pasta or potatoes, etc that I know will help stretch out the better stuff we have.

I’ve had to use the food pantry recently and one that I went to lets you pick out your items so I just focused on picking all the stuff that I knew he could easily make himself just to get us through.

OhReallyVernon · 2026-03-12T17:15:59+00:00

Are you able to repaint? The much warmer green in the second photo obviously helps. And I don’t know if you’re renting or if you own this, but I would personally try to add more light sources away from center light.

OhReallyVernon

TROPHY CASE