A Day in the Life of a Gladney Intern

After interning at Gladney for almost 6 months, I can honestly say my favorite thing about working here is always being surprised by what will happen the next day. There are some days that are very typical office days; I have my to-do list; I get it done, and I go home always with a smile on my face and excited to come back the next day. Then there are days where things happen that really do surprise me! For example, this past Thursday I had walked over to Beth's cube to chat with her about tasks she need my help with. Not 30 seconds after we had finished discussing what she needed, she asked me if I could quickly run down to reception to be a witness to a birth father relinquishing his parental rights. I of course ran to help with whatever was needed. While I had always planned on witnessing relinquishment at some point during my time in Gladney, I always had thought when I had the opportunity to do so it would be through a birth mother. I was shocked at how much seeing one man ...

Hi! My name is Caitlyn and I am the current intern for Family Services in Fort Worth and will be here through December. I am a social work graduate student at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) working towards becoming a LMSW. I will also graduate in December. Family Services provides post-adoption support for families who have adopted internationally. Some of our services include: parent education and training, home study services, counseling and support resources. As the Family Services intern I have had the opportunity to learn about the services we provide and review follow-up reports from our adoptive families. So far, I have spent a lot of time with Uncle Ricoh (our trusty copier/printer) and sending these reports to the country where the children were adopted (Ethiopia, Taiwan, Russia). I love reading up on how the children are adjusting and thriving with their family in the U.S. and I especially love seeing pictures of their sweet fa...