Sandra Roman

The best advice I received when starting this career was to write as many notes as possible in the computer system. Because if the next person needs to speak to that person, they need to know what the conversation was about. I also learned the importance of tone of voice - you have to try to make prospective foster parents feel comfortable, almost like you're selling a product. You have to sell yourself and help them feel at ease about becoming a foster parent, because a lot of them are scared.

Just be patient, be patient. And don't be afraid to ask questions. I work with a team of four of us all together, and we're always asking each other questions about things we don't remember or need clarification on. Don't be afraid to ask. Also, have your own charisma and be nice over the phone, especially when you're answering the phone, because the people calling are scared too to speak with us. You need to have compassion because a lot of them open up their own stories. When we ask why they want to become a foster parent, they start telling us their whole background story - some were foster children themselves, some have lost a child. And then I get emotional, you know, I'm like, oh my god. So you have to be resilient to handle all of those emotions that are part of your conversations.

We're trying to grow, and the more trainers we have, the more job opportunities there are. I'm guessing that to become a trainer you need some kind of degree or business background, but the more people want to help and become a part of the company, the more we can expand our coverage. Right now, Florida is one of the states we have, but we don't cover the whole state of Florida because we don't have enough people that would want to drive around the state. We don't cover the panhandle - we just go from Miami to Orlando. We would like to grow and have trainers that will go to those cities that are out of our area. We cover the whole state of Mississippi, the whole state of Alabama, and the whole state of Georgia. It's really nice when you have whole state coverage because it means we can service the area for more kids that we can place in a home. So right now, one of the challenges is just not having enough people for coverage for all of those states, but there's still a lot of growth opportunities for women in this industry.

The value that I receive in my work is really nice - when the trainers contact me back after my phone call and they say, oh, this person was lovely, and they said really nice things about you, I get that feedback and I'm like, oh my god, oh, that's so nice. That really means a lot to me. Outside of work, I do a lot of activities to refresh myself because this can be a very emotional job. I go dancing, and I play guitar just for fun. Music and movement is a big part of how I refresh so that I can show up my best each day.