BOWLING GREEN — During the pandemic, children’s services units in counties across Ohio were experiencing high turnover, said Michael Fuller, assistant director of Wood County Job and Family Services.

Many counties were looking for ways to recruit and retain staff, with Wood County being one of them, he said.

Leaders of Wood County Job and Family Services first tackled the issue through a fellowship program, which saw the organization put in efforts to recruit junior and senior students who had degrees in psychology, sociology, and criminal justice, among others, instead of just social work, specifically.

After a few years of offering the fellowship, the agency is also offering its Peer Specialist Apprenticeship Program, in partnership with Owens Community College, which is a 2,000-hour paid program for human services students to gain professional experience in different careers within the field.

The program offers students who are pursuing the community and family service associate degree at Owens the experience to work in fields with human services, including child and adult protective services, work force development, child support, income maintenance, and fiscal operations.

The apprenticeship is meant to give students “a taste of what children services is like and our other departments,” as well as an opportunity to participate in the fellowship program, Mr. Fuller said. 

“When we looked at Ohio law, there was a pathway for children’s service agencies to hire people with associate degrees, but those people have to get their four-year degree within five years of being hired,” he said. “We thought if we could start an apprenticeship program and bring them in from Owens, who we partnered with, and then get the Greater Ohio Workforce Board as a sponsor of the apprenticeship … we could give them [students] a taste and then, hopefully, as they move, would say, ‘You know what? I want to go into that field.’” 

Though the number has lowered, Wood County once had a 26 percent turnover rate, particularly in the field of children’s services, Mr. Fuller said. 

The turnover can be attributed to low pay and exposure to stressful situations, he said. 

“The workers are going into homes that are abusive,” Mr. Fuller said. “Sometimes it’s not even that they’re being abused. It might be because they don’t have the economic means to keep the home clean and things like that.” 

Pete Prichard, senior work force consultant with Wood County Job and Family Services, said it’s important to recruit more social workers into human services because he foresees people who’ve been in the field for a long time start to retire across the state. 

“It’s [human services] a very special type of field, and we’re excited to bring this forward and saying, ‘Hey, there’s a need in this field,’” Mr. Prichard said. “There’s going to be a large attrition of people that are going to be leaving the work force, and we figure it’s a really good time to start developing these programs, particularly for longevity, to complete our own serves that we need to complete on the local level.” 

Michelle Arbogast, chairman of the department of teacher’s education and human services at Owens Community College, said the apprenticeship is important because it allows students to get hands-on experience while learning the curriculum in their classes. 

“That’s the piece that is so unique,” she said. “They’re getting the hands-on experience through the apprenticeship while also getting the theoretical and book pieces that go along with it.”

Mr. Fuller said even though a career in human services won’t make someone rich, some people “just find satisfaction because they’re helping people and they see that they’re helping people.”

He added some fields offer benefits like retirement and loan forgiveness. 

Owens students can apply for the apprenticeship online or can call Wood County Job and Family Services at 419-352-7566.

First Published November 3, 2024, 4:03 p.m.