Legal Assistant DeWayne Charley is celebrating his 20th anniversary with Youth, Rights & Justice in November. In this interview, DeWayne reflects on his work as an advocate for children in foster care, and the issues that are still faced by children and families involved in the child welfare system.
You’ve been working with YRJ for 20 years, what first led you to this work?
I applied at YRJ while I was still under the employment of a private firm.
I didn’t realize there were organizations, programs, facilities and public information out there for this work. I didn’t know about it because I was basically stuck in an office downtown. I would walk to Starbucks to get a coffee, go around the block for my break, and go back to work. I had some background working with families, but not in person.
When I first started, they asked me to do a witness list and witness prep. I said I have no idea how to do that, but I will figure it out. They said since you have legal experience we thought you could figure it out; and I did.
They sent me into termination of parental rights meetings. And these meetings were extremely challenging as they had to do with terminating the parental rights of parents. I didn’t realize what a termination of parental rights trial was. I learned very fast, and it was quite the experience. I did that for five years and it was one of the toughest jobs you can actually do. I had to visit children in their homes, in foster homes, and follow the case through to adoption. Just realizing that this is what happened to children in the community was really tough. It led me to this passion of working with families.
When you first started, what was the most surprising thing to you?
The TPR work, the termination of parental rights work. I didn’t know that existed. It’s one of those things that stuck with me. In these cases, you are working with parents and children. And for the children, these are their parents and will always be their parents. If children are removed from their homes, they might come back one day and seek their parents, and they have that right.
How have things changed during your career?
A lot of things haven’t changed. But during COVID-19 many programs were not available to families; they just weren’t viable. It was pretty sad because children really needed mental health help. Medication was not available to them. Things are slowly coming back.
DHS has changed their name several times and some programs have ended, which is also sad. One thing I wish would happen is for foster parents to be offered state-funded day care. It would be a much-needed respite for them, they need that break.
Do you see outcomes improving for our clients? What is the biggest challenge facing our clients?
Keeping parent clients stable, it’s very difficult, especially if there are challenges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Children are somewhat taken care of and are OK. But mental health services for children are lacking. Turnover is extremely high in the mental health field for children.
Outcomes are improving in other areas. I was really glad to see the system of case managers come about. This is one of the improvements that actually did happen through the state system with foster care. Case managers advocate for the mother or father and try to get the family reunited, without a lot of people involved, which I really liked. You get so many people involved and families can get overwhelmed; so many people in their meetings and their lives. It’s nice to see one person bring it together.
What inspires you? What motivates you?
Mainly what drives me is the clients. They need and want a healthy outcome. You don’t know what kind of client you’re going to get; it’s quite interesting. The work is there, no matter what level you’re at. And you have to keep yourself open. When you do a home visit, you have to be open. You’re not there to judge, you’re there to make sure the child is safe. I’m not here for politics, I’m here for the child. You have to leave the politics out of it, that’s just my take. It’s mainly the joy of working in the community. Portland is not that big of a city; and this work is being a part of the community.
What advice would you give a new legal assistant, just starting out? Or someone considering this as a career?
What I always tell people – your emotion level has to be extremely stable. When you see clients, you have to be the stable one in this line of work. It can be emotionally draining. You are going in to be a helper, you have to be extremely emotionally stable, you can’t break down in a meeting, that’s the client’s job, not your job. We have to be stable for them because they need our help.
You do become emotionally involved – but at your own level. It’s important to take a vacation, get a massage, and exercise; go get everything off your mind.
What made you choose YRJ? What has kept you here for 20 years?
Mainly the clients and basically working within the community; it was a good feeling. I don’t work for a private law firm because it’s not about the money. When I worked for a private firm it was a massive corporate firm. It felt like a hamster wheel, going round and round, with no emotional connection. You’re basically there to make a lot of money.
The public is what really drew me to staying, the clients; the help that was needed. I had my doubts at first because it was so depressing, it was very tough work and to me it’s very confidential work, because of what you see and hear. It’s morally about the family reuniting. I like the part of reuniting families with their kids. It turned into a passion for me.
Selected quotes from YRJ staff about DeWayne
“DeWayne gets things done for our clients – [not by waiting around, or following convention].”
“We sure are lucky to have such a powerful person who completes a great team!”
“You’ll never forget working with DeWayne.”
“DeWayne is who we should all aspire to be – dedicated, compassionate, and a relentless advocate for our clients. Working alongside him has been an honor and a privilege and I can’t imagine what YRJ would be like without him.”
“I really appreciate that nothing ruffles his feathers. Through the good times, and the stressful, he is steady as a rock and gets the job done. The only thing… DeWayne frequently “needs” a vacation.”