FCCS Partners with HBCUs, Hispanic Colleges to Recruit Caseworkers


From spending time talking with students on the campus of Ohio's only public HBCU to connecting virtually with more than 100 Hispanic serving higher education institutions across the country, Franklin County Children Services is recruiting top talent - especially caseworkers and social workers - who reflect the community we serve.

“When you bring in staff from diverse backgrounds and experiences, you bring in a wealth of knowledge from our community,” said FCCS Human Capital Management Analyst Melissa Cetnar.

“Franklin County is always changing and it’s important to have staff who can understand and relate to different experiences,” she added, spotlighting the need to have caseworkers and support staff who have the same cultural experiences or speak the same languages as the families we support.

At the end of 2024, the Human Resources team reported that 53% of FCCS staff identified as White/Caucasian, 41% as Black/African American, 1.3% as Hispanic, and 1.3% as Asian.

Human Resource Director Maree Whitlow and a team of FCCS recruiters recently spent the day at Central State University, the only public Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Ohio.

“We met so many students interested and eager to work,” Ms. Whitlow said. “We also made connections with the Director of Career Services, the Dean over the areas of education most applicable to employment at FCCS, and the intervention specialists who help first- and second-year student think about future careers.”

The HR team also posts open positions to a recruitment portal connected through the Hispanic Association of Colleges and university to more than 100 higher education institutions.

Intake Caseworker Brittany Torres has seen firsthand the benefit of recruiting and retaining staff with diverse experiences.

A six-year veteran of the agency, Ms. Torres finds that while she can relate to all families, it is particularly easy for her to build rapport with Hispanic families because of her background

“All of my friends were Hispanic growing up, and I saw the struggles that their parents had,” she remembers. The daughter of a Cuban father and an American mother, Ms. Torres grew up in the Latin community.

“My grandfather was undocumented, so I know what it’s like for people who are experiencing that,” she said. Ms. Torres recalls working with a Hispanic mom who was experiencing domestic violence but feared being involved with FCCS because she was undocumented.

“I let her know that I am a safe person, I’m going to help her, and I want to keep her here so she can care for her children,” she said, linking this mom with the Ohio Hispanic Coalition and Community Refugee & Immigration Services, which enabled her to become documented and create safety and stability for her family.

Recruitment efforts continue.

According to Ms. Cetnar, the best way of finding strong candidates is employee referrals and HR is always open to hearing new recruitment ideas. “If any current staff know of groups or organizations that we should reach out to for recruitment, please share.”

Email your recruitment ideas to fccshr@fccs.us.

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