Mona Ross Retires From Kent County DHHS
Mona started working for the Muskegon County Department of Social Services in 1993 as prompted by her father. In this interview with the GR Times, she discusses the child welfare system, adjusting to the stress that the job brings, the positive influence of her father and more.
GRT: How long did you work for the Department of Social Services?
Ross: I worked for the Department of Social Services for 30 years.
GRT: How did you get the job?
Ross: In 1992 the state of Michigan realized that they didn't have enough African American employees working for the state of Michigan so they did a major recruitment effort all over the state and I was apart of that recruitment. They had a job fair at True Light Baptist Church and my Dad who was the janitor at the church told me that I needed to come up to the church and get a job. He made arrangements for me to come up there. He came and baby sat my child and I went to the job fair and filled out the necessary papers. When they called me back and scheduled me an interview, he help make arrangements for a baby sitter so that I could go to my interview. I was doing day care at home but he decided that I needed to get a job and he helped put me in the position to get the job with the state of Michigan.
GRT: So you primary worked with children and their parents?
Ross: I worked in children services or child welfare.
GRT: What is your educational background?
Ross: I am a graduate of Creston High School and I received my degree in social science from Aquinas College.GRT: What is one of the most important things you learned while working for the Department of Social Services?Ross: I learned that Black people are apart of a system that they cannot win in. It is just not set up for them to win. Once you get into the system, it is very difficult to get out of it. I did the best that I could for the clients who came across my desk.
GRT: How stressful like and how did you deal with it?
Ross: I didn't get enough, sleep, I didn't drink enough water, didn't take time for myself and for my family because of the long and stressful hours. I felt as though I was always working.
GRT: What was the good side about your former job?
Ross: I met some wonderful people and I was able to make a positive impact on the lives of several people whom I have remained in contact with some good people during the course of my career. I have kept in contact with a handful of children who were on my case load who are all now adults with their own children. That was really nice to see.
GRT: So after 30 years of this career, what do you plan to do with your life now that you have officially retired?
Ross: For a little while, I plan to do nothing and then I am thinking of starting a podcast or something like that.
GRT: What else would you like our readers to know about you?
Ross: It was hard to do that job because I met so many people who looked like me and I knew that once they got started in the system that it wasn't going to stop. I was a Union Steward and I had to sit at the table at several people who looked like me but they were not given the tools or the training to do the job and I saw some of them be wrongfully dismissed and their counter parts promoted. It actually happened quite often.
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