What is it really like to be a foster care case worker?

In this powerful and emotional conversation, we sit down with former Indiana DCS case worker, foster/adoptive mom, and child advocate Moriah Coons to talk about the side of foster care most people never see.

From overwhelming caseloads and dangerous home visits to heartbreaking court decisions and emotional burnout, Moriah gives an honest look at the impossible weight many case workers carry every single day. She shares stories from the front lines of child welfare that reveal just how complicated the foster care system really is and why so many good case workers end up exhausted, overwhelmed, and misunderstood.

But this conversation is not about defending a broken system. It is about humanizing the people inside it.

Moriah also shares incredible moments of hope and redemption, including adoption stories, reunifications, and the moments that reminded her why the work mattered in the first place.

Whether you are a foster parent, adoptive parent, CASA worker, social worker, church leader, or someone simply trying to better understand foster care, this episode will challenge the way you think about the system and the people trying to hold it together.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What foster care case workers actually face behind the scenes
• Why communication can feel so difficult in foster care cases
• The emotional toll of carrying impossible decisions
• How judges, policies, and courts impact child safety decisions
• Why many foster care workers burn out
• Threats, trauma, and overwhelming caseloads
• The heartbreaking realities of neglect and domestic violence cases
• How churches and foster families can support case workers
• Stories of adoption, healing, and redemption

Some moments from this episode that will stick with us:

• “Every single time I walked up the stairs, I was terrified the baby would be dead.”
• “They’re not thriving. They’re surviving.”
• “For every one bad egg, there’s a million more trying to do the right thing.”
• “They’re just normal people trying to make a difference.”

Moriah Coons was born and raised in Texas and studied Bible, Theology, Children’s Ministry, and Special Needs Ministry at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. She served as a Family Case Manager with Indiana DCS before transitioning into victim advocacy and domestic violence support work. Today, she serves as the Foster And Adoption Family Support Lead at Trader’s Point Christian Church (https://tpcc.org/fam). Moriah and her husband Austin were licensed foster parents for nearly four years and recently adopted a sibling group of three. She also serves on the Executive Board for Champions For Children, an organization focused on making Indiana children safer.

If this episode encouraged or challenged you, would you take a moment to follow the show, leave a review, and share this episode with someone else? Those small actions truly help us continue growing this community and spreading awareness around foster care, adoption, and living faithfully right where God has placed us.

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Music Credit

"Paradise Found" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons.