Title IV-E Student Spotlights
Michele Hammond
Michele Hammond (M.S.W. ’19) is currently a Unit Administrator with Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services Knowledge Management Section. With over 25 years of experience in child welfare, it has been a privilege for Michele to share her wealth of knowledge with emerging social workers; developing, supporting, and nurturing them to use data to improve child welfare outcomes. In 2012, Michele was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. That devastating diagnosis was the wake-up call she needed to live life fully, and to relentlessly pursue her dreams.
One of Michele’s dreams was to obtain her Master of Social Work. She chose the Georgia State University Title IV-E Child Welfare Education and Training Program as an avenue to fulfill her aspirations of improving child welfare outcomes and practice.
Obtaining an MSW within a scholastic community dedicated to the betterment of childcare was the perfect opportunity. Through the support of the Title IV-E Program, Michele better understands “the why” behind the career she has pursued for over 25 years. She is now a more confident child welfare advocate than ever before. She gains new insights and different perspectives on how to face the challenges of underprivileged, underrepresented, and underserved populations. Title IV-E sharpened Michele’s understanding of how pivotal and essential the role of the social worker is, and the monumental impact social workers can have on families, the community, and the world.
When asked what advice she would give to social work students entering the child welfare field, Michele encouraged students to take the profession seriously. “It is an awesome and serious charge to have the lives of children and families in your hands. Every decision that [social workers] make will impact a child for the remainder of their life. New child welfare workers must prepare themselves to be immersed in the most challenging, frustrating, rewarding, and fulfilling calling of their lives.”
A native Californian, Michele is married with six children and four grandchildren. The driving force and motivation for all that she does has always been her family.