Case manager's corner is Chief Quality & Legal Officer, April Rolle's forum in which to recognize various employees from case management organizations for their outstanding work.

IN THIS EDITION:

- Michelle O'Connor and Tangela Coleman at Devereux
- Deborah Kinney at One Hope United
- Sarah Sisk and RaShayla Sackey at Children's Home Society

 

Devereux

Michelle O'Connor

Judge Ojeda went on at length about what a good Case Manager Michelle is, how she helps parents, always knows her cases and can be trusted. Theresa Porto with the GAL Office expressed, "Always glad when I see you on a case Michelle, that means everything will definitely be done!" 

Tangela Coleman

Devereux received the following comments from the GAL Office regarding Lead Case Manager, Tangela Coleman. "Tangela is a phenomenal case manager. She is always professional and shows pure compassion for the children and families. I enjoy working with her and can always depend on her assessment of the family and their needs. She is a great example of what an AWESOME Case Manager looks like."

Tangela shares, "My biggest inspiration for working in child welfare is being able to give hope back to the parents. Working in this field you meet parents who feel defeated and depleted. I’m committed to giving them motivation and hope that they are able to regain control of their life and ensure the safety and well-being of their child/children."

Reflecting on a recent success story, Tangela shares about a teen girl she was working with, "Her case was transferred to me the summer of 2020. She was 16/17 at the time and finishing up her junior year of high school. From the moment her file landed on my desk my primary goal was to make sure she got her high school diploma!! During the next 14 months we went through multiple placement disruption and an arrest. So many times she decided she didn’t care about finishing school and ready to quit. I absolutely refused to let her give up on herself and I constantly nagged her about how close she was and how she was going to beat the odds. Low and behold May 2021 seeing her in her cap and gown and walking across that stage as they called her name was so emotional for me and as I’m recalling it now I’m getting teary eyed... Since her graduation she has been in communication with a military recruiter as she has decided she would like to experience the military for a few years until she decide what is next for her future."

 

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One Hope United

Deborah Kinney

Deb is a fabulous Case Manager and a huge asset to Unit 855 and One Hope United. She has been a Case Manager for less than a year and is already making a huge impact on the lives of the families she serves.  She has a mother on her caseload who was facing Termination of Parental Rights. Debbie was able to engage with the mother and assist her in engaging in services and helped her to achieve case plan compliance along and maintain behavioral changes to keep her child safe. Deb worked diligently, with the support of the caregivers and service providers, to ensure that the mother had the best supports in place for her child to be reunified.

Deb shares, "In the few short months, I have been here I have to say that my favorite success story (however it is still not over) that I share often to other for encouragement and hope is about a single mother who struggled with substance abuse and continued to use and place her own needs over her child’s and others daily. This mother watched her own mother overdose on illicit substances and did not recover and passed away. This mother also burned her bridges with all her family and friends including her last living parent. Her Father. In October of 2021, the father had a heart attack and did not live. The mother at this time knew she needed to get help and accept the help that was offered. From then on mom worked with Case Management, worked with service providers to assist her with her sobriety and mental health issues, and really worked hard to make real changes. This mother was able to maintain stable employment and got her license fixed up and renewed, obtained, and is maintaining an apartment of her own, has her own vehicle, and has made amends with her stepmother and admitted and accepted her own faults. This mother today has been reunified with her child and has accepted all her safety service providers in her home including her stepmother as her biggest supporter. I can honestly say this momma did an amazing job and knew what she wanted and utilized all her supports and resources to get what she wanted. I feel that as her Case Manager for the last few months I have supported her wants and assisted her with her resources. This Mmmma did all the hard work I was just rooting her on as a support."

On 5/11/2022 the mother achieved reunification and the Termination of Parental Rights petition was dismissed.  The emotions of the caregivers, mother, case management, GAL and CLS were seen and heard during court and it was very positive and overwhelming.

Deb continues, "My inspiration to work in the Child Welfare system is due to the families I have seen while growing up both close to me and others in the community as well that has 'fallen through the cracks'. Some families were not given the support or resources that truly could have helped them increase their caregiver protective capacities and provide a safe, loving, and nurturing home for their children. I have also witnessed firsthand some families given the opportunity and support changed their entire lives around and have grown and succeeded as parents and productive members of our society. I felt I have the empathy, motivation,  and coordination to help these families and children make behavioral changes and have a stable permanent home to call their own."

Deb tells all of the parents she works with the same thing, "I am here for whatever you want me to be here for. I will walk beside you with any choices you make, and I will work just as hard as you, but I will not work harder than you. I will give you all the resources and support I can to avoid any barriers in your success, but I will not do the work for you either."

Thank you, Deborah Kinney, for your dedication to our children and families. You ROCK!

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Children's Home Society

Sarah Sisk

Sarah started off as an intern and has moved into the case manager role.  She is always a positive and smiling!  She looks forward to learning and takes on challenges.  She asks questions and is constantly wanting to learn.  She is an excellent asset to the team and we are excited to watch her grow!

RaShayla Sackey

RaShayla came to us fully certified from Jacksonville and ready to hit the ground running.That she did! Her self-starting personality is welcomed, and although she seeks out direction, she seeks it more as confirmation as to what she already knew should be done. She is very resourceful and will exhausts all possibilities when assisting her clients. She pays close attention to detail and uses the information gained to make recommendations to her clients based on not just their needs but also their ability to access the service. Her willingness and her helpful character coupled with her cheerful personality is rare in this field of work and we are excited to have her here at Children’s Home Society.

RaShayla shares what inspires who to serve in Child Welfare, "What inspires me to continue to work in Child Welfare is the ability to engage with children and families to help aide in healthy family relationships and successful outcomes. I am also inspired working with a wonderful team here at CHS. My favorite memories from working in Child Welfare has to be all of the successful reunifications and adoptions that I have witnessed for the children and families that our agency have successfully completed."

Kudos to RaShayla Sackey for the great work that she is doing for the children and their families.

 

Everyone here in our Circuit 10 system of care feels honored to have these amazing people working with our families and changing lives. We are so proud of all of our case managers for the very difficult work they do every day and for the support they provide to the children and families that we serve.