Posted: 1/28/2020

Case Manager Corner: 1/28/2020

IN THIS EDITION:

- Roger Vazquez, Monaya Crossen & Trina Stevenson at OHU
- Shane Bishop at CHS
- Minoo Khordehpaz, Michelle O'Conoor, Alfreda White, Maria Cartegena, Julie Bartle, Mariel Sepulveda, Roshonda Lofton, Mykira Johnson, Kathryn Marini, Lisa Pyles, Amensha Willix, Katelyn Davis, Karla Diaz, Shedlie Desraines, Candice Hailey, Rachelle Louis, Adrianna Williams-Rice, Tangela Coleman, Rodina Lynch, & Valderria Mitchell at Devereux

One Hope United

Roger Vazquez has been with OHU for one year. In that time, Roger has been able to build a trusting relationship with one of our transgendered youth in care.  With this relationship, the child has started to feel comfortable being who they are and has started to transition slowly.  This youth has been in the foster care system since 2016 and has been in 30+ placements. Placements were broken due to the child’s anger with their situation, inappropriate behaviors, and not being accepted for who they were.  This child struggled with their identity, which lead to some of these behaviors. Roger was able to not only make this child feel that they were normal and worth being loved, but that there was someone on their side willing to fight for them. Roger was able to make contact with the child’s God parents, who were a placement for the child in the beginning of the case and had been unwilling to take them back, and reintroduce the child to them as the person they have become now. The child was able to spend the Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays with the God parents and, after a few hiccups, they are willing to keep the child and wish to adopt them! The child is now in a home where they are loved and accepted, with close friends they consider to be family. There is another transgender child in the home, so the family is able to meet the child where they are and help support them through this process.  Roger also made sure that the child would be attending a school that was aware of their situation and that the child would be able to join the cheer team, which was important to the child.  Roger is a shining example of what understanding, patience, advocacy and acceptance can do for a child who needs that little extra bit of attention. Thank you Roger for all you have done for this, and all the children you serve! 

Monaya Crossen and Trina Stevenson are valuable assets to our OHU family.  Both exude spirits of willingness that is evident in the way they help their fellow team members with any task and towards greater professional development.  They are strong advocates for the children and families they work with and are not afraid to speak up for the needs of others.  Despite the difficult nature of many of their cases, they don’t shrink from going the extra mile to ensure that needs are addressed and met. We are appreciative of their dedication, commitment and positive work ethic and the impact these qualities have on their families. 

Children's Home Society

Shane Bishop of CHS has been working on and off in the Dependency system for almost twenty years.  He has shown himself to be a most capable case manager.  He is very committed to his work and his families and takes his job very seriously.  Shane is the type of case manager who takes ownership of his cases and prefers to do every task on his cases himself because he wants to make sure that everything is done right, and that the needs of his clients are being met.  During staffings, he has proven to be very knowledgeable regarding his cases and presents them very well.   He is an excellent case manager.   Shane is all about safety, permanency, and wellbeing for the children on his case load.  Shane always sees his children in a timely manner and writes well thought out and detailed judicial documents. He ensures that all of his children are taken care of and that they always have everything they need. Shane will even make sure to reach out to the children on his caseloads on their birthdays to make sure that they know that they are important, remembered, and thought of.  While Shane often has one of the higher caseloads at CHS, he is always looking to assist another case manager when help is needed and is frequently the first one to answer when help is needed in any capacity. Shane has also shown his willingness to assist new case managers in any way that he can. He is a great example of what a case manager should be and a true asset to Children’s Home Society. 

Devereux

Devereux sends a shout out to Minoo Khordehpaz, Michelle O’Connor, Alfreda White, Maria Cartegena, Julie Bartle, Mariel Sepulveda, Roshonda Lofton, Mykira Johnson, Kathryn Marini, Lisa Pyles, Amensha Willix, Katelyn Davis, Karla Diaz, Shedlie Desravines, Candice Hailey, Rachelle Louis, Adrianna Williams-Rice and Tangela Coleman for working at the Rudolph Round-up Warehouse.  Your dedication and assistance to organizing toys for our children was greatly appreciated.

Shout out to Rodina Lynch, Glenasia Cotto and Valderria Mitchell, our “Newbies” to Devereux!!  They were instrumental is picking up toys from the warehouse and assisting in delivering them to the families that were served.