Posted: 7/13/2022

Case Manager's Corner: July 2022

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:

- Tamora Boatwright at Lutheran Services Florida
- Markeisha Willis at One Hope United
- Jennifer Cortes at Children's Home Society

Lutheran Services Florida

Tamora Boatwright

Tamora is a Certified Case Manager who is always willing to lend a helping hand when needed. She never hesitates to offer assistance with new staff and has recently been identified to help in mentoring and coaching two staff in our current Pre-Service class. Tamora strive to build a positive rapport not only with her colleagues and families but with the court system as well. 

Tamora shares, "What inspires me the most is the ability to work with clients and achieve positive outcomes. The most recent adoptions have made me happy, reason being is the children were adopted by a great family and the smiles brighten my heart."

Thank you Tamora for all that you do for children, families and your fellow frontline team!

One Hope United

Markeisha Willis 

Markeisha is one of the most outstanding staff with One Hope United. She is very well-versed in her position as a Dependency Case Manager. She has a strong relationship with her caregivers, service providers, and coworkers. She has been very supportive of her coworkers and often volunteers to share her knowledge with them. Most importantly, Markeisha knows her families and provides them with as much help as she possibly can so they can success in their journey towards becoming reunified with their children. She works hard every day, she is timely with home visits and court work, and she takes ownership of her work. Markeisha is a strong advocate for her children and families an she truly cares about what happens to them. She has been identified as a future leader because of her skills and her commitment to her families and her strong work ethic. We are proud to have Markeisha as a member of the OHU family!

Markeisha shares, "The inspiration for working in child welfare is being able to be an advocate for children and encouraging parents. I genuinely like supporting people to see their progress and growth. I know how hard it can be to not doubt yourself as a parent on a daily basis and a lot of people who we come in contact with don’t have the proper support. I know how important just being there for someone can be and I like to offer that to each family. I also like being a consistent factor for children while they navigate through the system. Children are vulnerable and should be protected at all times, so I’m glad to be able to assist with making sure resources can be provided to maintain and strengthen families."

She continues, "My favorite memories are the connections I’ve been able to make with the children, parents, and caregivers on my caseload as well as seeing the bond between parents and children when they have been reunified."

Children's Home Society

Jennifer Cortes

Jennifer is a Dependency Case Manager Supervisor for Children’s Home Society (CHS).  She has years of experience and knowledge.  This past year she has worked endlessly as the only member of our adoptions unit at CHS. She has pushed through many struggles and barriers through Covid and turnover and continues to advocate for permanency for the children and families she serves.  She is a strong team player and a great communicator and compassionate about what she does.

Jennifer shares, "As a child welfare professional for over 15 years, I am motivated daily by the joy that results when a child or teenager has achieved permanency through adoption. Seeing families built through adoption is very rewarding and continues to keep me focused on my work. Every child in need deserves a forever family through adoption!"

Reflecting on a favorite memory, Jennifer shares, "I had been working with a sibling group of four very young, special needs children for over five years. Our team was able to recruit for and match them with adoptive families, after numerous failed placement attempts. The adoptive families were able to provide the children with love, consistency, and permanency and the children brought so much joy to the adoptive families’ lives!"

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.