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:

- A'Lundrea Morris, Nikole Bon Fiol, Cristina Burciaga, Mikayla Evans, Reina Londono and Shequanna Wilkins at Lutheran Services Florida
- Shannon Simmons at One Hope United
- Abigail Williamson and Kathy Sangster at Children's Home Society

 

Lutheran Services Florida

A'Lundrea Morris

A'Lundrea is a Dependency Case Manager that was recently acknowledged by Judge Pinckett for being on top of her cases and testifying well, several times. She continued to share that she was punctual, articulate, precise, detailed, prepared and professional and the judge was also impressed with her performance in court! 

We asked A'Lundrea what inspired her to work in child welfare and she shared, "What inspires me to work in child welfare are the children. When I am having a hard week and I am feeling down I think about the children on my case load. There are times I have sat back and thought about the work relationships and bonds I have developed with my kiddos. I love what I do because I know that I am changing lives, I am creating permanency for children across the county. This makes me smile and keeps me pushing." 

 She continues, "My favorite memory was when I was taking two of my children on my case load back to their group home after a family visit and we were listening to music together singing in the car together. When we arrived at the group home the children told me, 'Ms. Morris I wanted to let you know that I love you. You are the best case manager we’ve had.'"

 

We also want to congratulate our Case Manager Trainees for passing their tests: Nikole Bon Fiol, Cristina Burciaga, Mikayla Evans, Reina Londono and Shequanna Wilkins!

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One Hope United

Shannon Simmons 

Shannon has been a Case Manager with One Hope United for almost six years. She is a member of our ICPC/OCS Unit. Shannon is the kind of employee that you can county on to do things right. She has never once had a child go over day 30 without being seen. She writes excellent case notes and cares for the kids on her caseload. They may not be primary kids but that does not matter to Shannon - to her, they are just as important as any other child in care. She treats her families with dignity and respect and makes certain that everyone has everything they need. No one ever makes a complaint against Shannon because she gives them no reason to complain! She is an exemplary model of what every Case Manager should be - kind, caring, resourceful, respectful, patient and understand. If we could clone her here at One Hope United, we would do so in a heartbeat!

We asked Shannon what inspired her to work in child welfare and she shared, "I got in this work because I really like working with children and I came from DJJ. I wanted to have more of an impact. This work can break your heart, but it can also be very rewarding, especially when you get to be a part of a reunification." 

Shannon shared, "This is not a memory, it's on ongoing reunification that is happening right now. I am rooting for this mom. She is fabulous and I am so proud of her. She has 4 children and she worked and worked and was reunified with her children and is doing a fantastic job. She even keeps in touch with the foster mother that had her kids and they get together every 2 to 3 months to keep her involved with the children because they love her so much. Even the parenting specialist says she is success story. I really hope she gets a chance one day to speak with other parents that are going through this to let them know, that it is possible to get through this process successfully."

Thank you Shannon for everything you do every day!

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Children's Home Society

Abigail Williamson

Abigail is a Dependency Case Manager and she is very actively involved with her cases and her team. She pushes hard for permanency for kids. She makes sure the parents have referrals for services, that the kids are connected with people and providers that fit their needs and she ensures that the caregivers have access to resources that will help the kids through their trauma. She is a team player and is usually one of the first to volunteer to assist when needed.

We asked Abigail what inspired her to work in child welfare and she shared, "My youngest sister inspires me to work in child welfare. She was adopted and through her adoption process I got to meet many amazing child welfare professionals who surrounded her and my family with lots of love and wisdom. Seeing where my sister started to where she is now, happy and healthy, inspires me to want to make a difference in other kid's lives who are going through the same thing."

"One of my favorite success stories started out as one of the saddest cases I had received. I had an older child come into care as his mother passed away and his only known family members were unable to care for him. The child had severe medical needs and trauma. We ran family finders and were able to find more information on a possible father that the mother had mentioned. We were able to get a paternity test done and the father stepped right up to care for the child. The child now resides with his biological father and multiple step-siblings and is living a happy and healthy life. The child went from having nobody to a whole new family that loves him and supports him. Seeing him meet his biological father, who he never knew existed, for the first time is something I will never forget."

 

Kathy Sangster

Kathy Sangster is the CaseAim Supervisor for Children's Home Society. She has over 20 years’ experience in child welfare system. Kathy's team is essential to case management as her team assist with transports, supervising visits and assisting with referrals…. And so much more!   Kathy is always willing to step in and help case managers, the supervisors and the director with whatever they need. Kathy has been directly involved with getting CHS in the green with medical and dental.  Kathy is like a rolodex of information, how she keeps it all in her head, we will never know!

 

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.