IN THIS EDITION:

- Lauren Wolf at Neighbor to Family
- Barbara Jones, Tamora Boatwright, Nehemitchlard Bain, Natalia McKenzie, Felicia Mullins, Johnkyria Alston, Patricia Williams, Jennifer Charlton, Dane Jones, Lakesha Brathwaite, Julie Tarbunas, Vanessa Young, Welda Bernardi, Alfreda White, Monique McMath and Calandra Cobb at Devereux
- Lorie Smith at One Hope United

 

 

 

 

Neighbor to Family

Neighbor to Family would like to recognize Lauren Wolf for Case Manager’s Corner. Lauren is indeed a “front line worker” – maybe even more so than any other staff on the Bartow team.  She is the first face that families see when they hear about NTF because she goes out to their homes with DCF for a joint intake screening.  When Covid-19 began, NTF began receiving a record number of referrals which would need to be screened by Lauren. The record high number of referrals continued for many months during the pandemic.  Lauren continued to see families at their homes – taking precautions such as PPE, meeting outside and keeping meetings brief.  It was discussed with Lauren that it is ok if she needs to screen virtually, however, she feels that she can get a better “feel” for families when she is at their residence.  Meaning – she feels that she can more accurately gauge the needs of the family as well as identify any concern, etc. of which other NTF staff need to be aware.  She does complete virtual screenings when necessary for the safety of families (and herself) in certain situations but 95% of her screenings are completed in person. The NTF team, families and community partners can always count on Lauren!

 

Devereux

The Devereux Leadership Team wishes to recognize the following team members who helped deliver Christmas gifts during Rudolph Roundup

Barbara Jones (Trainee)

Tamora Boatwright

Nehemitchlard Bain (Trainee)

Thamitchlard Bain (Trainee)

Natalia McKenzie (Trainee)

Felicia Mullins (Trainee)

Johnkyria Alston (Trainee)

We also had staff assist in staying in the office with a youth while on night-night placements. The youth had to be picked up at 8am and dropped off at 9pm. These staff, without hesitation, jumped in to help as needed:

Vatonda Herrington, Program Director, sent in this recognition.

I would like to give a shout out to Patricia Williams, Jennifer Charlton, Dane Jones, Lakesha Brathwaite, Julie Tarbunas, Vanessa Young, Welda Bernardi, Alfreda White, Monique McMath and Calandra Cobb – My Leadership Team, for all of their hard work in assisting case managers and improving our numbers as an agency.  They work hard day in and day out without a lot of recognition and I want to personally say how much I appreciate all of their hard work and dedication to Devereux and their staff.

 

One Hope United

One Hope United would like to recognize Lorie Smith as an outstanding example of how CMs positively touch the lives of children every day. Lorie strives to make every child feel special and heard. She sees her children face to face every month despite COVID and loves visiting with her “babies” because she holds a special place in her heart for every single one of them. Lorie works tirelessly to place siblings together and is amazingly good at educating family members about the importance of family support and their engagement with children who are in foster care settings. I call her “the family whisperer”. I have watched her grow into a knowledgeable and phenomenal Case Manager over the last year.

One case that sticks out is her engagement, patience and understanding with a 14-year-old child who lost both of his parents and is currently placed in a group home. Lorie has gone above and beyond for this teen and has run through multiple relatives and non-relatives for placement. Lorie was able to make contact with one Aunt on his stepfather’s side and encouraged her to write him, and at this time, they are communicating through letters. Even though Lorie could have been seeing this teen every 25 days, she chose to continue to see him every week to provide him with a constant adult figure who shows genuine concern for his wellbeing and goals in life. In October of last year, she drove the teen to South Florida for DJJ court and the Judge dismissed his probation because he showed up for court face to face.

Lorie, thank you for all that you do with every single one of your families. You go above and beyond DAILY to ensure the safety of your children and share strong encouraging words the families you serve. You are definitely one of a kind.