SEATTLE, Jan. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Casey Family
Programs, a Seattle-based national
foundation dedicated to safely reducing the need for foster care
and building Communities of Hope for children and families,
announced today the recipients of its 2019 Casey Excellence for
Children Awards and Jim Casey Building Communities of Hope
Awards.
The awards recognize outstanding individuals and communities for
their distinguished work, exceptional leadership and tireless
dedication to improving the lives of children and families in
America. The awards are given in the following categories:
- Leadership: These awards recognize child welfare leaders
who have had a significant impact in improving outcomes for
children and families and building Communities of Hope.
- Jim Casey Building Communities of Hope: Named in honor
of the founder of Casey Family Programs, these awards recognize
communities that have brought together public, business, nonprofit,
philanthropic and community partners to improve the safety and
success of children and their families.
- Alumni and Family: These awards are presented to alumni
of foster care, foster and adoptive parents and advocates, kinship
caregivers and birth mothers and fathers who have demonstrated
extraordinary efforts to improve the lives of children and
families.
"The winners of these awards are making the world a better place
for children and families," said David C.
Mills, chair of the Board of Trustees of Casey Family
Programs. "They are helping others navigate life's challenges,
serving as role models and advocating for improvements to the
systems that help ensure the safety and success of children and
their families. We are honored to recognize their accomplishments
and the critical work they are doing."
"Every day in communities across America, leaders from every
sector and at all levels are working to build Communities of Hope
for children and families," said Dr. William C. Bell, President and CEO of Casey
Family Programs. "These awards are a recognition that everyone has
a role to play in safely reducing the need for foster care by
strengthening families and ensuring every child has what they need
in their lives to reach their fullest potential. It is an honor
each year to recognize a few of the people who are making a real
difference today in their communities and in the lives of children
by building hope."
The winners for 2019 are:
Casey Excellence for Children Leadership
Awards
Mischa
Martin
Little Rock,
Arkansas
Mischa Martin became director of
the Arkansas Department of Human Services' Division of Children and
Family Services in 2016. Her leadership has caused a paradigm shift
in the Arkansas child welfare
system. In the last two years, Arkansas has significantly reduced the number
of children who remain in shelters longer than 10 days. The number
of children 12 and under in group homes has also been dramatically
reduced. Ms. Martin has inspired, coached and increased
accountability not only for reaching outcomes but also for sharing
ideas and strategies. As a result, in the last 18 months, the
number of overdue investigations decreased from 1,627 to 59. In
addition, Arkansas has seen a
reduction of more than 700 children in foster care in the last
year. Ms. Martin is not only changing the culture of the child
welfare agency, but also educating the judiciary and legislature on
best practices that reduce trauma and keep children safely with
parents whenever possible.
Judge Ernestine Steward
Gray
New Orleans,
Louisiana
The Hon. Ernestine Steward Gray
has been serving as judge of Orleans
Parish Juvenile Court since 1984. She is a member of the
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and a past
president of the Louisiana Council of Juvenile and Family Court
Judges. Judge Gray has also been on the National CASA Association
Board of Trustees since 2001 (CASA stands for court-appointed
special advocate) and she has authored several publications on
child welfare, adoption and parental substance abuse. In
January 2018, Judge Gray was named
the recipient of the American Bar Foundation Outstanding
Service Award. She currently serves as president of the Pelican
Center for Children and Families, a nonprofit organization
dedicated to improving the quality of legal representation for
children and providing interdisciplinary training and education to
child welfare practitioners. Gray regularly appears before the
state legislature to speak and provide information on issues
relating to youth in both the child welfare and juvenile justice
systems.
Lisa Opoku and David Hansell
New York City, New
York
Lisa Opoku, chief operating
officer for the engineering organization at Goldman Sachs, and
David Hansell, commissioner of the
New York City Administration for Children's Services, have played
integral roles in the Fostering College Success Mentoring Program.
The program is a public-private partnership among the New York City
Administration for Children's Services, Goldman Sachs and Casey
Family Programs, and aims to build a better tomorrow for young
adults in foster care. The program pairs students from foster care
with Goldman Sachs employees in a meaningful mentoring relationship
with the goal of helping them graduate from college and secure
employment, and providing guidance in their transition to
adulthood. Goldman Sachs mentors receive training on the unique
experiences and challenges facing foster youth. Students in the
program have provided firsthand feedback about the incredible
support they have received.
Jim Casey Building Communities of Hope Awards
San Francisco Family Resource Center
Initiative
San Francisco,
California
San Francisco has reduced the
substantiated rate of child abuse by 60 percent and the rate of
children in care by 52 percent since 2008 as a result, in part, of
its Family Resource Center (FRC) Initiative — a public-private
investment in 26 FRCs networked strategically throughout the
community. Family Resource Centers provide a range of supportive
parenting services such as child care, counseling, education,
mentoring, care management, concrete needs like food and diapers,
and other activities that strengthen families and build protective
factors proven to mitigate maltreatment. San Francisco's Initiative promotes a
public-health, multigenerational approach to improve child welfare;
advocates for tracking data and evaluation; and leverages resources
among multisector and communitywide partners. The Children's Bureau
of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families recently
recognized San Francisco-based
Safe & Sound and its Integrated Family Services model — a
partnership with Casey Family Programs, with potential to expand
throughout the field — as a "particularly effective, promising
approach" in urging the adoption of primary prevention strategies
to protect children and promote positive outcomes. Children's
Bureau Associate Commissioner Jerry
Milner has visited Safe & Sound and highlights its work
as a national example when discussing the potential impact of the
Family First Prevention Services Act.
Bester Community of Hope
Hagerstown, Maryland
The Bester community in Hagerstown,
Maryland, can be a challenging place for families to raise
children safely, with a high poverty rate, health challenges and a
high rate of children removed from their homes due to abuse or
neglect. In the face of these challenges, San Mar Family &
Community Services began questioning the value of their group
home and foster placement services and whether there was a better
approach to improving the safety of children and their families.
Based on their discussions, San Mar decided to shift their focus
from treatment to prevention. They formed a partnership with Casey
Family Programs to launch a demonstration project for a new
approach to child welfare. Hagerstown is a place where public
and private organizations — nonprofits, philanthropies, government,
businesses and communities — collaborate closely to build a
Community of Hope. They focus on prevention with a place-based
strategy for positive outcomes for children and families located in
the Bester Elementary School neighborhood. The
early outcomes have been promising: Bester
Elementary was identified by Washington
County Public Schools as having the most improved attendance
in Washington County, and the
Maryland Center for Character Education at Stevenson University awarded Bester Elementary
the 2017-2018 School of the Year award.
Casey Excellence for Children Family and Alumni
Awards
Alumni Award
Brittney
Barros
Canton,
Michigan
Drawing on her own experience as a child in foster care,
Brittney Barros' advocacy and work
have had a lasting impact on homeless youth, children in
foster care and the systems that support them. As a
peer outreach worker for Ozone House, Ms. Barros recruited more
than 2,000 youth to emergency shelters, therapy and life skills
groups. She also interned for Sen. Gary
Peters, where she worked on child welfare issues and
briefed Congress and the White House on sibling separation. In
May 2018, Ms. Barros provided
personal testimony at the Casey Family Programs Family First
Prevention Services Act press briefing in Washington, D.C. In addition, as a peer
leader with the Michigan Youth Opportunity Initiative, Ms.
Barros trains other youth in life skills to better prepare
them for adulthood. Her long-term goals include becoming a foster
care worker and parent as well as running for Congress.
View video story here: https://youtu.be/L1b78KcUEC4
Foster and Adoptive Parent Advocate Award
Stephanie
Benally
Salt Lake City,
Utah
Many Native American children who live on reservations in rural
areas of Utah are unable to stay
in their communities due to lack of foster homes, but Stephanie Benally is committed to changing that.
Ms. Benally serves as the Native American Specialist for Utah
Foster Care and works to
educate state child welfare workers, judges, attorneys and
guardians ad litem on the importance of placing Native American
children in kinship placements to ensure they have a connection to
their families and culture. This is in keeping with the Indian
Child Welfare Act (ICWA). She was also a stakeholder on the
Utah recruitment team's Casey
National ICWA Placement Recruitment & Retention Project, where
she led the development of Utah's
first statewide Native American foster care recruitment plan. With
the assistance of her extended family, Ms. Benally and her husband
have taught their children the Navajo language, their cultural
value systems and traditional Navajo ways.
View video story here: https://youtu.be/Q9XknEMAcE8
Kinship Caregiver Award
Jan Wagner
Ludington, Michigan
When Jan Wagner unexpectedly became the primary
caregiver for her grandson, she worked with his school to
secure training for school professionals on the impact of trauma on
children and how to provide trauma-informed care. She has
facilitated a kinship caregiver support group for more than five
years and is the chair of the Michigan Kinship Coalition. In
2014, she was awarded the National Foster Parent Association's
Advocate of the Year Award, and she is a member
of Generations United's Grandfamilies Advocacy
Network Demonstration, which informs policies and practices
affecting grandfamilies. She has also participated in
numerous Casey Family Programs events, including
the Family First Prevention Services Act
press briefing in May 2018. Ms. Wagner's goal in her
advocacy is to reduce the confusion and stress placed on kinship
families, and she believes that if kinship caregivers are given the
help and resources they need, they can provide their children with
the future they deserve.
View video story here: https://youtu.be/xUbJFiaPshc
Birth Parent Awards
Jeremiah
Donier
Freeland,
Washington
Jeremiah Donier is a nationally recognized expert in father
engagement and a dedicated advocate for strengthening families to
prevent child maltreatment. He has provided leadership on numerous
child welfare education and advocacy efforts, including the
Developing Advocacy for Dads Coalition, the Birth Parent National
Network Parent Council, and Casey Family Programs' Birth
Parent Advisory Committee and Birth and Foster Parent Partnership.
In 2012, he and his wife were named the first reunification heroes
by the American Bar Association Center on Children and the
Law. Shortly after becoming a dad, Mr. Donier struggled with
mental health challenges and abuse allegations. He became involved
with child welfare and his child was placed in foster care. For the
next 18 months, he and his family participated in wraparound and
therapy services, and through hard work and effort, his family was
able to successfully reunite.
View video story here:
https://youtu.be/u12PqYIoPNA
Raven
Sigure
Abbeville,
Louisiana
Raven Sigure is a passionate parent advocate and new member
of Casey's Birth Parent Advisory Committee. A mother of five, her
children were removed and placed in kinship care due to substance
abuse issues and difficulty parenting. Ms. Sigure made the
difficult decision to enter an inpatient treatment program, and
eventually she was able to reunify with her children. She now works
as a parent partner with Louisiana Department of Children and
Family Services, providing support to parents in the system. In
May 2018, she was a powerful
messenger at Casey Family Programs' Family First Prevention
Services Act press briefing in Washington, D.C., sharing her compelling
story and her hopes for positive reform due to Family First. Today,
she frequently speaks with policymakers on Capitol Hill and is a
nationally recognized parent advocate who is dedicated to
strengthening families to prevent child maltreatment.
View video story here:
https://youtu.be/XRarvOUDC4s
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2019-awards-announced-for-individuals-and-communities-dedicated-to-improving-the-lives-of-children-and-families-300779720.html
SOURCE Casey Family Programs