Articles Tagged award, page 1

• Permanency Pro Strikes a Chord of Kindness, Humor and Skill

  David has spent most of his career working in the permanency unit and is one of the most genuine, thorough, and kind people one could have the privilege to know. To say David is beloved by colleagues and clients is no exaggeration. His heartfelt, skilled interventions have helped countless children secure permanency through reunification, adoption, or custodianship. 

  Posted on August 26th, 2024

• Spotlight on Deb Seeger, Independent Living Professional Award Recipient

  Deb Seeger’s love of interacting with people and passion for helping teens led to her current position of Independent Living Coordinator at Chester County Department of Children, Youth & Families. Deb will be celebrating her 10-year anniversary this year and  attributes her longevity in the field  to multiple factors: a position that allows for a healthy work-life balance, the feeling of being valued and respected within her agency and being surrounded by “a lot of really good people,” her co-workers at the county.  Deb, in turn, expects everyone to care about the youth with whom their agency works. 

  Posted on March 1st, 2024

• Celebrating Families and Commitments to Connection

  Having just wrapped up the holiday season, we are reminded it is a time for families to come together in celebration and connection. As a permanency network, we know that families come in all shapes and sizes and are built in an infinite number of ways. At last summer’s annual Pennsylvania Permanency Conference, we celebrated three families, each of which had a unique kinship or birth family connection..

  Posted on January 10th, 2024

• It Takes a Village…or One Collaborative Team

  United in its vision for permanency, a seven-person team was honored for its collaborative efforts in helping provide stability to a child in foster care at the June 2023 Annual Pennsylvania Permanency Conference. 

  Posted on December 13th, 2023

• Fostering a Family Engagement Philosophy

  Dubbed “one of the most amazing families,” Anthony and Jessica Johnston are setting the gold standard for what it means to be a foster and adoptive family. The couple was awarded a Permanent Family Recognition award at the 2023 Pennsylvania Permanency Conference for their outstanding record in providing quality care to children and families. 

  Posted on November 6th, 2023

• June Events Celebrate Dedication, Gird Continued Work

  The network gathered in Northeast Pennsylvania for two back-to-back events in June—the SWAN/IL Summer Statewide Meeting (SSW) and the 31st Pennsylvania Permanency Conference—where celebrations and affirmations took center stage. Reading’s own, Dr. Veirdra Jackson, kicked off the week with her SSW keynote, which spoke to every person’s want and need to belong.

  Posted on August 7th, 2023

• Speaking through Advocacy and Impact: Recognizing Michelle

  Michelle Matthews doesn’t really like to talk about herself; however, her work and impact as the social work supervisor in foster care for Bethany Christian Services of Western PA tells her story for her. Michelle is a champion for both resource families and first families.

  Posted on April 4th, 2023

• PRT Success Celebrated in South Central PA

  Permanency Round Table meetings are characterized by an urgent and relentless pursuit of legal permanency with the focus of helping youth find a permanent home. Permanency stakeholders combine optimism, strengths–based solutions and a fresh open-minded approach to help youth in out-of-home care secure legal permanency.

  Posted on December 8th, 2022

• Needle in a Haystack: Finding the Right Family

  Older Child Matching Initiative (OCMI) recruiter Mandy Somerville likes to refer to the Barnes/Axon family as the “needle.” In her position, she is assigned youth who need permanency but are especially hard to match with families due to mental or physical health issues, length of time in foster care, the youth giving up hope, or a combination of challenges. Mandy related that finding the right family for a child can be like “finding a needle in a haystack.” When it happens, it is special.

  Posted on December 8th, 2022

• National Adoption Month: Small Steps Lead to Great Outcomes

  For 38 years, November has been recognized as National Adoption Month—a time to increase awareness of adoption issues, bring attention to the need for adoptive families for teens in the foster care system, and recognize the value of engaging youth. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf also issued a proclamation recognizing November as Adoption Awareness Month in the Commonwealth.

  Posted on November 4th, 2022

• The Art of Selflessness

  We’ve all heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” For Pennsylvania’s children and youth in foster care, these words take on greater significance when it comes to finding permanency. Every day, these children and youth are navigating trauma, a multitude of changes, uncertainty, education, relationships, and much more. Simultaneously, dedicated permanency workers are writing strengths-based narratives for them, collaborating with counties on information sharing processes, and employing a variety of recruitment strategies to match them with permanent families.

  Posted on September 26th, 2022

• Youth Advocate Award Winner Raises the Bar

  Julia Mueller is a “wonder woman in the making,” according to her nominee, Shayla Jones. The recipient of the 2022 Youth Advocate Recognition award, Julia is a glowing example of a young woman turning lemons into lemonade. As an alumnus of the foster care system, Julia’s firsthand experiences in care, combined with her persistent and focused temperament, have given her an influential voice on the Pennsylvania Youth Advisory Board.

  Posted on September 26th, 2022

• Professionals Honored with Teamwork Award Exemplify Perseverance, Support and Unity

  Standing on stage in a packed banquet hall at the 2022 Pennsylvania Permanency Conference’s recognition banquet, six child welfare professionals received this year’s Permanency Teamwork Award. The individuals honored were Tiffany Wettstein, Christine Walter, Megan Maier, Charlotte Kiker and Julia Sullender. These individuals represent a collective powerhouse, exemplifying a collaborative team who promoted permanency for a remarkable 20-year-old named Prince.

  Posted on August 30th, 2022

• SWAN Celebrates 30th Anniversary at June Events

  There’s a saying, “When we’re together, everything falls into place.” This could easily define the 2022 SWAN/IL Summer Statewide Meeting (SSW) and Pennsylvania Permanency Conference, which were held in person for the first time since 2019. 

  Posted on August 8th, 2022

• Meet Rachel Kuhr: Permanency Scholar, Mentor and Advocate

  As we look forward to this summer’s Pennsylvania Permanency Conference, we invite you to get to know 2021’s Permanency Professional Award recipient, Rachel Kuhr. If you’ve ever been to a SWAN conference, statewide meeting, or central region quarterly meeting, you know Rachel. If she’s not sharing her knowledge as a presenter, she is listening intently – usually while crocheting – and asking all the right questions to achieve clarity and improve service delivery for children in out-of-home care.

  Posted on March 28th, 2022

• Permanency Team Honored for their Dedication to a Special Three-Year-Old Boy

  Three-year-old Angel has had a unique journey to permanency. Medical needs, distant placements, and a global pandemic created some challenges for his team to solve. However, Heather Miller, Christina Cross, and Barbara Black were up to the task. These women worked tirelessly, along with the support of numerous other team members, to help Angel find his home—a place where he could have his first birthday and Christmas celebrations in a true family setting. They ...

  Posted on January 14th, 2022

• Meet the Marshalls: Playing for Keeps

  When it comes to caring for older youth, Dana and Bill Marshall “play for keeps.” Whether permanency comes in the form of formal adoption or custody through a more informal arrangement, the Marshalls consider every youth who has entered their home to be family. Older Child Matching Initiative (OCMI) Recruiter, Marian Kolcum, witnessed their love and dedication first-hand through the family’s adoption experience with their son, Dean. Marian nominated the family ...

  Posted on January 13th, 2022

• Giving Back, Former Recipient Style

  When you hear that someone has been involved with fundraising for a foster care agency for the past six years, you may think they are a former foster youth who is now in a position to give back to those who helped them in the past. Well, Cayden Roth, who was honored with SWAN’s 2021 Youth Advocate award, is a former foster youth, but this young man ...

  Posted on November 3rd, 2021

• The Langsdorfs: A Family Formed by Fate

  One summer morning at the Renzie Park Farmers Market in McKeesport, Heather and David Langsdorf noticed an information booth for Auberle, a faith-based social services agency that was recruiting foster parents. Heather always wanted to be a foster parent, so they immediately went over to the booth to learn more. Without hesitating, Heather and David decided to apply to be foster parents and were certified in Fall 2018. They ...

  Posted on November 3rd, 2021

• A Dream Come True

  Adoptee Dalton Bacco’s dream to provide children in foster care with opportunities to spend valuable time with caring individuals was brought to life by his parents, Frank and Kerri Bacco. The Baccos founded the Living the Dream Fund after Dalton’s sudden and tragic passing in 2017 as a way to honor Dalton’s life and carry on his spirit of generosity. The Fund was recently recognized with ...

  Posted on August 16th, 2021