Celebrating Wellpoint Care Network Staff During Child Welfare Workforce Development Month
September is Child Welfare Workforce Development Month. This is a time to celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of all who work in the Child and Family Well-being profession.
At Wellpoint Care Network, our Child and Family Well-being (CFWB) services include foster care, child welfare case management, care coordination and our Youth Transitioning to Adulthood (YTA) program. The goal is to bring stability to the lives of young people and their families engaged in or at risk of involvement with the child welfare system and making sure they experience safety and stability, overcome trauma and thrive.
“I know they say it takes a village to raise a child, but it really takes a village to do its work,” said Maria Andrade, Director of Program Operations- CFWB at Wellpoint Care Network. “Everyone should be celebrated, from the case manager to the training team to licensing and more.”
“I think it’s important to always think of all the pieces of the puzzle that contribute to that puzzle being completed. All the different pieces that contribute to a reunification or to helping a child getting their own apartment. There’s case management, there could be Wraparound, there’s administrative staff that are involved, so many different departments play a part in what we do. It’s important to acknowledge that it’s not just the person out in the field seeing the family, it’s many different roles and people that need to be appreciated along the way.”
Though Child Welfare Workforce Development Month is only during September, Wellpoint Care Network implements the framework of Trauma Informed Care all year long.
One of the Seven Essential Ingredients of Trauma Informed Care is Caregiver Capacity. If we’re going to effectively work with traumatized people, we need to take care of ourselves.
“You have to take care of yourself, and you have to learn to be attuned to your own emotions,” added Andrade. “To me, caregiver capacity is also looking out for each other. We spend a lot of time focusing on the families in our care, we’re not always the best at taking care of ourselves. But we’re good at taking care of others, so I try to instill in staff to look out for each other as well.”
We’re always looking for passionate, driven people to join our team. Learn more today.
