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United for Families names latest Case Manager of the QuarterThe Case Manager of the Quarter for January – March 2007 is Andrew Givans. Congratulations Andrew! We are all very proud of you and grateful for the work you do daily to improve the lives of the children and families we serve. The Employee of the Year will be announced at the Toyota of Stuart Le Bal Masque, to be held at Willoughby Golf Club Oct. 27, 2007. So far we have two wonderful candidates, Andrew and Stacey Howe.
United for Families now is seeking nominations for the next Case Manager of the Quarter. We will announce the winner at our training scheduled for Aug. 30th. The winner will receive a gift basket filled with various items including dinner for two and two tickets to Le Bal Masque, as well as $250. An email with the nomination form was sent to all employees on the United for Families network. The Case Manager of the Year will also receive a gift basket and $1000 -- a prize made possible by Toyota of Stuart.
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UFF Board Members Scott Sade and Robert Stevenson were among the many community members who attended the June 19 Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner.
St. Lucie County Foster Parent Marie Lopez enjoys a glass of wine during the event.
Guest Speaker Jack Levine raffles off a watermelon with the help of George Kent, executive director of Family Preservation Services.
Title 2000 Owner Pat Rylee also attended the event. Ms. Rylee has collected holiday gifts for foster children for nearly five years.
Martin County Foster Parent Tim Krabec "presents" the raffled watermelon to fellow parent Sandra Mills.
UFF Chief Operating Officer Chad Collins and Skip Rees, director of Information Technology, grill burgers during the June 5 Foster Family Appreciation Pool Party.
Children had their pick of pool or splash fountains during the event, held at the Gifford Aquatic Center in Vero Beach.
Violet Smith, UFF administrative assistant, and Lois Wagner, dependency case manager, listen during June 19 in-service training about substance abuse. The training, third in a series of four, was held at Indian Riverside Park in Martin County.
Andrew Givans was named Case Manager of the Quarter for the period of January through March during the event. The next Case Manager of the Quarter will be named Aug. 30 during the summer in-service training.
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United for Families News
- A best-practices model in social work that keeps children out of the foster-care system is coming to St. Lucie County. Family Group Conferencing, which was piloted in Martin County last year, puts families in charge of developing their own case plans. The program has proven in other parts of the country to keep children from re-entering the system once their cases are closed. United for Families eventually will expand the program into all four of its counties.
- United for Families also will expand its Caregiver Support Program into St. Lucie County thanks to a $50,000 grant awarded by the United Way of St. Lucie County. The program creates a support group for kinship caregivers and assigns mentors for foster parents. The program now exists in all four counties served by United for Families.
- The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida also contributed to United for Families last month. The organization awarded $5,000 to the Ounce program, which allows children in out-of-home care to attend dance classes, pay for school events and other extra-curricular activities.
- More than 100 children are attending camp this summer thanks to children's services councils and early learning coalitions throughout the district. United for Families especially thanks Dependency Case Management Resource Specialists Michelle Wagner, Michelle James and Leslie Pfeiffer and Resource Coordinator Lea Ely for working overtime to coordinate the massive effort.
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Caregiver News- United for Families hosted the 2007 Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner and Dance June 19 at Panther Woods Country Club.
Nearly 100 guests attended the event, which featured local child advocate Jack Levine as speaker, a buffet dinner and dancing. Foster parents were sent home with complimentary photographs taken as momentos of the occassion, and Martin County Foster Parent Sandra Mills took home a watermelon raffled during the event by Mr. Levine.
- United for Families welcomed participants in the Relatives As Parents Program to the agency's first kinship celebration.
The event, held June 23 at Kiwanis Park in Stuart, featured hotdogs and hamburgers, face-painting, games and a bounce house. About 20 people attended the event, which program coordinator Mary Steele expects to expand in the coming years.
RAPP, which was piloted in Martin County this year, will be expanded into St. Lucie and Okeechobee counties thanks to grants awarded by the Children's Services Council of Okeechobee and the United Way of St. Lucie County. - The Development Department of United for Families has the following items up for grabs. If you are interested, please call Community Resource Coordinator Lea Ely at 398-2920 Ext. 207:
* 36-inch color television, ideal for a teen-ager
* Clothing in a variety of sizes
* Formal dresses for young ladies
- Also this month, foster parents in Fort Pierce should be able to access clothing and other donations from the St. Lucie County Service Center on 2nd Street, in downtown Fort Pierce. Renovations to the offices are complete, and a new resource room has been added. For more information, call Ms. Ely.
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Community News
- United for Families and Voices of the Treasure Coast will host a Back to School Bash Aug. 11 at Lyngate Park to benefit the United Way of St. Lucie County's School Supplies for Students campaign. School supplies contributed during the event and campaign will benefit children in the foster-care system.
- The next United for Families in-service training is scheduled Aug. 30. Renowned life coach Candace Silvers will lead the training. A registration email will be sent at a later date. For more information about Ms. Silvers, click the link below.
www.candacesilvers.com
- Please join United for Families, the Hometown News and the St. Lucie Mets for an evening of baseball fun at 4 p.m. July 28 at Tradition Stadium. The Hometown News, a longtime supporter of United for Families, is hosting a softball challenge between Space and Treasure Coast Radio and the Hometown News. The event costs $6 and includes entry to the St. Lucie Mets vs. Palm Beach Cardinals game later that evening. Proceeds from the event will benefit United for Families and its programming. Details still are being worked out. For more information, call Leslie Haviland-Smith at 398-2920.
- A community networking fair designed to introduce the community to local resources for youths is scheduled 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 28 at Assembly of God Faith Temple Church in Fort Pierce.
Organizations are invited to set up booths, and children are invited to participate in a youth talent show. Those interested should call Shinequa Reddick at (772) 672-0518.
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