Experience

Our Community Our Kids

• United States
• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Permanency Specialist

  • Nov 2021 - Present

  Receives cases from investigators after children from their homes are placed in CPS conservatorship and placed in care outside their home. • Determines each child’s needs and ensures that appropriate referral for testing, evaluations, records, or further assessments are made. • Ensures all services are focused on achieving positive permanency. • Identifying potential permanency resources for the child through ongoing contact with parents, family members, and other individuals the child and family identify as important to them. Meets with the parents to assess risk and safety issues, identify behavior changes necessary to achieve child safety, referring parents to appropriate services to address the identified needs to move towards positive permanency. • Discusses with parents their progress towards making changes to behaviors that pose dangers to their child(ren). • Collaborates with a Placement Team, including Kinship staff, for placements, as needed. • Participates in meetings and conferences at times and places convenient for the family members, as well as everyone involved with the case. • Visits child(ren) monthly to assess the child’s feeling of safety in their current home to plan for permanency, and to discuss their needs, wishes, and progress while in care. • Keeps the child’s parents, caregivers, court-appointed attorney and guardian ad litem(s) informed about the child’s circumstances and significant events. • Works with the department’s attorney to prepare for contested-court hearings and trials. • Works with kinship caregivers and foster parents to ensure that they have what they need to care for the child or youth placed with them. ie; keeping them informed about developments of case, returning phone calls, and in some areas of the state being available 24/7 at certain times. • Supervises adoptive placements until the adoption is final. • Documents case records by completing forms, narratives, and reports to form a written record for each client. Show less



Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• United States
• Individual and Family Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Conservatorship Worker IV

  • May 2016 - Nov 2021

  Obtained information and investigated reports of alleged abuse or neglect and emergency situations and took corrective action. • Assessed children’s needs for degree and priority of services and develops service plans. • Advised, counseled, and interviewed children, parents, caregivers, family members, and others to gather social, functional, and physical and mental health information for evaluation. • Advised and counseled parents and children during stressful situations. • Assessed child’s safety, to plan for permanency, and to discuss needs, wishes, and progress while in care. • Removed children in dangerous situations from homes and admits children to emergency shelters until foster homes are found. • Arranged for educational, medical, and psychiatric examinations or treatments. • Studied, recruited, and recommended foster families to provide care for abused or neglected children. • Monitored foster homes and children to ensure that the children’s needs are met. • Conducted home studies of families wishing to adopt children and coordinated visits between children and prospective parents prior to adoption. • Prepared adoption readiness studies and conducts adoption social studies. • Prepared and maintained case documentation. • Supervised adoptive placements until the adoption is final. • Testified in court. • Assisted with investigating reports alleging illegal child care and/or standards violations in licensed and registered child care facilities, and documents findings. • May prepare statistical and special reports for management. • May participate in community awareness activities. • Performs related work as assigned. Show less



OPERATION ADVANTAGE INC

• United States
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Compliance Manager

  • May 2015 - May 2016

  Develop and implement company policies and regulations. Oversee all business operations relating to compliance including policies, investments, and procedures. Design and monitor control systems to deal with violations of legal rules and internal policies. Regularly assess the efficiency of control systems and recommend effective improvements. Review and evaluate company procedures and reports to identify hidden risks or common issues. Coordinate with different department managers to review all departmental compliance policies. Perform periodic audits on company procedures and processes. Lead employee training sessions on legal and compliance issues. Supervise compliance officers and team. Show less



Lee County Autism Resource & Advocacy

• United States
• Civic and Social Organizations

• Vice-President

  • Mar 2013 - Apr 2015

  Systematically cultivated and maintained long-term, collaborative relationship with key stakeholders and with selected organizations to achieve mutual goals. Kept up to date on issues affecting the voluntary sector and develops strategies to address the issues. Guided and counselled groups and individuals through the development of personal, social, educational enrichment. Brand development utilizing web site traffic growth. Maintained social media sites & construct holiday graphic design. Actively sought out opportunities for investment, revenue generation and strategic partnership. Acted as a representative and ambassador to the local community and statewide to promote positive relationships and strong partnerships for the benefit of the organization. Facilitated the development, maintenance and monitoring of organizational plans. Responsible for preparing the organization for ongoing change. Ensured clarity, understanding and commitment from all stakeholders. Responsible for the development and management of the annual operating and capital budgets.  Responsible for the identification of new business development opportunities. Directed aspects of effective financial management and reporting, information technology, research, gift processing. Responsible for fundraising specifically through strategic and operational planning guidance and by ensuring that required infrastructure and support services are in place. Show less



The Achievement Center - Easter Seals

• Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor-(Practicum, Internship)

  • Aug 2012 - Jun 2013

  Interviewed individuals referred for vocational rehabilitation services. Collaborated with clients family to implement rehabilitation plans that include behavioral, residential, social, and/or employment goals. Reviewed and assessed medical, psychological, neuropsychological, legal, educational and social information concerning clients who have been referred for vocational evaluation; determines need for additional diagnostic information. Analyzed information received from referring source, client and case history. Administered vocational aptitude and interest tests; interpret tests to clients. Evaluated work skills and capacities; assist clients in identifying vocational problems and formulating vocational plans. Conferred with clients to discuss their options and goals so that rehabilitation programs and plans for accessing needed services can be developed. Prepared vocational evaluation reports detailing test results and their implications, job sample evaluation, summary of observations, work ethics and attitudes, physical capabilities, clients expressed and displayed vocational interest. Located barriers to client employment, such as inaccessible work sites, inflexible schedules, and transportation problems, and work with clients to develop strategies for overcoming these barriers. Prepared and maintained records and case files, including documentation such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services provided, narratives of client contacts, and relevant correspondence. Show less



Opelika City Schools

• United States
• Primary and Secondary Education
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Substitute Teacher

  • Jan 2008 - Jan 2013

  Adhering to the curriculum and lesson plans assigned by the regular teacher. Following procedures and achieving lesson goals. Assigning and explaining homework. Overseeing students outside of the classroom, including in the hallways and cafeteria. Complying with all school regulations and policies at all times. Taking attendance and documenting daily notes. Ensuring the classroom and work stations are kept clean and orderly. Overseeing the normal classroom rhythms and activities. Compiling a report for the teacher for when they return. Show less



Opelika/Auburn News – Opelika, Alabama

• Interactive Account Executive

  • May 2007 - Aug 2008

  Researched prospect and establish leads for corporate relationships followed by an introductory needs analysis/discovery meeting while utilizing a consultative sales approach. Prepared and presented proposals to corporate decision makers, build interactive components for all renewal and new business proposals, build interactive presentations that outline features, benefits and unique selling points of interactive properties. Worked with web manager and other interactive staff to create saleable programs and features. Developed procedures with respect to booking, execution and tracking of interactive campaigns. Trained staff with respect to interactive products. Worked with web manager and other interactive staff to create saleable programs and features. Generated a pre-determined level of new business revenue for HotJobs on Yahoo.com with special attention to net revenues. Worked closely with the corporate partnership sales team to achieve departmental goals. Worked closely with corporate partnership coordinators to ensure contractual fulfillment with an emphasis towards maximizing cross promotional opportunities. Prepared weekly sales reports, activities and revenue reports. Maintained current knowledge of interactive products and industry trends. Worked closely with other departments within the organization on corporate partner related programs including, community relations, public relations, marketing, and facility operations. Show less



Verizon Telecommunications

• Business Analyst

  • Sep 2000 - Apr 2006

  Served as a liaison between telecom end user(s) and field technician(s) through the translation of local service request to ensure service order accuracy. Worked with end users, technicians, engineers and management regarding system errors, fixes and upgrades. • Analyzed proposed local service request for errors and omissions pursuant to FCC regulations. Implemented accountable strategies to ensure consistent quality compliance with PUC/FCC guidelines, resulting in a 97% compliance rate Created tables selecting, updating and adding data using SQL queries for system and user errors. • Saved the company $150k per month by correcting errors and testing for complex orders. • Reduced FCC fines/fees by $200k per month by implementing high priority strategies to eliminate redundancies in the system order process. Routinely served as Project Team Leader to oversee and direct workflow and activity management for team members and reporting escalating issues as needed. • Gathered and analyzed various data in support of system upgrades and personnel training Implemented and manage Service Level Agreement performance metrics. Interacted and worked with system developers during the development phase to ensure that business and functional specifications are being accurately implemented. Performed risk analysis of existing system and evaluated benefits of a new system Defined data requirements, data flows, business processes and data interdependence for the proposed application. Participated in system conversions, implementations and upgrades utilizing standard system analysis techniques. Developed process flow charts and proposals to present and secure user buy-in to the proposed solution. Defined the scope and metrics using Visio Performed development testing and User Acceptance testing. Prioritized problems as they occur and work with end users to discern system defects and/or upgrades to complex orders. Show less



Tricare Healthcare

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care

• Project Manager

  • Jan 1998 - Sep 2000

  Recruited, selected, oriented, trained, assigned, scheduled, coached, counseled, and disciplined employees. Communicated job expectations; planning, monitoring, appraising, and reviewing job contributions. Planned and reviewed compensation actions; enforcing policies and procedures. Updated job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities. Achieved operational objectives by contributing information and recommendations to strategic plans and reviews; preparing and completing action plans; implementing production, productivity, quality, and customer-service standards; resolving problems; completing audits; identifying trends; determining system improvements; implementing change. Show less