“Successful parents are not the ones who never struggled. They are the ones who never give up despite the struggles.” Sharon Jaynes
Being new to KidsPeace as a Family Resource Specialist I thought it would be wise to understand the other departments here and what my colleagues do for KidsPeace – how do we all work together to give Hope, Help and Healing to children?
Recently I have been learning about the Targeted Case Managers here. These case managers wear many hats – they are educators, networkers, advocates and coordinators of services. But their most important role is giving families the support they need to achieve family goals and build a team surrounding the child to help them grow and thrive.
Let’s start with education. Sometimes that is as simple as making sure caregivers understand their child’s diagnosis and how to get those needs met for the child’s safety and growth; also, educating parents on how to gain access to the services and providers their child may need.
Networking is truly just connecting with providers in the community to access medical care, as well as mental health professionals or services to acquire help with food or other needs a child may have.
With networking comes the role of coordinators of services. This is navigation of the providers that may help with the goals and needs of a particular family or child. We always need to remember that for some families, asking for help can make them feel vulnerable or feel like they are failing. Having someone help them with this process may ease those feelings and help them feel empowered to know they are fulfilling the needs of their child.
Being an advocate is probably the most important role. The case managers are often a voice for a child who struggles to communicate their own needs, giving the child validation for their feelings and letting them know the case managers are a safe person for them to share those feelings with. The case manager then can act as a bridge between the child and the caregiver to help the family overcome barriers. They can also be an advocate to medical professionals, school professionals and mental health professionals, to obtain the services the child and family needs.
All of these start with a referral from either a medical professional, mental health professional or school professional, who work with the child and feel that services may be needed to meet the needs of a child and their family beyond what they are currently providing.
The case manager will get to know the child and the family, in order to put together a service plan to help the family achieve goals for a healthy, safe home. Making sure everyone’s physical and emotional needs are met empowers the family to achieve independence. The case managers will make sure the family understands the plan; they will also follow up and check in with the child and family to monitor progress and growth. They will coordinate necessary services for these plans, while constantly advocating for the child’s needs.
During the conversations I had with my colleagues, I realized that they all seem to enjoy the work they do. It is a tough job of course, but can be so rewarding every time a child or a family gains some independence or is making progress towards goals they set as a family. In conclusion, it seems we all have the same goals here at KidsPeace: to give a child a chance!
I will end with a favorite quote by Lady Bird Johnson, because I believe this to be so true: “Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.”
