September, 2023 | Issue 3

WELCOME

September not only signals the beginning of fall but also a time for honoring the work of dedicated and selfless child welfare professionals across our system of care.

As our agency continues its mission to build a system of care that protects children, supports families, and engages communities, it is through collaborative work with our contracted agencies and community partners that we continue to outpace state performance in many areas.

September 11-15^th was Child Welfare Appreciation Week, which provided an opportunity to celebrate staff achievements. We recognize that making a difference in the community can only be fulfilled through the work of our dedicated team members. We cannot thank our staff enough for their tireless work and commitment to the families they serve. Your commitment to innovation, grit, and determination is what makes our system of care continue to shine despite setbacks and obstacles. 

September is National Kinship Care Awareness Month, which recognizes and celebrates those who provide care for their extended family and non-related members. Whether informally or formally arranged, it is essential to support the considerable contributions of kinship/fictive kin caregivers. Our kinship programs seek to empower and support relative and non-relative caregivers as they navigate caregiving. From support groups to applying for assistance, along with navigating the education and daily needs of children within their care, the kinship program provides essential support for hundreds of caregivers across our circuit.

We look forward to celebrating our incredible system of care in Circuit 5 at our CARE Awards, which will be held on October 13^th at Circle Square Commons in Ocala. Don’t forget to RSVP!

Shalonda McHenry-Sims

– COO, Kids Central, Inc.

This is a reminder that personal holidays must be taken by December 31 of each year, or the hours will be lost. One personal holiday will be given at the beginning of every new year. Please make sure PTO/PH are being approved along with timecards, and check that all timecards are accurate before submitting.

The Citrus County Foster Parent Association is holding their charity golf tournament on Saturday, October 28th. Kids Central is one of the event sponsors and is entering a pair of foursomes in the tournament. If you would like to play on one of our teams, please email Paula Mealy (paula.mealy@kidscentralinc.org) and ask her to add your name to the list. The tournament is at the Inverness Golf & Country Club. Check-in starts at 7am and play begins at 8am. A grab & go breakfast and a buffet lunch are included.

National Kinship Care Month

September is National Kinship Care Month, which recognizes relatives, extended family, and those who nurture and provide round-the-clock care to the younger members of a family.

Join us as we celebrate kinship caregivers, kinship staff, and all those who help make the transition into kinship care just a little bit easier. Their service to children changes lives for the better every day!

Child Welfare Worker Appreciation Week

September 11th - 15th was Child Welfare Worker Appreciation Week. During this week, we celebrated all the diverse professionals who help to ensure that children and families within the child welfare system receive the care and services they deserve.

A huge THANK YOU to Piesanos for the delicious lunch that capped off an amazing Child Welfare Worker Appreciation week!

It takes a whole community to ensure the safety and security of children and families at risk, and we could not do it without our dedicated and inspirational staff or committed community partners.

KCI Service Awards & Jersey Day

KCI staff from both the Wildwood and Ocala offices enjoyed donuts, coffee, and good company at the Quarterly Service Awards Meeting. Offices were able to join each other via Zoom to honor and recognize all employees who have been with Kids Central for one year up to 10 years. We also celebrated the kickoff of football season by encouraging KCI staff to wear their favorite team jersey or shirt.

Our dedicated employees are truly the heart of Kids Central!

Feeding the Fearless

The KCI Community Affairs Department was honored to be able to deliver lunch to the Dunnellon Fire Station in celebration of Feeding the Fearless 2023. Feeding the Fearless celebrates first responders and all they do to protect and serve.

Thank you to our first responders for being the first to show up on the scene for our families in crisis.

This section is a place for leadership to give kudos to team members for some of the great work that they’ve done!

Social Worker of the Year Award

Congratulations to Kids Central Children’s Mental Health Specialist Brittney Jenkins on being awarded Social Worker of the Year through the National Association of Social Workers! Brittney was awarded for outstanding contributions to the social work profession and the community.

Family Preservation Department

(Acknowledgment provided by Sr. Director of Family Preservation, Courtney Barnett)

Embrace Families Foundation recently announced that they had selected Kids Central to negotiate an award in response to their RFP #23 – Capacity Expansion. This initiative seeks to increase the number of available, licensed placement options for high-need youth in Florida. Kids Central was one of seven entities selected to receive awards totaling $1,255,000 to improve and stabilize placements for children in foster care.

The Family Preservation Department wishes to honor Elizabeth Vryhof and Aimee Gandy, who worked tirelessly to craft Kids Central’s proposal for the Embrace Families Foundation. Through their efforts, Kids Central received the highest-graded proposal out of all the applicants. This award allows us to create new jobs, and it gives us the ability to better support our foster families and the children in their care. The Family Preservation Team is eager to begin implementing our new programming that continues to protect children, support families, and engage our communities.

Elizabeth Vryhof

Dedicated employees like Elizabeth and Aimee are a huge part of what makes Kids Central a truly exceptional lead agency. Please join us in thanking them for their exemplary work!

*If you read this, email the word Dedicated to Jessica Gilbert at Jessica.Gilbert@kidscentralinc.org. Congratulations to our last gift card winner, Tabitha Bowman!

Aimee Gandy

Family Preservation Department

(Acknowledgment provided by Family Preservation Data Specialist Sheila Cyr)

Thank You Letters

to Facilitators

Jessica Gagne &

Lee Deutscher

Lee Deutscher

Jessica Gagne

Finance Department

(Acknowledgment provided by Adam Whitton, Assistant Finance Director and Shelly LaFrance, Senior Finance Director)

Samantha Payne

Michelle Flynn

Tabitha Bowman

Closing our books and settling accounts with DCF is a long and complicated process. The funding from our DCF contract is comprised of dozens of federal and state grants. The year-end balances for each grant must be fully reconciled before Kids Central can begin drawing funds for the next fiscal year.

We would like to thank Samantha Payne, Michelle Flynn, and Tabitha Bowman for the tremendous work they performed, which helped make the year-end process go much smoother this year. We are blessed to have these talented and dedicated accountants on our finance team!

(Acknowledgement provided by Senior Director of Case Management Services, Penny Beehler)

Karmen Pearson

Yvette Anderson

This honorary award will be given twice per month. The award is for any staff member in the Ocala office who demonstrates excellent teamwork, impeccable work, a drama-free attitude, trauma-informed care, and overall good vibes! This month’s honorees are Karmen Pearson and Yvette Anderson.

August Hires

Abigail Seidel

Independent Living Navigator

Miraida Mendoza

Family Care Manager

Andrea Brush

Multi-Disciplinary Staffing Coordinator

Bethany Niverson

Records Specialist

Vashtie Rampersad

Records Specialist

September Hires

Justice Thorn

Records Specialist

Natasha Andriese

Contract Manager

Kristin Clements

Utilization Management Specialist

August Anniversaries

• 19 years — Valerie Barrineau
• 18 years — Ellen Curtis
• 11 years — John Cooper
• 10 years — Jessica Weiss, Dawn Phillips
• 9 years — Radhika Kumar
• 8 years — Deborah Winters, Courtney Cosper, Milagros Quinones, Courtney Barnett, Sai Ann Ensell Lowe, Nancy Rodrigues
• 6 years — Christina Barker
• 5 years — Maritza Garcia, Marilyn Allen
• 4 years — Teresa Whitmer, Michael Kirkland Jr.
• 3 years — Leslie Hosmer
• 2 years — Trang Williams, Ariana Rodriguez, Heather Tolbert, Heather Baker
• 1 year — Kristin Flanagan, Ashley Cooper, Tiffany Littell, Tracy Addison, Claudette Miller, Kathy Moline

September Anniversaries

• 4 years – Constance Blancher, John Thomas
• 3 years – Cailin Moser, Stephanie Castro
• 2 years – Aida Troche, Shareika Morgan
• 1 year – Christeen Wingate, Sheila Ortiz, Camille Haynes, Brittany Baldwin, Tanya Kozak, Jessica Scicchitano

System of Care Statistics: July 2023 - August 2023

53

Children

Reunified

3

Foster Homes Licensed

9

Finalized Adoptions

Please send any submissions that you would like featured in our next employee newsletter to communications@kidscentralinc.org.

Kids Central, Inc. is a community-based care lead agency contracted with the Department of Children and Families.