April 2010 Caseworker of the Month
Stephanie Bullis
Greenville, South Carolina
Stephanie Bullis, an adoption supervisor with the South Carolina Department of Social Services, is our April Caseworker of the Month. Her tireless dedication to a sibling group of four has given them opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise had.
Chris and Alaina Haerbig of Maryland, who nominated Bullis for the award, have followed the journey of these siblings over the course of the last five years.
“Through the many roller coasters of their complex cases, Stephanie never forgot that these children were individuals with strong feelings and opinions. They weren't just files on her desk,” the Haerbigs said.
It was in 2005 after the adoption of their oldest daughter, who they found on AdoptUsKids, that the Haerbigs became acquainted with the sibling group’s case. At that time, there were only three sisters in the sibling group and the Haerbigs were hoping to adopt them all.
A year and three caseworkers later, Bullis was assigned to the girls’ case along with their little brother who had just entered foster care.
“As a worker, you spend a lot of time with the children on your caseload,” Bullis said. “In this case the children were separated in foster care. So, I spent a lot of time getting to know each of their personalities and what issues they were dealing with to know what family would be the right fit.”
In going through the inquiries and homestudies previous caseworkers gathered for the sibling group, Bullis came across the Haerbigs. She set up a meeting for the parties to meet.
“We were two weeks away from going down to South Carolina to meet the kids, and then we got word from Stephanie that the adoption was on hold until the oldest and youngest were therapeutically ready for adoption,” the Haerbigs said.
By being attentive to the individual needs of the children, Bullis could tell the oldest, who was having problems wanting to run away, and the youngest, who was still in the early stages of processing the separation from his birth family, were not ready for placement.
“I guess, really, I was just the communicator. In our office it’s important that we’re always honest with the families. I would keep them in the loop of what was going on with the children and being honest about what the kids were going through,” Bullis said.
In 2008, a year after the meeting with the Haerbigs was cancelled, Bullis decided it was in the best interest of the middle two siblings to pursue a placement. Two visits were held with the Haerbigs and the girls were placed in their home five months later.
“One of the hardest things to do is split up a sibling group. I think what makes a difference is when you’ve spent a great deal of time with your children and you don’t see them as a case. Then you can put into perspective you’re doing things for the children and what’s in their best interest,” Bullis said.
A year after the placement, the older of the two sisters had still not adjusted to the idea of adoption. So, Stephanie flew to Maryland to get her. The option was given to her sister, Elizabeth, to go with her, but she chose to stay with the Haerbigs.
“The post-placement support was as present as the pre-placement support,” the Haerbigs said. “During this process Stephanie has been as present for us as she has for my kids.”
Today the Haerbigs have finalized their adoption of Elizabeth, and a second adoption with a different family in Pennsylvania was finalized for her younger brother. Despite this case being Bullis’s final one before being promoted from adoption specialist to supervisor, she remains committed to helping the two siblings who haven’t been adopted.
“You can’t change everything that you see needs to be changed, but if you can change the life of one child it’s work that’s important. That’s why we do what we do. It’s for the kids,” Bullis said.
The nomination letter
We would like to nominate Stephanie Bullis, the Region I Adoptions worker in South Carolina who took over the case of my daughter and her siblings in 2005. We just finalized in December of 2009. Another sibling from this group finalized in October 2009, and we're still hoping things will work out positively for two other not-yet adopted siblings. Through the many roller coasters of their complex cases, Stephanie kept all of the many parties fully informed. She never forgot that these children were individuals with strong feelings and opinions. They weren't files on her desk. Please let us know what we can do to complete an official nomination form or whatever needs to be done to earn Stephanie the recognition she deserves.
Chad and Alaina Haerbig
Maryland
Media who would like to interview Bullis, contact us at info@adoptuskids.org or 888-200-4005.
