November 2010 Caseworker of the Month
Charlie Laslie
Woodbridge, Virginia
Charlie Laslie, a licensed clinical social worker and unit director for the Woodbridge, Va., office of Braley and Thompson, Inc., a therapeutic foster care agency, is our November Caseworker of the Month. Laslie's patience and interpersonal skills were essential in a 10-year relationship that helped a father through four adoptions and one foster placement.
Reading people
At 17, Tom had no reason to trust an adult, and he was trying to prove it.
At his first follow-up meeting with his new dad, Loren M. Walck, Sr. , and his caseworker Charlie Laslie, the hulking teenager accused Walck of hitting him, not feeding him, and every other accusation in the book he could think of to throw at him.
Tom was large with a deep voice — stocky, offensive lineman big, "a big lug of a kid," as his dad describes him — a kid who had been through a revolving door of foster homes.
"Hard to place," is another term used to describe kids like Tom. It was a critical moment. If things didn't improve, this, maybe his dozenth placement, might just be one more stop before aging out of foster care.
"He was used to getting his way," Walck said. But his way usually entailed proving to himself that adults never meant what they said or followed through on any of their promises.
Laslie gave Walck a wink, pulled out a piece of paper, and asked for details saying if everything Tom said was true, he wouldn’t stay another night.
As Walck remembers it, Tom's face went white. Laslie called his bluff.
"He looked like Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk he was going backward so fast," Laslie said with a laugh, recalling the visit nearly 10 years ago in Walck's home.
Specializing in teenagers requires a lot of patience
Teenagers are Laslie's specialty, maybe because of what Walck cites as his patience and uncanny people-reading skills.
For Laslie, patience is the only way to deal with teenagers.
"Is there another option?" he joked.
"I see it more in the sense of these kids have been in the system for a long time, they don't necessarily like social workers," Laslie said, noting it’s the social worker who takes them away from one home and puts them in another, sometimes for the worse.
"Any time they get a chance to yank your chain, they can, they will, and some of them do," he said.
In Walck’s relationship with Tom, his first adoptive son, it was a turning point.
"He realized, I'm not backing down," Walck said."When Charlie did what he did, I never had a fear Tom was coming out of our home, I knew what Charlie was doing."
On the next home visit, Laslie noticed the difference right away. Tom had settled down and the bonds of trust were taking form.
Now, at age 26, Tom expects a hug and a kiss when he sees his father.
What didn't change, after three more adoptions and now a 17-year-old foster son with autism, was Laslie's presence. He conducted all the home studies, did the follow up visits. It was more than just a business relationship; it was a friendship, one that Walck treasures to this day.
"I've leaned on him before and I still do," said Walck, who nominated Laslie for Case Worker of the Month and described him as being "110 percent for the kids."
Not one for 'fanfare'
As for Laslie’s ability to read people, he downplays it. When asked if those skills transfer over to success at the poker table, he laughed.
"Not necessarily," he said.
Laslie is quick to clear up any notion he should be lauded.
"I'm not Gandhi by any stretch," he said.
He's heard comments from people outside the field ask about whether he’s able to let go of his work at the end of the day, or if it comes home with him.
"Very rarely do I do that," he said. "There's only so much I can do. I can lead you, talk to you, cajole you, but when the day is done, you make the decision."
And ever humble, he makes sure to tack on a caveat.
"There's always the possibility that I'm wrong," he said.
Laslie, 53, came from a military family and moved around as a youngster, his father was in the Navy. They settled in Northern Virginia when he was a teenager, and he's stayed close to home.
At first, when he started in college, he wanted to be a police officer, then a lawyer.
"It just kind of evolved slowly," he said. "There was no 'Ah-ha! moment’ just, 'What else can I do?"
He started working with children and families in 1980, but his dedication to helping came early, volunteering with a service club in high school. He served as a counselor in a group home, as well as other positions in the mental health field.
Laslie has conducted adoption home studies and post placement reports for the Datz Foundation for about 14 years, which is how he first met Walck. For the last 13 years, he's worked for Braley and Thompson where he recruits and trains reliable adults to become foster parents to children whose permanency goals have not yet been switched to adoption.
"While he understands the definition of success is different for each child and family he works to assist, he feels particularly pleased when a child in foster care is actually adopted by the foster parents they have lived with for a while," Walck said.
Laslie, who’s married with an 11-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son, said he was hesitant about the nomination to be Caseworker of the Month and required some prodding to secure his cooperation.
Although quick with a joke, and easy to relate to, Laslie said his desire isn't to draw attention to himself, but to help children and families.
"I feel incredibly honored, but really this isn't why I do these things," he said.
The nomination letter
I would like to take the opportunity to nominate Charlie Laslie of the Datz Foundation in Vienna, Virginia as an outstanding case worker. Charlie has helped me grow my family of four hard to place young men that nobody else wanted or thought possible that they would ever have a chance for a forever family. The kids always come first with Charlie. He is always there for me and the family should anything be needed. As well as being a case worker for the Datz Foundation, Charlie is also unit director for Braley and Thompson, a therapeutic foster care agency. Through the suggestion of my third son about wanting to help out other kids and giving back, I also decided to be a foster parent for Mr. Laslie. His dedication to his job, the kids he serves and the families he trains and works with are commendable. When he says that he will do something, it will get done. As I embark on looking for another addition to my family, I know I will have the support and help of Charlie.
Loren M. Walck, Sr.
Woodbridge, VA
Media who would like to interview Leslie, contact us at info@adoptuskids.org or 888-200-4005.
