November 12, 2007
ADOPTUSKIDS TO HONOR CASEWORKERS FOR THEIR DEDICATION TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
AdoptUsKids announced today that Ms. Flora Helman of Nuevo Amanecer Latino Children’s Services in Los Angeles, CA is the first winner of their Caseworker of the Month. This is part of a new national initiative celebrating caseworkers for their dedication to children and families nationwide. Prior to the seven years she has spent at Nuevo Amanecer as a therapeutic social worker, Ms. Helman worked as a clinical psychologist in Argentina, Brazil and Israel. Ms. Helman is featured on adoptuskids.org and adopte1.org in the words of the foster and adoptive family that nominated her.
Thousands of families across the United States rely on their caseworkers every day to connect them to vital services, offer support and guidance, and ensure the safety, permanency and well-being of children in the foster care system.
Approximately 300,000 children in the United States enter the foster care system each year. Services are provided to families to help reunify children whenever possible, but some children are not able to go back to their birth families. Currently there are 514,000 children in the foster care system; of those, 115,000 are waiting for an adoptive family. Approximately 24,000 children “age out” of the system each year without ever being adopted. About half of the children in foster care are children of color, with older African American boys waiting the longest for adoption.
The Castro-Sanchez family formerly of Los Angeles and now of Spring, Texas nominated their caseworker, Flora Helman. Mrs. Castro-Sanchez noted, “The caseworker and administrators are what make the agency successful. Their dedication and commitment to their families benefit everyone, especially the children. I do not have enough words to express how satisfied I have been with my caseworker for the past four years.”
Mr. and Mrs. Castro-Sanchez are foster and adoptive parents and have adopted four children. In her nomination, Mrs. Castro-Sanchez noted that she and Ms. Helman worked together for four years. During that time they were always able to work as a team and that made a difference in her ability to work with the school and other professionals to meet the needs of the children in her care.
Reflecting on the first recipient of the Caseworker of the Month initiative, AdoptUsKids’ Project Director, Barbara Holtan said, “As a social worker myself, I am delighted that we can offer this recognition to Ms. Helman. Adoption and foster care workers rarely receive the acknowledgement that they should receive for the life-changing work that they do on behalf of children and families.”
After being notified of her award, Ms. Helman said, “I would like to take the opportunity to remind all social workers how important the work is that we do in this field. We are the cord which maintains the stability and permanency of these children. We have to continue working with the vision to advocate for children’s rights without losing focus of the important work our foster families are doing.”
The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids
The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids is a multi-faceted, five-year, federally funded project. Its mission is to recruit and connect foster and adoptive families with waiting children throughout the United States. The Collaboration is managed by the Adoption Exchange Association (AEA) based in Baltimore, Maryland, through a cooperative agreement with the Children's Bureau of HHS.
Nuevo Amanecer Latino Children’s Services
Nuevo Amanecer Latino Children’s Services is a bilingual Latino, multicultural, California non–profit Corporation created to provide children and their families with the best quality educational and family-based treatment services while improving the children’s quality of life. Contact: Norma and Jorge Acosta, Executive Directors, (323) 720-9951.