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Social Work Breaks Barriers: Part Two

This National Social Work Month, we highlight the stories of several standout social workers at Cornerstones of Care. The 2023 theme, “Social Work Breaks Barriers,” is provided by the National Association of Social Workers. It invites our selected interviewees to explore how they break barriers that prevent people and communities from thriving. In our second lineup, we meet Patricia, David, Ky, and Christina and ask them about their entry into the social work field, how they manage challenging client cases and systemic challenges, and much more.

  

Patricia Odour

Assistant Director of Permanency Services

If anyone knows the ins and outs of the Kansas foster care system like the back of their hand, it’s Patricia Odour.

Patricia spent six years at the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) before coming to Cornerstones of Care. She started as a benefits specialist in Johnson County and then in Wyandotte County as a child protection investigator, inspecting homes for abuse, neglect, and needs for services.

“I feel like my time at DCF really helped me understand what it looks like before kids come into foster care,” said Patricia. “It’s brought me experience on both sides. When someone says, ‘why are they referring these kids?’ I can say why. Bringing over that policy piece has been helpful.”

Patricia joined the Cornerstones of Care team in 2019 as Permanency Manager after her supervisor at DCF transitioned and encouraged her to follow. In 2022, Patricia was promoted to Assistant Director of Permanency Services, and recently, she took over the Director of Adoptions role in Kansas as well.

During each transition, Patricia wasn’t looking for a promotion, but her strong work ethic, performance, and experience opened the right doors.

“I never even thought about changing positions or moving up the ladder because I was comfortable,” said Patricia. “And I was never confident enough in myself.”

For Patricia, the biggest challenge in her career has been finding confidence in her voice and skills.

Still, she acknowledges how far she’s come and sees how her self-awareness and ability to recognize and name her boundaries have improved. Patricia currently has four direct reports and oversees the adoption team. She is proud of her team’s resiliency and the work they do to address the needs of Kansas children and families.

One story that exemplifies this involves a medically-fragile child who was in the process of getting adopted. The team knew the boy wouldn’t live much longer, so they worked hard to speed up the process. The boy was adopted in the hospital via Zoom and passed away shortly after.

“I was proud we were able to get that child adopted before he passed away,” said Patricia. “It took a lot of teamwork to make that happen.”

Even during those tough cases, Patricia finds plenty of meaningful moments that make each day worth it.

“Whether it’s reintegration or adoption, those kids finding some type of permanency is rewarding,” said Patricia. “Once you feel the reward of that, it motivates you to keep achieving it.”

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David Irwin

Implementation Manager, Functional Family Therapy 

In 2016, while David Irwin was a Residential Therapist at the Ozanam Campus, his first wife was in the final stage of a long battle with cancer.

“Social workers are helping people – we want to help others,” said David.

“Sometimes, life puts us in a situation where we help, and sometimes, we’re in a position where we need help.”

Between frequent visits to the hospital, David had to find time and energy to care for nine boys in the residential dorm, manage bills and appointments, and care for his teenage children. The nature of this challenging situation forced David to learn how to ask for help from coworkers, friends, and family and accept his own needs and limitations. 

“Cornerstones of Care was a real support and was understanding at that time and is part of the reason I’m here today,” said David.

Seven years later, David’s life looks much different, although the impact of that time continues to shape his view on life.

As Implementation Manager for the Functional Family Therapy (FFT) program in Kansas, David has helped build the FFT program from 2.5 FTE therapists to four teams with a total of 11 therapists. FFT is a short-term, in-home therapy intervention that seeks to keep families together and youth out of the juvenile justice or foster care system.

“My favorite part is doing case consultation, where I can talk to a therapist about a case and help them wrestle with it,” said David. “This isn’t working – what else can we try?”

David also coordinates grants for initiatives within the FFT program and tracks their progress from start to finish. With over twenty years of experience in the social work field, David has a keen ability to know what works with families and how to set realistic program goals and successfully achieve them.

Recent data from a report by the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare stated, “Of the 382 applicable children during the reporting period, 364 (95%) children remained with their family at 12 months from the referral to Cornerstones of Care Functional Family Therapy.”

David credits that and other successes to his dedicated team and his deep belief in the transformative power of Functional Family Therapy.

“This process recognizes that behaviors have reasons, and some are less skillful than others about getting where you need to go,” said David. “We don’t start with any sort of change. We start with understanding, building hope, and reducing blame and negativity.

“It’s a pretty neat responsibility to walk with people during difficult periods of their life.”

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Ky Clement

Director of Foster Care & Adoption

Ky Clement was at the beginning of her social work career when she was accused of trying to prevent the adoption of an African American child by a white mother. It was far from the truth, but the woman was frustrated by the situation and viewed Ky, a foster care case manager, as trying to stand in her way.

“It was the first case where that showed up, and I’d never dealt with that before,” said Ky. Although it was impossible, Ky wanted to explain to this woman – and others who misunderstood or stereotyped her in her role – that she wasn’t against them.

In fact, Ky’s negative experience with a children’s division worker during the adoption of her four kids drove her into the field of social work in the first place.

“When I started this job, it was very stressful,” said Ky. “I would get sick to my stomach. I would get so mad going into the family support meetings, and the parents’ attorneys would say, ‘It’s your fault.’ You knew it wasn’t your fault.”

One day, a parent that Ky worked with gave her advice that helped shift her perspective: Don’t let it take your joy. Ky realized that getting angry about these situations didn’t solve anything and that she had to step back and look at the bigger picture.

In her fifteen-year journey with Cornerstones of Care, Ky has progressed from case management specialist to lead to supervisor. In December 2021, she was promoted to Director of Foster Care & Adoption.

In her current role, she oversees about 28 team members and utilizes her position to pass her expertise to the next level.

“I love to coach and guide,” said Ky. “That is my thing. I want to teach them the right skills to detach themselves and not let it affect them emotionally. You can’t change somebody, but you can give them the tools to help themselves.”

After years of hesitation, Ky decided to officially go after her license in social work. She feels now is a better time than any and that she has the support from her husband and family to make it happen.

“I want to keep moving up the ladder,” said Ky. “I love what I do. Being on both sides of it, I have so much to give. I want to keep improving myself and help others.”

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Christina Platt-Waggoner

Manager, Intensive In-Home FP Services (Tier 1) (KS)

You might recognize Christina Platt-Waggoner from the success story shared at the 2021 Spirit Gala. In the video, Christina talks about her work with Rachael and her two boys, participants in Intensive In-Home Family Preservation (IIFP) Services.

“They had no documents, no house -- they had nothing,” said Christina. “After three months, they had everything. She had a job and was sober. They had a house, the kids were in school, and they had mental health services. It’s been over a year, and they’re still doing really well.”

Christina has been a critical member of the IIFP team for three years. As outlined in the program, Christina goes into the home for six weeks when children are at risk for removal. If the work progresses well, DCF (Department for Children and Families) will grant additional time with the family.

“I tell families I’m the person they send in right when your family is at the highest risk for the removal of your kids,” said Christina. “You don’t want to see me because it means things are serious, but if you work hard with me, I can assure you that nothing will happen, and together we can move mountains.”

Despite the challenging nature of the work, Christina has found success with families, and the numbers speak for themselves. In five years, she has only had five kids transition to adoption, and seven kids age out of the foster system. Over 60 kids that she worked with were able to go home.

Some people may not realize that Christina has done a lot of work to get where she is today.

“I’ve been in recovery for 10 years,” explained Christina. “I don’t hide that, especially from clients. I don’t self-disclose for sure, but when people are like, ‘you have no idea’ or ‘you’ve never lost a kid,’ – I do have an idea. If I can change my life around, anybody can.”

Most days, Christina’s passion for her work is a boon to the families and individuals she works with. Sometimes, it gets in the way.

“There are days when I can be too passionate about a case, and I get a little frustrated because the parent isn’t ready.”

Her supervisor, Shelli Walrond, challenged her to work on managing those feelings before receiving a promotion.

She said to Christina: “If you can harness that and learn to work through this, you can do anything.”

On February 13, Christina was promoted to supervisor. Now, she gets to share that passion with seven team members she oversees, as well as her husband, Terry, who is also a social worker, and her students at Labette Community College.

“My students say, ‘I would totally do social work, and I never thought about it. Your job sounds super cool,’” said Christina. “Every case is super different, and that’s what I love.”

To read SOCIAL WORK BREAKS BARRIERS: PART ONE and hear stories from of Kaitlyn, Ikeshia, and Ben,

click here.