Dru Schisa began working with the Broomfield Department of Health and Human Services in 2001. Her commitment as a caseworker is exemplified not only by the hours that she spends on her cases, but by the active role she has taken in educating her community about child welfare services.

Dru took the lead in planning an adolescent foster care event and has spoken at several churches regarding the need for foster homes. She also trained city and county recreational staff members on mandatory reporting procedures.

Dru is known for the close relationships that she forms with her clients. She is often the first person they call when something good happens; and the first person they call when they face a downturn or a challenge.

Dru helped a 16-year old client who was at one point contemplating suicide. And she was persistent with a mother and father with alcohol abuse issues and a history of domestic violence. Due to their initial denial of these serious problems, their children were removed and placed in foster care. Dru guided the mother in seeking out-patient treatment and held her accountable for her actions.

After 10 months in care, the children were reunited with their mother, and the father has consistent visits with his children. Because of Dru’s diligence and hard work, this family obtained more stable housing and today, both parents hold jobs.

Dru Schisa not only helped to establish a delivery system for a new county, she has identified and secured the needed resources for Broomfield County’s clients. She is an extraordinary individual with an extraordinary dedication to children, youth and families.

Lori Bennett and Siobhan McMillan are the Life Skills workers for the Garfield County Department of Social Services. While they both enjoy their jobs and genuinely like working with their clients each day, Lori and Siobhan constantly go above and beyond their jobs to help the families in their community.

They worked evenings and on weekends on the “Toys for Tots” toy drive and were able to give gifts to more than 450 children over the holidays. They also worked with the “Christmas Wish Foundation” in Aspen to secure money and gifts for needy clients and families in Garfield County.

When Garfield County Department of Social Services clients did not receive food stamps and other services because of problems with the CBMS system, Lori and Siobhan held a food drive throughout the county to help these families. In addition to all that they have accomplished, Lori and Siobhan have found time to help with the “Dress for Success” program, which provides work clothes to women and men preparing for job interviews and re-entering the workforce.

Lori Bennett and Siobhan McMillan demonstrate excellence in every sense of the word. They are true stewards of the citizens of Garfield County, good team players with infectious enthusiasm and energy, and are committed to help others in every way that they can.

Fred Crawford has dedicated his career to delivering child welfare services to Colorado’s children and families. He has served on several state, regional and local committees, adding his expertise while gaining knowledge at the same time.

Fred currently serves on the Colorado Steering Committee that is developing a state protocol regarding substance abuse, child welfare and dependency courts. As the director of the Logan County Department of Social Services, Fred absolutely believes that we are here to serve our community. He is willing to roll up his sleeves and pitch in during difficult situations, and encourages his staff to serve on community boards and committees as a way to reach out to citizens.

In addition to attending the monthly foster parent support meetings and the annual foster parent recognition event, Fred is a real advocate for the many resources that foster parents need. And under his direction, Logan County has brought together child welfare and TANF resources to remove barriers regarding the safe placement of children.

A role model and leader in the eyes of supervisors, workers and other county directors, Fred Crawford sets and articulates a high standard of professionalism and courtesy for every employee in the Logan County Department of Social Services.

As the supervisor of the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services screening unit, Michelle Dossey is responsible for the staff members who take reports regarding child protection. She also supervises the night duty staff that takes reports and responds to emergencies after hours.

When officers who called the hotline were sometimes made to wait, Michelle took quick action to build a better system. She established a separate telephone number for officers to call during emergency situations, printed business cards with the new number to distribute, and met with all 10 law enforcement agencies in Arapahoe County to explain the new system.

Michelle spends hours each week assisting individual staff members with child protection investigations and working through the assessment process. She also approached all 20 supervisors to train all staff on the procedures for referrals when many referrals were not being properly documented.

Today, the training that Michelle provided has resulted in an increase in referrals on incidents reported to caseworkers. She also made it possible to develop a standardized procedure regarding how referrals are handled.

Her persistence and her compassion help her to see and address the subtleties in a case that others might miss. The real winners are the children and families whose lives Michelle Dossey touches.

Because of Jim Drendel’s commitment and vision, the Larimer County Department of Human Services has become a leader in child welfare. Jim has been proactive in working with the PIP measures, and is always quick to help other counties do the same.

Jim has enabled Larimer County to work with several metro counties, State Child Welfare, ARD and Colorado State University in establishing an independent research unit that is currently studying kinship in Colorado. Jim not only pushed for and hosted the initial meeting of the CSU Child Welfare Research Center Project advisory group, he took the lead in committing financial resources with other counties to this important effort.

Jim helped to create the Metro Directors’ Child Welfare Administrators Group, which serves as an avenue for administrators to provide input to directors, as well as a forum for administrators to share ideas on best practices. In addition, he has brought in nationally recognized speakers on restorative justice, hosted a multi-state forum on restorative justice and played an essential role in helping Broomfield County establish its own program.

Jim Drendel believes in his staff, and he believes in exploring new ways of doing business, and sharing ideas or resources. His contributions to child welfare have been immeasurable.

Staff members from the Otero County Department of Human Services nominated their co-worker, Philomena Edmonson, for the Excellence in Practice award because of her strong work ethic and her dedication to her job as a caseworker and therapist.

Philomena invested her own time and money to become the only certified play therapist in Arkansas Valley. Through her work as a therapist, she was instrumental in helping to transform a severely traumatized 3-year old into a much happier, stable child.

Although she works a lot of overtime providing therapy services to families during the evening hours, Philomena does not complain. On top of that, she often volunteers to take over her co-workers’ hotline duty when they are ill or have an emergency. That’s just her way.

Whether it is giving her teenaged client a bouquet of flowers to congratulate her for achieving a goal, or presenting a Christmas gift to an elderly client who is providing foster care for his grandchildren, Philomena Edmonson makes her clients feel special, and treats each one with compassion and respect.

Dan Espenoza is an advocate for social workers, families and for family advocates. He is always willing to help fellow workers, and he works to accommodate families and their unique needs.

When he discovered that a family would not have a visit for two weeks, he drove two hours to transport the child to that visit, supervised the visit himself and then returned the child to the caretaker. This happened on a Saturday.

Dan is the right person to provide intervention and mediation to resolve conflicts between parents and kinship caregivers, or social caseworkers and providers without overstepping his boundaries. He is understanding and empathetic of the clients and always eager to provide the services that will allow for the reunification of families.

A member of the Hispanic Coalition at Denver Human Services, Dan goes the extra mile to help out with fundraisers for scholarships. He is also the kind of person to step up to cover for workers when they’re gone or when the department needs extra coverage.

Daniel Espenoza is a shining star in his agency. He has long supported his clients and colleagues, and he quietly demonstrates the true meaning of “excellence.”

Jacqueline Ruybal began working for the Arapahoe Department of Human Services in 1996 as a temporary worker. She quickly moved into a case aide position, and in 1998, she became a team leader.

She believes strongly in respecting her clients, listening to them tell their own life stories, and as she says, “letting them know that they are still the parents, and she is just here to help them do what is needed.”
When one of her clients had children who were placed in Colorado Springs, Jacqueline would drive the mother to meet with the children at a McDonald’s or a park to give them time together.

When it comes to her clients and assisting them, Jacqueline’s credo is “Anyplace, anywhere, anytime.”
She is a person who quietly carries out her job while calling little attention to the broad scope of tasks that she undertakes. She has organized the creation of Life Books for the children in the foster care system.
She attended a 32-hour car seat training that enabled her to become a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician.

And Jacqueline offers translation assistance to colleagues to assess crisis situations involving Spanish-speaking clients or to facilitate family group conferences. Jacqueline Ruybal believes that all people can make positive changes and is dedicated to doing her part in helping to realize those changes.