The mantra of Paige Stapleton Lawlor – that every youth deserves all of the opportunities that any youth should have, regardless of social services’ involvement – is truly evident in her every thought, word, and deed.

She successfully organized and led the Northeast Region’s Juvenile Sex Offender Resource Committee to obtain state-of-the-art training on safely treating, supervising and managing juvenile sex offenders. Her strong advocacy resulted in a $3,000 grant to bring a national speaker on juvenile sex offenders to her community. Her ability to make this training happen in her region is just one example of her vision, leadership and commitment.

Paige is more than a top-notch innovator and advocate. She is accessible…to youth and families, and to the community-at-large. She brings networking to a whole new level. Through her collaborations with professionals in other disciplines, she is able to provide and obtain information and referrals. She has provided training for caregivers, grandparents, guardians, and foster care parents, she played a role in creating a youth reading book exchange program, and she has established an intern program.

Paige is also a strong advocate for supervision and training to reduce occurrences of re-entry into the child welfare system. As one Guardian ad Litem wrote: “I have been lucky enough to have Paige as the caseworker on some of my cases. She is far and away the best YIC worker I have worked with.”

Paige Stapleton Lawlor is an individual who can be sure that her work is making a difference in many lives in Weld County.  Congratulations, Paige!

Gunnison County Child Welfare Team

The members of the Gunnison County Department of Social Services Child Welfare Team demonstrate excellence every day.

Becky Greenwood is the unit manager. Brandy James manages foster and adoption recruitment, licensing and case work. Chad Ducklow and Michele Semlow manage referrals, intakes, assessments and on-going casework services. But these job descriptions don’t begin to highlight what these individuals have accomplished.

Using proactive case management and creative interventions, this team has decreased the number of days that youths are in placement and reduced the related costs by 26 percent.

One of their cases involved helping a medically fragile child. Two team members provided initial services to support the family and brought in other community agencies as well. As the child’s condition became less stable, another team member drove the child over mountain passes in the evening to a Denver hospital to assure he was safe and that he would get proper medical care. Meanwhile, another member of the team looked for a foster home. With the cultural, language and medical issues, the decisions in this case were too complex for one individual to make alone. The Gunnison County Child Welfare Team worked together and drew upon each other’s strengths.

Today, this child remains in a foster home for medically fragile children and is stable. Reunification efforts are set to begin soon.

Becky, Chad, Michele and Brandy are truly dedicated to the children and families they serve in Gunnison County.

Lisa Anderson

For Lisa Anderson of the Jefferson County Department of Human Services, casework is not a job – it’s a calling. 

In her eyes, each child, each youth, and each struggling parent has a right to be heard, to be helped and to be acknowledged. Because of Lisa’s work, a 13-year-old victim of sexual abuse helped jail her perpetrator and is living successfully at home. A young man who was once violent with members of his own family was able to return home and thanked Lisa in writing for her help.

With every case she is assigned, there is another family and another child who will benefit from her skills, her drive and her compassion. When a young man on her caseload finally got his first job at a local Walgreen’s store, Lisa dropped by to say hello and congratulations. When a youth on her caseload invited her to attend a formal event, she found a gown and enjoyed that special night. Lisa even drove one of her foster parents to the Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner and sat with her at the event.

Lisa Anderson’s real work is with people, not with cases. She has set a standard of excellence for working with families and children to which others now aspire.

Lori Carlson

As the Youth Services Administrator for the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services, Lori Carlson brings great integrity and compassion to all that she does for children and families.

A former caseworker herself, she is aware of the struggles and pressures that the staff must manage. She is always available to answer questions, listen, and give direction. She will always stay late to assist someone or complete a project. Some words that caseworkers use to describe are: “Coach,” “Mentor,” and “Friend.” Lori asks the hard questions, challenges her staff, and encourages them to be the best that they can be with trust and respect.

Lori has been instrumental in developing and promoting kinship programs and permanency planning, and played a key role in bringing the Family Group Conference to Colorado. Demonstrating her commitment to permanency and life-long connections for older youth, Lori advocated for and developed two staff positions to specifically focus on these areas.

Dedicating many years to working in Child Welfare at Jefferson County, Denver County and now, in Arapahoe, Lori Carlson has built a strong Youth Services program. She leads by example and believes in the families that are served by Arapahoe County.

Martha Johnson

“Without her support and direction, my job would be almost impossible at times.”

“She is willing to take on the most difficult clients when they are more than one worker can handle alone.”

These are two examples of what staff members at the La Plata County Department of Social Services say about Child Protection Supervisor, Martha Johnson.

Martha oversees the staff responsible for child protection investigations, ongoing case management, foster care, adoption and other services and programs. Despite her many duties, she makes it a priority to support her team. She frequently takes and distributes notes from important meetings, or writes procedures for her staff. She makes herself available after hours to consult on reports that come in when staff is on-call. Additionally, Martha facilitates regular meetings for each child placed out of the home to assure that everyone is up to date and working toward a common goal.

Because she lobbied for the support of six law enforcement jurisdictions and the DA’s office to improve the joint interview process in sexual abuse investigations, this group committed the time and $6,000 for the training to develop a better protocol.

Now, children are less traumatized during the interview process, and solid evidence can be provided to the DA’s office. Martha Johnson is one individual who is making La Plata County a better and safer place for families and children.

Erin Rinaldo

Erin Rinaldo began her career in social work with the Logan County Department of Social Services in June 2002. As the department’s senior child protection intake worker, she is providing critical support to her co-workers every day.

Erin has been instrumental in the training a dozen co-workers from Logan County and other Northeast Colorado counties. And despite her own busy workload, Erin is always there to help: by supervising a visit, transporting a child to or from a visit, or completing with home studies for placement and adoption. On one occasion, she came to a colleague’s assistance at 9 o’clock at night to help in the placement of a child.

In 2005, a police officer nominated her for the Colorado Child Welfare Caseworker of the Year. Another officer complimenting Erin told her supervisor, “she is a keeper.” And last June, area foster parents chose Erin as the Child Welfare Worker of the quarter. Her close working relationships with staff, mental health professionals, educators, foster parents, and law enforcement help Erin do her job better.

But it’s her compassion and willingness to assist others that make Erin Rinaldo an outstanding child welfare professional.

Sharon Ruyle

For the past 16 years, Sharon Ruyle has held a number of positions in the Morgan County Department of Human Services. But as foster care coordinator Sharon truly shines.

In addition to actively recruiting foster parents through community outreach, she works with foster parents to meet the individual needs of the children, she has developed a monthly foster parent newsletter, and she leads a monthly support group for foster parents. Sharon also works hard to recruit Spanish-speaking foster parents to meet this growing need in Morgan County.

Sharon is a leader when it comes to serving our families and children. She was instrumental in developing a parenting class called Tween & Teens, and she developed a kinship training for a case involving the transition of three children from foster care to the care of their grandparents. She also writes grant proposals to provide funding for foster parent recruitment and support.

Caseworkers seek Sharon’s advice on their cases because of her wonderful ability to analyze a situation from every angle. Foster parents know that she is only a phone call away.

Sharon Ruyle is a treasured resource for many in Morgan County.

Shirley Rhodus

Shirley Rhodus began working in the El Paso County Department of Human Services as a caseworker in 1983. Today, she is not only the department’s office manager, but also a valued resource throughout the agency.

Being innovative and resourceful are just a few of Shirley’s many skills. She is responsible for developing the Direct Link Program, which works with families with drug issues, and helps children remain in their homes while parents receive treatment services. Shirley orchestrated a triage system in child welfare intake that facilitated the decision-making process regarding assigning investigations, as well as improved casework time frames and staff coverage in the department.

And when ten employees from intake resigned last summer, Shirley suggested hiring temporary staff who had previous experience at the agency. By eliminating the need for extensive training, she helped to bring the unit back up to speed in a short period.