(Posted 2024 June)
Get to know two recently promoted Foster Care and Adoption staff members. You may have interacted with one or both of them in their new roles over the past few months. If not, welcome Nakejah Allen, the assistant program manager for Foster Care and Adoption, and Colleen Regan, the supervisor for the Foster Care Case Carrying Unit for the Central Region of Fairfax County.
Nakejah assumed the role of assistant program manager for Foster Care and Adoption about seven months ago. Her responsibilities include providing clinical consultation, coaching, and assessing areas for program development. She said, “I am also looking at the interconnectivity within our program and division, how policies impact our work and ensuring that we remain consistent and innovative in our service delivery.”
Nakejah has been in the field of social work for 19 years. During this time she worked in various capacities as a home-based counselor, providing clinical services to individuals, families, and couples. She was a case-carrying foster care and adoption social worker and most recently she was a foster care case-carrying supervisor for eight years.
When asked to describe her philosophy of social work Nakejah said “I believe that people and families have the capacity to change. That families are the experts on themselves and that it is important to listen and support children and families through their journey.”
Nakejah initially had a hard time narrowing down her list of favorite things about the work, but eventually she named two things that stand out. In addition to “seeing children, families and young adults achieve permanency and stability despite adversity, I also enjoy coaching and training the next generation of social workers. Seeing the growth and confidence in our clients and workforce is truly rewarding.”
Nakejah said, “I’m excited to be in this new position to apply my professional skills in a new and different way. Fairfax County offers so many opportunities for growth. I am looking forward to making improvements to our program that can help others get on a similar path of growth and development.”
Colleen Regan has been the supervisor with the Foster Care Case Carrying Unit for the Central Region of Fairfax County for just under a year, and she says that her favorite part of being a supervisor is being able to teach, empower and strengthen the next generation of social workers in this field.
Colleen has worked in child welfare her entire career, over 20 years. She started as a college intern with Lancaster County Children Youth and Services as a foster care worker, which turned into a full-time role after graduation and throughout her pursuit of her master of social work. For her MSW internship, she investigated child abuse and neglect as a Child Protective Services worker.
“Working in Lancaster County, PA provided a unique experience because we would sometimes interface with the Amish community. There was a MOU(Memorandum of Understanding) in place when receiving any cases involving the Amish which required reaching out to an elder in the Amish community to be able to coordinate a meeting with the families.”
Once Colleen moved to Northern Virginia, she worked in CPS initially, then with a private Therapeutic Foster Care agency before joining Fairfax Foster Care and Adoption as a Foster Care Specialist in the unit she currently supervises.
Thinking about her philosophy of social work, she said, “We usually meet our clients during very low points in their lives. It’s important not to define people by their past behaviors or choices and remember that everyone is capable of change when provided with the right resources and opportunities. We are here to empower individuals to reach their full potential while treating them with respect and dignity.”
To go into more detail about how this intersects with her work, she said, “My unit is a little unique from the other foster care units around the county because not only do we have five case-carrying foster care workers and an admin, but it also houses the only two court liaison specialists within DFS.”
The case-carrying specialists work with the parents or legal guardians of children in foster care with the primary goal of reunifying them with their children. The specialists make referrals for supportive services for the children, parents and families while also managing the children in their foster care placement.
At the same time, specialists try to locate relatives or close family friends who may be able to care for the children while the parents/legal guardians are working on rectifying the reasons that caused the children to be separated from their care in the first place.
Our court liaisons have a unique position within the department in which they assess families when the parents or legal guardians petition the court to relieve themselves of custody of their children. Court liaisons work closely with our community partners, especially the court services units regarding children/teens that need out of home placement or treatment and who may be at risk of transfer of custody into foster care.
Colleen said, “Supervising this unit feels like a natural progression in my professional development. Now I use the coaching skills that I once used with children and families to support the growth of the specialists in my unit.”
This article posting is part of the Foster Family News monthly newsletter designed to keep foster parents informed about all the new and notable happenings in Fairfax County.
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