2003 Recipients: Kathy Halsey, Candy Stemple, and Beth Turk
Kathy Halsey
Kathy Halsey, private eye. Less than one week out of CASA training, Kathy was on a stake out ensuring relatives did not turn a child over to parents who had absconded with another child.
Last summer Kathy was appointed to a case in which a one-year-old had been placed with an aunt. On a hunch, Kathy called the local police station. She learned from a detective that the aunt’s residence was a suspected crack house and that the police had recently responded there due to a domestic violence incident involving two intoxicated adults, in the presence of the one-year-old. The child was moved to a nurturing foster home the next day.
When children could not be located after the court had ordered they be placed in foster care, a staff member called Kathy Halsey, private eye. Within 30 minutes of that 10 p.m. call, Kathy found the children.
Kathy relentlessly gathers information, ensuring her recommendations are based on facts. She has a unique way of allowing a case to unfold, revealing the best path for a child to permanency. Kathy inherently advocates on behalf of her child’s best interests rather than strictly adhering to a “position.” She has pursued a variety of outcomes for children based upon their individual needs, from adoption to reunification with parents and relatives. Kathy believes in second chances and has helped preserve the bond between children and parents who others had written off. Kathy communicates well with everyone she encounters, she is respectfully and direct, and people open up to her.
Kathy has been a CASA for 2 years, a Mentor for 10 months, and has served 26 children.
Kathy played an important role in the founding of Building Blocks, helping to develop training materials and curriculum. She regularly participates in Building Blocks train sessions, always ready to learn and share. Her sense of camaraderie is contagious and has helped Building Blocks thrive.
Candy Stemple
Not only has Candy Stemple performed her CASA responsibilities in an exemplary manner, she has also donated her time, energy, and enthusiasm in various other volunteer efforts that have benefited the community and our children.
Through her involvement on two very difficult ProKids cases, Candy has demonstrated a passion for child advocacy. Her first case involved a mother whose harassment of a relative resulted in the four children being moved from the relative’s home. A cousin stepped forward and accepted the children into her home. The mother assaulted both the cousin and her father.
The mother had not provided the children a home since 1996, eventually moved out of the county and had no contact with the children. There were allegations of abuse and neglect of the children and none of the fathers was involved with the children.
Candy provided consistent support to the cousin and advocated to terminate parental rights, to free the children for adoption by the cousin. Candy maintained a high level of energy and enthusiasm despite numerous service problems that delayed the trial 7 months.
After the testimony of ill-prepared witnesses, it quickly became evident that Candy would need to testify. Candy not only testified, but also gathered important evidence, and helped to prepare ProKids’ entire case. The court terminated parental rights and the children are now onto a path of permanency with their cousin, who has provided them a stable, loving home for two years. Without Candy’s efforts, it is unlikely this placement would have become home for these four children.
Candy’s second case involved issues of neglect and allegations of sexual abuse that turned the stomachs of seasoned professionals. When she accepted case responsibility, Candy was assigned to one of four children. Through Candy’s diligent, thorough investigation, it became clear that all of the children needed to be placed in foster care. The children are now placed together in a nurturing foster home.
Candy has proven to be a consummate professional who is an extremely well organized, well-spoken team player. Despite the circumstances, Candy exhibits a positive, solution-oriented attitude and always puts the children’s needs and well being first. Candy has been a CASA for almost 2 years and served 8 children.
Since the inception of ProKids’ Family Violence Focus Group, Candy’s on-going involvement, along with her considerable knowledge and experience in this area, has greatly enhanced the planning and development of this budding program. She has been instrumental in putting together the project design that will move this group to action.
Additionally, Candy has continually represented ProKids in a fashion that spreads our name, image, and philosophy to other professionals, agencies, and individuals in the community. Whether she is recruiting potential CASAs by word of mouth or formally speaking to a class of prospective foster parents, people take away a better understanding of our role as child advocates. Being sympathetic to other societal problems, Candy has also been volunteering for the Women’s Crisis Center for the past year.
Beth Turk
Beth Turk’s advocacy reveals her independence, empathy, and clear thinking. Last year when Beth took a case on a Monday, by Wednesday she had met the caseworker, visited the boys in foster care, met with the mother and maternal and paternal grandparents. When asked what the rush was, Beth replied that one day was a very long time in the life of a two year old separated from his mother and that she owed it to him to work as hard and as fast as she could to help find solutions.
She maintains this pace today. Beth has dropped everything to make it to Emergency Order hearings within an hour of being called. Her consistent contact with her children and their family has resulted in Beth having the most up-to-date information, allowing her to advocate persuasively to reunify and preserve this family. Beth lets others know where she stands and asks probing questions to learn about the points of view of others. She perseveres in the face of bureaucracy and illogic.
In one case, Beth worked with premature twins with special needs. Their fragile condition complicated efforts to find an adoptive home. When an out-of-state family was found, Beth met with them and helped the parents navigate the medical system involved with the children. Beth worked to resolve placement issues that arose as a result of the out-of-state placement. After the adoption finalized, the family sent Beth a holiday card with a picture of two healthy, happy, thriving toddlers. The card read, “Thank you for creating our family.”
Beth has been a CASA for 2 years, a Mentor for 10 months, and has served 17 children.
Beyond her casework, Beth has been an integral part of the development of the ProKids Building Blocks Birth to Three Program. She helped create training materials and curriculum. Beth has a special knack for learning from her case experiences, implementing what she has learned, then sharing her knowledge with others. She plays an important role in Building Blocks continuous improvement of service to our children. Last year she helped present the Building Blocks Program at the Ohio CASA Conference.