Mother-Daughter Foster Care Team Wins the 2020 Vivienne Campbell Award

Each year, CFCS’s Intensive Foster Care (IFC) Program presents the Vivienne Campbell Award to a deserving foster parent who demonstrates the high standards of care of Vivienne Campbell, a foster parent who worked with CFCS for more than 20 years prior to her passing in 2015. Vivienne provided care and support to countless youth in her community and encouraged many of her friends and relatives to become foster parents, creating a network of loving, caring homes to assist youth when they are most in need.  

Paula (left) and her mother Veronica, just after receiving the Vivienne Campbell Award.

Winners of the Vivienne Campbell Award go above and beyond for every youth who stays with them while in foster care. They make youth in foster care feel welcomed and supported. They work collaboratively with DCF, CFCS, and a child’s biological family and connections to advance permanency. This year, the award was presented to Veronica and her daughter Paula.  

Veronica has been fostering through CFCS for almost 10 years. Throughout her time with CFCS, she and her daughter have gone above and beyond to support the children in their home to feel safe and loved. She has worked with a diverse group of children with varying ages and needs. In recent years, Veronica has focused on caring for infants and toddlers with substance exposure and other medical and developmental challenges.  

Veronica prefers to stay in the background as she provides exemplary care for these young children. She excels at remaining organized, balancing medical appointments, family visits, and welcoming social workers and developmental specialists into her home regularly. She is able to connect with each child to understand their unique needs, even though they cannot use verbal language to communicate.  

Veronica also excels at supporting permanency. If a child in her home is moving towards reunification, she communicates regularly with their parent. She is willing to re-arrange her personal life so she can transport children for weekend visits with working parents, and is a positive advocate in team meetings on their behalf.  

Due to the current COVID-19 crises, we were unable to celebrate Veronica at our annual Foster Parent appreciation brunch, usually held in May. The IFC team and Vivienne’s family announced her award at the annual Foster Parent meeting over zoom. We were also able to honor Veronice and Paula at CFCS’s 147th Annual Meeting, also held over Zoom. CFCS is honored to have Ms. Veronica and Paula on our team!