Spotlight on CFCS: Madison Summers
There are countless stories that live within our walls at CFCS, but not all of them come from the children and families we work with. Our employees – the social workers, case managers, interns, admins and directors who make our agency run smoothly – are the reason for our success as an organization. They also happen to be interesting people with quite a few good stories of their own!
We’re highlighting the rich experiences and perspectives our staff bring to the office with a series on the blog called “Spotlights on CFCS”. Today we’re celebrating Madison Summers, better known as Maddie, the Clinical Case Manager at TLC!
Tell us about yourself!
I grew up in the Boston area and went to school at James Madison University, where I earned my BSW and also studied criminal justice. The same month I graduated, I started my MSW program at Boston College. I earned my MSW in one year, during which time was at TLC for my graduate internship. That was last year. After I graduated I became the TLC Clinical Case Manager.
One of the reasons I’m here at CFCS is my passion for trauma-informed care for adolescents, and using neuroscience to improve that care. Every place I’ve worked or interned before CFCS has had no case management for residents. CFCS already had a case management system, but there was also a lot of room for me to offer my ideas and work on our systems to make them more effective. My supervisors, Kim, Karlah and Bob, are so open to ideas from staff – they give me autonomy, encourage me to share my opinions, and give me the power to try things to improve our practices.
What does your day-to-day job look like?
It's different every day. I work with the girls one on one, and I’m always in touch with their family, schools, mentors, coaches, and other adults in their lives, making sure everything is going okay. A big part of my job is implementing ARC, or the Attachment, Regulation and Competency Framework. I help educate staff so we can all serve the residents better, and view residents’ behavior more constructively: if they misbehave, our residents are often just trying to get their needs met, not being manipulative or bratty for the sake of it. There’s a phrase I love: “Get curious, not furious.” Often, if we see residents not trying or being lazy, we’ll get frustrated. But if we’re curious about them, we can find out what’s happening with them, why they’re feeling unmotivated or “lazy,” and we can support them instead.
My top priority is making sure every resident has someone that cares for them unconditionally. And that includes making sure the residents have fun! Some days we go kayaking, decorate for holidays, make cookies together, or just hang out and check in with each other.
How does permanency factor into your work?
I’ve never used the word permanency so much in my life before coming to TLC! But it truly is the glue to everything. For me, it goes back to attachment and safety. These girls don’t feel safe if they don’t have a caregiver – that’s just in our blood. Permanency work for me can include digging deep with the girls, reaching out to old foster parents or teachers they remember from years ago. And there’s a lot of different ways you can be a permanent connection for youth. You don’t have to adopt them – maybe once a month you help them with driver’s ed, shopping for school or learning how to change a tire.
It’s been interesting seeing little families form for our residents. One of our residents came to America from Guatemala as an unaccompanied minor. She met a couple through her church who have become her rock and opened their home to her. They invite her to all their family engagements. It’s been really special to see someone come from so far away and find family here.
What’s your favorite thing about your job?
There’s a phrase I love: “Get curious, not furious.”
My girls! It really is my girls. My very first client, from when I started as an intern as an intern at TLC, isn’t at TLC anymore. But the other day, she texted me because she’d just had a baby. She said she’d love for me to meet him. For her to reach out to me right when she gave birth was really special to me.
And recently, a resident who was probably my toughest case before she left TLC texted me on Thanksgiving. The relationships I and my colleagues form with the residents don’t have to end. We don’t shut the door on them – it's always open.
What’s one thing you’d want people to know about your job?
Sometimes it feels like an octopus. There’s a lot of different pieces to my job. But my team and I adapt our work and our practices to the needs of our residents and the overall needs of the home. We’re still learning and changing, and I think that’s the best thing. For me, I don’t see feedback as negative or positive. It’s just what I observe and it could potentially make your job more effective. Collaboration and experimentation are so important. We are experts to some degree, but our best practices must also be based on our community, on the times, on the many factors of the environment we work in. We have to be responsive.