Voices

I feel like I’ve lived 50 lifetimes. I was born in Liberia, lived in Ghana and Canada, and now call Philadelphia home. Moving around gives you a sense of your place in the world. I’ve learned to be grateful for the small things. My big problems were not unsurmountable.

I grew up in Huntingdon. I was one of those kids who left for college and said I’d never go back. When my dad was sick, I returned to help my parents with their business. I’ve been here since.

More than a conference, the Forum on Pennsylvania’s Children is a catalyst for professionals across disciplines to come together around a shared goal: helping children, families, and communities heal from trauma.

A few weeks ago, in conjunction with the Child Welfare League of America’s national conference in Washington, D.C., I joined more than 300 child advocates walking together up the steps of the Capitol to represent the needs of our nation’s children before legislators. In that moment—moving in unison and with purpose alongside others—I was part of something bigger than myself. I was carrying a mission.

“I love my job, but it’s not like I woke up one day and said, ‘I want to work for a non-profit as a child welfare paralegal.’ I went to a college prep type of high school in Massachusetts, and I remember getting called down to the office because I didn’t have a plan. I love learning, it just took me a while to find a career path."

"Cameron County will always be home. Everyone is connected—people will know me through my grandparents, from my waitressing jobs or from school. There are only eight of us who work in the county children and youth office, and I know the supervisor from high school. We joke in the office that when I changed roles from being a county caseworker to being a paralegal with Voce, I just picked up and moved to another desk across the room."

I love telling the story of what brought me to Voce—not just once, but twice! I always had an interest in law but didn’t become a paralegal until later in life. After my kids were grown, I went back to school at Penn College in Williamsport. Initially, I took courses to work in the medical field. The medical program was not speaking to me. One day I was walking across campus and saw something about the college’s paralegal program. I was completely surprised, and the next thing I knew, I was talking with the professor in charge. He said, ‘You can start tomorrow!’ So, I did.

Child abuse prevention is a shared responsibility. Organizations like PennCAC and Voce are part of a broader network of care, supporting children from the moment abuse is disclosed to the point where they can experience stability and belonging.

"Growing up, there were always kids in my house. My mom comes from a large, blended family, and as a stay-at-home mom, she was often filling in for other moms when they needed some help. My mom was also the person who helped me understand my aunt and uncle’s foster son’s background and the hardships of abuse."

So I grew up in a log cabin in the woods somewhere near Bloomsburg and Wilkes-Barre originally, but I've lived all over PA. I went to college outside of Philly, then law school in Harrisburg, Jim Thorpe for a few years, and then I lived in Williamsport working in family law until recently. I really didn't plan to go into family law, which of course includes a lot of child welfare aspects, but when I found an opening for it, I realized that I was pretty good at the 'people' aspect of it.

I've always loved working in the legal field. I went to Clarion University for school, and I worked at a law office while I did. I started out studying education because I knew that I wanted to work with kids.

I’ve always been drawn toward social justice issues. I vibe off a cause. My master’s degree is in Labor Relations and earlier in my career, I lived near Harrisburg and worked in labor relations for the Commonwealth. Then my husband and I relocated to Pittsburgh and my attention shifted to raising our four kids.

I've always lived in northwestern Pennsylvania. I ended up in the same town where I graduated from college.  When I was going to school, I had a few different ideas of what I wanted to do, but I knew that overall, I wanted to work with people and try to make a difference.

My journey with Voce began in 2021 when I learned the organization was looking for a banking partner to support its growth. At the time, I was working at Members 1st, a community-driven organization focused on giving back. The more I learned about Voce, the more I realized our missions were closely aligned.

"I’ve always been in child welfare. I studied Child Development and Family Relations at IUP, took the civil service test, and became a caseworker in Allegheny County’s North office. After we moved north, I transferred to Venango, and that’s where I first learned about LSI. I didn’t see myself staying in frontline work forever, and the LSI model just clicked for me—it really brought together everything I’d learned as a caseworker, but in a different way."

“I’m a perpetual student of life. In my opinion, if you’re breathing, you’re learning! That’s partly what brought me to Voce. I was already working at Washington County Children and Youth as a legal secretary, but I was at a crossroads and wanted to learn more about child welfare and the law."

I always felt I wanted to work with kids, I just wasn’t sure what that would look like. When I was attending Mansfield University, I took a social work class, and right away I knew this was it! In one way or another, I’ve been connected to child welfare throughout my career.

Back in 2020, when COVID had shut down so much of the world, I felt a calling to do something more. I had been working as a paralegal for an attorney in private practice at the time and helping to take care of my mother who had Alzheimer’s. Ultimately, I decided to get my master’s degree in English Composition and Literature and, in my studies, felt this call toward social change.

For more than 25 years, Voce has worked alongside our community to advance our mission and support the people we serve. Today, we’re excited to share something new—The Vocal Point, Voce’s first-ever external quarterly newsletter, launching December 10.

There’s a line in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem Success that has been imprinted on me since I first heard it at my college graduation: 'To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived . . . This is to have succeeded.' I even have it on a charm bracelet given to me by my husband. Working in foster care and adoption, you try for everyone. You don’t always have a win at the end but when you do, it’s what keeps you going.

I’ll be honest—when I got the reminder that it was my turn to attend Luzerne County’s annual adoption celebration this November, I wasn’t exactly eager. It’s a beautiful event, a bright spot in a field that is often heavy, but that morning I felt paperwork was my higher priority that day.

I've lived in Elk County most of my life. When my husband was in the Army, we did move around a bit, but this is where my family is, and it was a great place to raise kids. I raised two, and now I've got four grandkids that I get to spoil. Three of them are in the Seattle area, so I travel out there about three times a year. I really love to travel. Before I took this job, I actually did a solo cross-country trek on my motorcycle.

“I have a history of family working in criminal justice. My stepdad is a school security guard and has been a big influence on me. I’ve also always felt a strong connection to my grandmother even though she passed away before I was born. She was a correctional officer and was kind and always helping people."

Pennsylvania once again faces a state budget impasse, while federal shutdown threats ripple through communities. For many, these may seem like distant political battles—but for those serving children and families, the effects are immediate and profound.

I started my career as a parole agent in West Philly for seven years. I went to school for criminal justice but ruled out working in a forensics lab or law enforcement.

Before coming to Voce, I worked as a court reporter and an administrative assistant. This job is so different from other jobs I’ve held. Everyone wants to be here, making a difference. I’m coming up on my one-year anniversary as a paralegal, and it’s really cool working in the legal field and doing something that matters.

Fueling the future—both in my career and in the community—has always been important to me. Voce continues to grow, and I’m excited to grow with it and help lead the way forward.

Hockey great Wayne Gretzsky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” A few years ago, Dr. Kristen Hennessy, a licensed psychologist who works with children with histories of advanced trauma, took her shot at collaboration with an introductory email to Chief Charles “Chuck” Streightiff, Chief of Police for the Huntingdon Borough Police (Huntingdon, PA). The result was a game changer for keeping the children of Huntingdon safe.

What if all systems worked seamlessly to respond to the varied needs of children and families and operated from core mutually understood principles of child development and trauma? Voce’s Forum on Pennsylvania’s Children (FPaC) was born out of the need to increase systems collaboration and provide education so that children and families are served with greater expertise and efficiency.

My name is Jena Braunsberg. I am an attorney who works at Voce, and I have multiple disabilities, which may not be evident if you meet me, but they affect how I view myself in the world. This Disability Pride Month, my story may help you understand why accessibility is important to everyone.

As someone who was bullied in grade school and even into college for trying to be myself, safe spaces were reassuring. I was attending Gannon University, a small private Catholic college, at the time. Seeing a rainbow decal in classroom was not only a reflection of the change I saw in the world, but also a signal that there were people who accepted me for me.

There are times in life when things just seem to fall into place. For me, becoming a board member at Voce is one of those times. One day, out of the blue, I received a message from someone I’d worked with for many years about meeting to discuss Voce. One conversation led to another with Executive Director Rick Azzaro, and it was then I learned more about the mission and the great team Voce has throughout Pennsylvania working to expedite adoptions and permanency.

When it became certain Voce’s former office space would be demolished to expand the neighboring highway, it seemed fitting as a “change agent” that “imagines possibilities” we would embrace the opportunities that come with an office move. After months of planning and preparation, we moved into our new space in December 2023, marking a new era for our organization and the programs we support.

Early in January 2023, the Forum on Pennsylvania’s Children (FPaC) planning team gathered around the table once again to recap the inaugural event and envision the 2023 Forum. The objective was straightforward: convene professionals from child-serving sectors in a setting that facilitates learning and fosters connections toward healing childhood trauma. Propelled by positive feedback from the inaugural 2022 event, the team wanted to challenge trauma professionals to continue to build an understanding of trauma issues while developing mutually beneficial connections to enhance and expand their impact.

Voce Executive Director Rick Azzaro and musician/trainer Jim Donovan could be described as kindred spirits. When they first met a few years ago, they immediately connected around shared interests in music and healing from trauma. “The first time we met, we talked for three straight hours,” Rick, who is a musician himself, shared. “What I see in Jim is a sincere desire to use what he knows to help people.”

Jesse Kohler, Executive Director of the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP), will provide the keynote at Voce’s second Forum on Pennsylvania’s Children to be held November 14, 2023 at the Penn Stater Conference Center, State College. Jesse has years of experience building community and systems capacity and educating coalitions on emerging innovative practices to implement trauma-informed values.

In November, Voce will be presenting the second Forum on Pennsylvania’s Children (FPaC), a one-day event singularly focused on learning and collaborating to heal childhood trauma. Last year’s event provided a space for participants from different service systems to explore and innovate, but our work is just beginning.

“I have engaged Voce representatives on multiple opportunities to provide workshops on race equity and trauma to a variety of audiences. Their presentations are consistently based on thorough research and are delivered in an innovative manner."

Training for Adoption Competency impacted me, both professionally and personally, in numerous ways. I was initially drawn to the accredited program because as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I wanted to serve families with the best clinical practice possible. Imagine my surprise when it really hit home for my most important job, being a mom of two siblings adopted from the Pennsylvania foster care system.

Adoption professionals have long recognized the need for a comprehensive, multi-layered continuum of support to ensure stability and well-being for children who have been adopted and their families. Now, an online learning community from our colleagues at Identity has launched to provide accessible, diverse, and ethical education to adoptive families.

Child welfare is beginning to experience a transformational shift in approach and thinking – from a reactive or remedial stance to a proactive, preventative stance. There is a national movement currently to rethink child welfare by creating the conditions for strong, thriving families where children are free from harm.

In over 30 years of working with adult and child victims of sexual trauma, six of which were spent as a director in a rape crisis center, I witnessed the impact of sexual assault on the victim as well as their family, friends and community. There is never a single victim of such an unspeakable trauma.

Child victims of abuse experience unspeakable trauma, loss and disruption and are often misunderstood by professionals and the community at large. These children need advocates and professionals who practice with empathy and understanding.

Compassionate, thoughtful and insanely knowledgeable — as I’ve gotten to know her over the last six months, this is how I would describe Shadell Quinones, Manager of Adoption Services for Chester County (PA) Department of Children, Youth and Families for the past ten years.

Serial entrepreneur and founder of Wolfe, LLC, Jason Wolfe’s mind is arguably wired for systems and technology. His heart, however, is wired for children. Jason is guiding Voce, a change agent and pioneer in best case practice in adoption and permanency, in developing a software solution to transform and advance adoption practice.

A little over a year ago, I pulled up to the bustling White Rose Grill in York County for a lunch appointment with local non-profit leader who I was meeting for the first time. I was feeling a little nervous, hoping I’d be able to pick Rick Azzaro, Executive Director of Voce, out of the crowd. We connected and Rick’s positive energy and kindness quickly put me at ease. With a lingering sense of comfort and belonging, my relationship with Voce began that day.

Family Design Resources announced a transformation to bring its multidisciplinary expertise to public and private human services agencies throughout the country. Now known as Voce (pronounced vō-chāy, which means voice), the organization offers consultation and training to human services agencies throughout the country in the areas of trauma and loss, adoption and permanency, diversity and inclusion, and individual and family well-being.

In 2012, we were a happy family of five. My husband, Joe, and I were the parents of three beautiful children, and we had decided our family was complete after the birth of our youngest daughter, Hannah. Everything was great as it was. Our kids were involved in sports and school and growing fast.

In this exclusive interview, Deborah Wilson Gadsden, Voce training specialist and author of A Changing Perspective on Child Welfare: From Teen Mom to Seasoned Professional, talks about the forces that propelled her to share her account of growing up and growing in the social work field with a national audience of social workers.  Deborah’s writing captures her humility, insights, wisdom and grace spanning nearly five decades of service to the child welfare field.

FDR has joined with the Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) to strengthen mental health services provided to adoptive families in Pennsylvania by administering the Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) developed by C.A.S.E.