Foster Parent Recruiter, Trainer and Certifier, Treatment Services
Employee of the Month-November 2012
written by Alex Stromquist & Heidi Venture
Becci Crane has been with The Next Door for six years. The certifier position is instrumental and a foundation to our agency and treatment services. As a certifier, Becci meets potential foster parents, answers and asks questions, and tours their home, all while assessing whether they have the potential to be a good fit for our programs. Becci is extremely knowledgeable about state laws and guidelines regarding foster care. With every program review we are subjected to, our foster parent files are always thoroughly reviewed and Becci is praised for her documentation and the accuracy of her files.
The other aspect of being the agency certifier is that of foster parent supervisor and support. Becci is empathetic, attentive and action-oriented when it comes to the needs and concerns of our foster parents. She is dedicated to the agency and strives to ensure that all homes will be a safe and nurturing place for our teens and children. This is crucial to their success in their treatment.
Over the last few months, Becci has certified a much larger than normal number of homes under great time constraints. She has been a calm and insightful presence during changes of personnel, regulations, and supervision. Becci is an asset to our programs and to our agency. Please join me in congratulating her on doing exceptional work!
Employee of the Month-December 2008
written by Heidi Venture
I wonder sometimes if anyone at The Next Door understands how crucial the foster parent recruiter is? Becci Crane, December Employee of the Month and the Treatment Services Foster Parent Recruiter and Certifier, provides stability to the Klahre House program that we can’t get any other way. We must have foster parents, or we don’t have a program. Foster parents retire, adopt and burn out at an alarming rate, and so they must be continually recruited, certified and trained. Becci has the personality, intelligence, values and creativity that make her an effective recruiter and a valued team player.
This Fall, Treatment Services Director Larry James asked her to put together a recruiting event. When she came to me for advice, I advised her to just say no. She did not have enough lead time to do what he was asking. But Becci did not take my advice. Instead, she enlisted helpers and pushed the event into existence.
She brought together several agencies for the first collaborative recruiting fair in the history of our agency. For one evening at The Dalles Civic Auditorium, the Department of Human Services (DHS), Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) Greater Oregon Behavioral Health (GOBHI), Boys and Girls Aid Society and MapleStar all fell under Becci’s spell and cooperated together instead of competing for foster homes. Becci also involved Lane County Heart Gallery, who provided pictures and biographies of long-awaiting adoptable children, to give an adorable human face to the need for homes.
Please take this opportunity to give Becci a nice email, a pat on the forearm, or an encouraging word. If you work at Klahre House, limit yourself to a regulation 5-second side hug, or a “Super Award!” from at least 18 inches away.
Becci Rocks!
