🌟 May Staff Spotlight: Elizabeth "Libby" Smith 🌟 At EmberHope, our team is made up of passionate individuals who work tirelessly to empower and support the youth we serve. This month, we’re excited to highlight Libby Smith, our Foster Care Recruiter and Licensing Specialist for higher needs children! 🎉 Libby has been with EmberHope for one year but has been a dedicated member of the child welfare community for over 32 years! She is a wealth of knowledge on this topic and the passion to go with it. We are so honored to have Libby on the EmberHope team! Get to know Libby! 👇 💜How long have you been at EmberHope and/or working in child welfare? I have worked in social services for over 32 years. I was with Youthville almost 17 years before the contract change in 2013. I was hired again and will celebrate my 1 year anniversary on May 29, 2025. In my career, I have been blessed to work for SRS, DCF, KanCare, KCSL, Mid-Ks, DCCCA just to name a few besides volunteering. 💛What do you love most about your job and the work that you do at our organization? My job is the most critical with screening potential foster parents who are to provide safety, stability, structure, love and guidance to vulnerable children. I love assisting potential foster parents in their initial stages by encouraging transparency and empowering them with the tools needed to complete the walkthrough of their home, signing them up for Mapp class, and assisting with licensing paperwork. I recruit for children with higher needs or more challenging behaviors. It takes a special kind of commitment to be that person who never gives up on a child during the most difficult times of their lives. I am a cheerleader 📣 who is in their corner celebrating their milestones and successes. EmberHope Youthville is being part of an extended family that is not blood related but shares morals, values and beliefs that unite us with a common bond. I love being able to openly bow our heads and pray without fear. I have made life connections with good people that have held me up in my hardest walks in life within this agency and others. 💜 If someone were considering joining our team, what advice would you give them? Call me because I love recruiting new employees to this agency. I will make sure to help them get connected to the right people. I feel recruiting is everyone's job to bring in the best talent. We all learn from each other, some with degree's and others with life experience. It all plays an integral part to help the children and families we serve. Neither is above the other. 💛 Over your tenure at EmberHope, what is one of your favorite memories or achievements? Being blessed with two beautiful daughters, Jayla and Cameron. They are the loves of my life. My other, was having the opportunity to come back and work with people that I worked with almost 17 years before the contract change. I had completed my second degree from WSU in Social Work. My life was blessed with doors being opened and living my best life even when it may have been my hardest. My parents teaching me how to be a woman and now learning how to live without them on this earth. Before my mom passed, she told me to, "Go get your old job back." 🥹 Now won't God do it!!! 💜 What makes EmberHope a great place to work? Hands down the people, the laughter, the energy that comes from my colleagues and the eagerness to share, learn and help others. I get support from the best co-workers in Recruitment, Training, Foster Care, Behavioral Interventionalist, etc., along with my Supervisor Bill and V.P. Marty who are there to encourage everyone to keep doing your best. I love that I am given the opportunity and flexibility to be me. 💛 Fun Fact: I love to make diaper cakes, travel to see my 102 year old grandmother, my brother, nephew, family, close friends and spending quality time with my two beautiful daughters. Last, I am a tribal member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. My brother Charlie and I have helped other family members with their paperwork to obtain their cards. 👏 Join us in congratulating Libby on this well-deserved honor and her 1-year anniversary! Drop a comment below to celebrate her success! 🎉💜 💼 Are you interested in a rewarding career with EmberHope? We are hiring various positions on all our campuses! Click the link to learn more and apply: https://www.emberhope.org/careers-at-emberhope/ #staffspotlight #teamemberhope #makingadifference #nowhiring #careerwithpurpose (fb)

With Foster Care Month coming to a close, we wanted to say a special THANK YOU to everyone who touches the work we do for the children we help. When you're part of this community, you know that every day is for Foster Care Awareness because the work never stops. Everything we do is all thanks to the efforts put in by everyone involved. 💜💛 (fb)