Thank you. It's a joy to be here with all of you this evening. The people and organizations we have honored tonight contribute significantly to the well-being of children and young people in so many ways — by advancing legislation, informing the public, and supporting community agencies. I congratulate you all, and I am thrilled to be here tonight to recognize you.

It is always so inspiring to honor our unsung heroes. Tonight, I have the opportunity to help recognize some of our outstanding direct service providers, who make a difference in lives every day. These professionals carry out the day- to-day responsibility for children in both the child welfare and allied systems. And though the decisions they make are often a matter of life or death, their contributions are not always recognized.

They are the ones who visit troubled homes and coordinate services to keep children safe within those homes whenever possible. They are the ones who have the heart-wrenching, but necessary task of removing children from their home when other alternatives have been exhausted. They are the ones who then work with families to create a safe environment so their children can return home — or find permanent alternatives when that is not possible.

Often, direct service workers are the ones who drive kids to appointments and to visits with parents and siblings, speak up for them in court, counsel their parents and foster parents, and intervene on their behalf with teachers and other adults in the community. They help these children reach their full potential, both while they are in care and during the difficult transitions that follow. We don't have nearly enough of these wonderful people, as all of you know.

Since its creation in 1991, the Freddie Mac Foundation has been committed to motivating the best and the brightest to enter the child welfare workforce, to continue to sharpen their skills and to remain in the profession on behalf of our children. In 1994, we began our support for the program that is known today as the Freddie Mac Foundation - David S. Liederman Child Welfare Scholarships. We're extremely proud of our 10-year partnership.

Through this program, more than 100 exemplary individuals have received $10,000 scholarships for graduate study — $5,000 from the Freddie Mac Foundation and $5,000 from the home agencies who nominated them. In 2003, we set out to learn what kind of impact these awards have made in the careers of the recipients and on the child welfare profession. Though we did not succeed in tracking all the winners, we found that 88 percent of those contacted are still working with their sponsoring agencies, and 81 percent of them are still in the child welfare field. That's worth some applause.

These figures are amazing, especially when the average turnover rate in the child welfare field is 40 percent annually, as reported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in 2002. Compare that rate of 40% in a single year, to our turnover rate of only 12 percent over 10 years, and you can begin to see the impact of these scholarships. Let's face it – there are lots of easier jobs, jobs that pay more, and have higher social status — especially for people who are as exceptional as our scholarship recipients.

These workers stayed in their jobs because they cared about kids and families, and they knew they were making a difference. But they also stayed, I believe, because the graduate education the scholarships helped them pursue made them even better at their jobs, and even more able to achieve measurable, positive outcomes for the families and communities they serve.

Clearly, these scholarships are achieving their intended purpose: motivating committed, competent professionals to remain on the job; to continue to improve their skills; and to show the world that child welfare workers are truly exceptional people. The children, young people, families, and communities they serve are safer and healthier as a result of their commitment – and we all benefit as a result.

In the process of contacting past scholarship winners, CWLA identified four who had excelled each in their own way and who represented the diversity of the overall group. We are delighted that they are here with us tonight to share what has happened in their lives since receiving their scholarships.

Robin Haas was a program director with Cathedral Home for Children in Laramie, Wyoming, when she received her Freddie Mac scholarship. She earned her master's degree from Denver University in 1997. Now she is that agency's CEO — one of a number of our former winners who head public and private agencies. Under Robin's leadership, the agency has raised $1.3 million dollars for improvements, has expanded its services to underserved populations, and has strengthened its relationship with the area's tribes as well as their services for children.

Since earning her master's from the University of Tennessee in 1995, Tammy Hopper has distinguished herself as a trainer and as a regional and national advocate for children. She served as the Director of Public Policy for the National Network for Youth and is preparing for her new role as the Chair of the National Council on Youth Policy. She continues to provide therapy to young people part-time at her sponsoring agency, Child and Family Services of Tennessee, in Knoxville.

Since receiving her master's degree in 1999 from the University of Connecticut's School of Social Work, Laura Dziekan has been promoted to a supervisory role at Klingberg Family Centers in New Britain, Connecticut. Her knowledge of the agency has been invaluable during the creation of a new program, and her experience as a direct care worker has increased her effectiveness as a supervisor and role model. Klingberg, incidentally, has the distinction of sponsoring and retaining more Freddie Mac Scholarship winners than any other CWLA agency. Over 10 years, it has had four winners, and all four are still with the agency.

"The best, the absolute best." That's how one of her co-workers describes Egbe Foudja. Egbe received her master's degree from Fordham's Graduate School of Social Service in 1997. She completed a Fordham seminar in field instruction in 2000. As the primary therapist and case manager for 15 adolescent males at Leake & Watts Residential Treatment Center in Yonkers, New York, she also finds time to mentor co-workers, takes international interns under her wing, and goes above and beyond her job description in hundreds of ways. When her colleagues need guidance or inspiration, they turn to Egbe.

Robin and Tammy will speak for the group. Ladies, please come forward.

[Maxine] Thank you very much. I am proud that the Freddie Mac Foundation's support has played a role in keeping great people like these in the child welfare workforce. I know that we can expect equally great things from this year's winners.

This year, all the regional winners will receive $7,000 from the Freddie Mac Foundation, to reflect the rising cost of tuition, in addition to the $5,000 match from their agencies. Two winners, whom the judges determined were particularly outstanding, will receive $9,000 each, as national winners, in addition to the agency match.

Our national level-winners are Michael Hill and James Morris.

Michael Hill is an officer and a gentleman, in the truest sense of the word. As a caseworker in the Independent Living Program at Gateway, in Birmingham, Alabama, he excels at helping adolescents transition to independence. Michael is also an officer on active duty in the National Guard, and has recently been called up. We know that whether he is at home or abroad, he will serve with distinction.

James Morris works in the Therapeutic Foster Boarding Home Department at Abbott House, Irvington on Hudson, New York. This bilingual and multi-talented individual is also a therapeutic foster parent for another CWLA agency and the adoptive father of eight boys, all former foster children. James is not able to join us this evening. He just got married so we wish him and his wife, the new mother of 8 children, all the best. Denis Barry, Executive Director and CEO of Abbott House, will accept the award in his stead. Congratulations, Michael and James. We know you will continue to excel. Our other winners represent the six CWLA regions. I'll present them now in alphabetical order.

In the Street Outreach Program at Child and Family Services of New Hampshire, Ryan Barrieau seeks out hurting and homeless teens on the streets and under bridges, wins their trust, and connects them with the services they need. He has recruited and trained an outreach team of high school students and young adults, and secured significant community and corporate support for his successful positive youth development approach.

For 10 years, Karen Berg has built the PATH program in Minot, North Dakota, from a part-time project into an effective agency. The foster parents of North Dakota have chosen her as the Foster Care Worker of the Year, and her peers have chosen her as PATH Social Worker of the Year — not once but twice. Her master's degree will make her even more valuable to a rural area where top-flight services are scarce.

Celeste Lopez is Residential Supervisor in the Substance Abuse Treatment Center at Arizona Children's Association, where she has advanced rapidly in only three and a half years. Her bilingual, bicultural orientation is an asset to the agency and its clients. Her personal objectives are social justice and the empowerment of others.

Cindy Otter coordinates treatment for children with severe emotional disturbances at the Intermountain Children's Home and Services in Helena, Montana. She also is a peer leader, a trainer, and an advocate whose studies are leading her toward increasing her involvement in public policy and legislation. Cindy's supervisors cite not only her intelligence and professionalism, but also the joy and humor she brings to her work.

The CEO of Chris Homes says this about Troydenius McNeal: "Everyone he touches benefits." After earning a degree in Criminal Justice and working briefly as a correctional officer, he left a lucrative career in sales to come to Chris Homes. As the Aftercare Coordinator for Community Programs, he helps reunified families stay together and grow stronger. The new degree will enable Troydenius to be an even stronger support to those families.

Lauren Williams is a Group Home Coordinator at Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth. The atmosphere in the home she directs, where both youth and staff adhere to a strict "no put-down" policy, is welcoming and supports the positive growth of the young people who live there. Four of Lauren's charges have been on the high honor roll this year, and one has been invited to take a college class.

Susan Wolven is Children's Services Supervisor at the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services, Cincinnati, Ohio. There, she has served for 28 years in such challenging positions as sex abuse investigator and juvenile court liaison. She handles a caseload of medically fragile, disabled, and severely disturbed children, and she has scored some big wins for them over the years. Helping Susan to earn her Masters Degree will be a win for the field of child welfare.

Congratulations to all of you for your amazing accomplishments on behalf of children and youth! Let's give them all a round of applause!