We are thankful for Tamara.
As we approach the holiday season, we want to remember all the amazing work JCCA staff do to repair the world, child by child. Until Thanksgiving, we’ll be taking some time each day to highlight a member of our inspiring team. As the days get shorter and colder, we hope these stories will be a source of brightness and warmth.
Tamara Toussaint
Waiver Service Provider Supervisor, Bridges to Health
Tamara Toussaint has been a WSP supervisor in JCCA’s Bridges to Health (B2H) program for the past year, and been with JCCA for almost five years. She supervises six WSP managers who provide in-home and community-based services for young people with special needs who are in foster care.
“I’m here to ensure that staff provide the services that are so critical for our clients—that they are there to meet with children and families to offer advice and advocacy, and to trouble shoot and help out in crisis situations,” she says. “The bottom line is that we want to make sure that these kids are not hospitalized and can remain at home. Part of my job is to make certain that there is always a WSP available for our clients and to keep the lines of communication open, no matter what time of day or night, 24/7.”
Tamara recalls a recent incident of a child who went AWOL and got into a fight with another girl. The client wanted to leave the hospital before getting treated for her injuries, but due to the extraordinary patience and skill of the WSP who remained on the phone with her until 2:30 a.m., the child finally calmed down, agreed to be cared for and was safely discharged. Another incident involved an agitated young boy whose parent had gone on a trip and wasn’t available to help out in a crisis. “One of our WSPs came over and worked with him to calm him down, preventing him from hurting himself or anyone around him. Having one of our staff present is so important in this kind of situation.”