30th of March 2019

Providing a High Level of Care

Our Social Workers at our Rancho Cucamonga location are always working hard to help children and families receive a high level of care. “Our social workers are available to Resource Parents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” said Rancho Cucamonga Foster Care and Intake Director, Laura Abujudeh Kassem. Our Social Workers are a consistent person in the lives of the children they serve.  The youth  are seen on a regular basis to ensure their needs are being met in the home.

“Our Social Workers are true educational advocates that help our Resource Parents and youth navigate through a system that has sometimes ‘written them off,'” Laura explained. “Our Social Workers also advocate for the birth parents when they feel their voice is not being heard.”

For National Social Work Month, we are highlighting Roomina Islam, who has been a Social Worker at Trinity Youth Services for over a year.

Roomina Islam

Florence: What do you like most about working at Trinity?

Roomina: There are so many things but I especially like our comradery towards providing the best for all the children in placement.

Florence: What do you love the most about your role?

Roomina: I love the support that we provide to our foster parents and take that very seriously. I have some new foster parents and they are extremely apprehensive during their first placement and dealing with the responsibility of taking care of someone else’s children, and rightfully so! I appreciate that they turn to us for support and we are able to walk them through the process to become more seasoned foster parents.

Florence: What is your most memorable moment?

Roomina: My most memorable moment so far was when I was able to break the ice with a little 2 year-old girl on my caseload. She was placed in the resource home and wasn’t opening up to even the resource parent initially and the resource parent explained to me that it takes her a while to open up to strangers due to the trauma that she had been exposed to. After a few visits, however, I was able to create a friendship to where she runs and greets me with a hug when I visit her.

Florence: What are some of the hobbies you enjoy outside of work?

Roomina: Reading, cooking and spending time with family and friends.

Florence: Why should families consider Trinity when they want to foster or adopt?       

Roomina: Because we really do want to provide the best for our Resource Parents and the children in our care. We take the time to think outside of the box and go above and beyond for our families which is so important especially in this field.

If you are in the San Bernardino County/Inland Empire area and are interested in becoming a foster or adoptive parent, feel free to contact our Rancho Cucamonga office directly at 909.980.4755.

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Florence Edwards, Foster Care Marketing Specialist
Florence has a strong commitment to helping foster youth and their families thrive and live successful lives. A former foster youth, Florence obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Communications from California State University, San Bernardino, and is a certified Holistic Life Coach, motivational writer, self-help author and celebrity interviewer. Beyond the Trinity Youth Services blog, Florence’s articles can be found in numerous platforms including Foster Focus Magazine, Heart & Soul Magazine, BET Centric and Huffington Post. A passionate advocate for the LGBTQ community, Florence continues to educate, support and mentor foster youth throughout Southern California.