Haleigh Moore, Connie Maxwell Foster Care Specialist, has been named the February 2022 Local Foster Care Innovator for her acts of kindness and determination to go above and beyond to support the foster care community.
Haleigh joined the foster care team at Connie Maxwell in 2018. Since then she has worked with numerous families across the state, helping them to obtain and maintain their foster home license so that they can then welcome children who have experienced abuse and/or neglect. Her favorite part of the job is celebrating permanent, safe, loving homes for young people – whether through reunification or adoption.
Haleigh Moore
Haleigh was nominated by a new foster parent, Megan Holmes, who describes the impact of Haleigh’s kindness and support as Holmes completed the foster care licensing process, an intensive months-long process of home inspections, paperwork, preparation, and training.
Holmes said, “[Haleigh] is so responsive to my millions of questions and made me feel comfortable during my home study. I was so nervous for no reason! Haleigh was very easy to talk to and made me feel extremely reassured and supported during this licensing process. I can’t say enough good things!”
Tracy Freeman, another foster parent Moore serves, said, “There are no words to describe what a blessing Haleigh has been to us. As a foster parent, we face many challenges on this beautiful journey…Haleigh is always helping us stay on top of things. We know that she is always willing to help answer any questions that we have. We are thankful to have her walking this journey with us.”
Paula Reed, Director of Foster Care at Connie Maxwell, said, “We are so proud and happy to have Haleigh as an employee of Connie Maxwell. She is a model of our CORE values and a joy to have in the foster care program. Haleigh is so deserving of this recognition.”
The reality is that many foster parents quit within their first year of fostering due to challenges; research tells us the turnover is as high as 50% of families. Similarly, per the Michelle H Settlement (2020) foster care caseworker turnover is around 27% each year, due to the nature of the work. Children and youth experience many placement moves during their time in foster care; of the children who moved at least once in the year, 46% of them experienced three or more placements. These tough statistics are what sparked the creation of this state-wide award by Fostering Great Ideas, a South Carolina nonprofit that has been tackling tough statistics since 2011 by creating great ideas to improve foster care across the nation. We hope that by celebrating successes, we can retain more workers and families to improve stability for children and youth.
Kaley Lindquist, Director of Foster Parent Recruitment and Support with Fostering Great Ideas, said, “We believe that when people feel valued, they can continue to make an impact and bring others along to help in the service of children and families. We also know that when we share stories of simple yet incredible acts of kindness, others are inspired to use their time, talents, and resources as well.”
