Casey Family Programs Appoints Three Managing Directors in Public Policy, Direct Services and Operations

SEATTLE, Feb. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Casey Family Programs has announced the appointments of three managing directors whose leadership will help the national operating foundation achieve its goal of ensuring that every child in America can have a safe, strong and permanent family.

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Christine Calpin is the new managing director of Public Policy. In her role, she will head the foundation's efforts to inform and educate federal policymakers about the need for comprehensive child welfare finance reform. She also will lead efforts to improve child welfare public policy in states across the country.

Calpin brings more than 10 years of public policy experience to her new job. Most recently, she worked as an independent consultant on child welfare, child care and family support programs for states and tribes. 

Prior to that, Calpin worked two years at the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She first served as associate director of the Child Care Bureau, and then as associate commissioner for the Children's Bureau, where she oversaw a $7.2 billion budget and 130 employees responsible for all child abuse prevention, foster care and adoption programs delivered by state, local and tribal agencies. 

She also served as lead congressional staffer for the Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. There, she worked with members of Congress and others on passing legislation affecting programs including child welfare, child care and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

"We are excited to bring on board someone with such vast knowledge in child welfare policy," said Dr. David Sanders, executive vice president of Systems Improvement. "She has a keen understanding of what it takes to move policymakers into taking positive actions on behalf of vulnerable children and families."

Patsy Sellars is the new managing director of field offices within the Child and Family Services division. In this position, she oversees the direct services operations of five of the nine Casey Family Programs field offices: Austin, Idaho (Boise), San Antonio, Seattle and Yakima.

Sellars has a quarter century of experience in child welfare work. Her first jobs were in early childhood development and adolescent mental health. Before joining Casey Family Programs, she directed the social work department of a private psychiatric facility.

She has worked more than 15 years for Casey Family Programs, starting out as a social worker in the former Oklahoma Field Office. She previously held the position of managing director of Outcomes and Quality Improvement, where she was responsible for overseeing clinical support for direct practice, accreditation and quality improvement.

Renee Fellinger was named managing director of practice and operations for Child and Family Services. In this role, Fellinger is responsible for quality assurance and for Council on Accreditation compliance. She and her team are responsible for assessing field office practice and overseeing the documentation, evaluation and spread of best practices.

Fellinger has worked with, or on behalf of, at-risk youth and families for 30 years, working in various settings, including child welfare, education, employment, drug and alcohol treatment, and mental health. Her duties have ranged from direct services to program development, implementation and management.

She joined Casey Family Programs in 2000 as a senior enterprise development specialist, and has had several positions, including senior director of Knowledge Management, which she held most recently.

In their new roles, Sellars and Fellinger will help ensure that the innovations developed and the experiences learned within Casey Family Programs' direct services work can be shared with child welfare systems throughout the country.

"Patsy and Renee have proven themselves to be dedicated, pragmatic and extremely effective leaders, and therefore have earned widespread admiration among staff," said Marva Hammons, executive vice president of Child and Family Services. "In their new positions, their skills will be crucial as we develop successful practices in our own work and endeavor to have them replicated to benefit public and tribal child welfare systems."

About Casey Family Programs

Casey Family Programs is the nation's largest operating foundation focused entirely on foster care and improving the child welfare system. Founded in 1966, we work to provide and improve -- and ultimately prevent the need for -- foster care in the United States. As champions for change, we are committed to our 2020 Strategy for America's Children -- a goal to safely reduce the number of children in foster care and improve the lives of those who remain in care. We have decades of front-line experience in foster care and are committed to helping states, counties and tribes implement effective child welfare practices. We provide nonpartisan research and technical expertise to child welfare system leaders, members of Congress and state legislators so they may craft laws and policies to better the lives of children in foster care, children at risk of entering the system and their families. The foundation, established by United Parcel Service founder Jim Casey, is based in Seattle.

SOURCE Casey Family Programs