Today we’d like to introduce you to Wayne Carson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Wayne. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started working with children and young adults after working for three years as a civil engineer out of college. I was not finding the work I was doing personally fulfilling and I wanted a job that I was excited about doing every day. After some time off and introspection, I decided to pursue my Master’s Degree in Social Work so that I could work with children who needed families. This was important to me because I had such a great childhood and so much family support when I was growing up, that I couldn’t imagine any child not having adults around them to protect them, help them feel loved, and help them navigate life. I did several internships in graduate school and found that I really liked working in residential care and foster care programs. I started working for All Church Home (now ACH Child and Family Services) as a houseparent in 1987. With the exception of a 3 year hiatus while working my Ph.D. I have been with ACH since then. I worked my way up the org chart, working as a case worker, a supervisor, and as director of clinical services and intakes before taking the job as CEO in June, 2000. It’s been an amazing journey and I still love coming to work!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Yes there have been struggles. Working with children who have experienced the level of hurt and pain that many of our children have endured is difficult. It’s just not fair that they experience such difficult things so early in life. If you care about these children, you feel a little of their pain as well and that is hard. I had to learn how to deal with that and learn how to take care of myself. However, the primary way I’ve learned to handle these intense emotions is to know and see how amazing these children can be if they get the right help at the right time. They do not need people who feel sorry for them. They need people who are willing to sit next to them and acknowledge the pain and trauma, but to also show them that they are now safe, that they are loveable, and that they have great hope for their future. I very much believe this and have been doing this long enough to know many very healthy and successful adults who have not let these experiences prevent them from having happy, successful lives. I also get the privilege of working with a group of simply incredible people who come to ACH every day because they want to make a difference in the life of a child and a family. It is sometimes magical to see these people use their compassion and their talents to help bring healing to serious trauma. Of course I love coming to work!
ACH Child and Family Services – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
ACH protects children and preserves families. We offer a wide range of programs to help in different ways but ultimately what we have focused on for 102 years is helping children grow up in safe and happy homes. I’m very proud of the variety of ways we can do this because when a family contacts us for help, we can truly get an understanding of what is needed to help them, and then match them with the best service. No one else in north Texas offers the variety of services that a family can find at ACH. In 2014, another opportunity presented itself to us. The state of Texas had developed a plan to improve the foster care system in Texas and they were looking for an agency to lead the initial effort to start the new program, called Community Based Foster Care. ACH stepped up, despite the funding being inadequate to perform high quality services, and we have successfully implemented the model in a 7 county area in north Texas. Our efforts have led to recent legislation which mandates that the model be implemented in 4 other communities in Texas. Our efforts have not only helped the 2,400 children we served in our 7 county area last year, they will ultimately help all 30,000 children in Texas who are in out-of-home care. Our staff and our Board of Directors took a big risk and it’s resulting in a plan that will change how the entire state takes care of our foster children.
What’s your favorite memory from childhood?
I have great memories of being 10 or 11 years old and my brother and I leaving home on Saturday morning on our bikes, playing all day with our friends in the neighborhood, and coming home to a great dinner and loving parents. Those were the days where we could ride our Schwinn Stingray bikes anywhere in town, we could eat lunch at whatever house we were closest to at noon, and we could just enjoy being outside with our buddies. We felt free, we felt responsible, and we felt like life was really fun. We also didn’t know it at the time, but we were learning a lot about how to be independent, how to make good choices, and how to get along with friends. It was really fun. I’m also the oldest of 6 children and our family holidays were always fun. Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas all have good memories for me. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we always had plenty to eat, a warm house, and plenty to keep us occupied.
Contact Info:
- Address: ACH Child and Family Services 3712 Wichita Street Fort Worth, TX 76119
- Website: www.ACHservices.org
- Phone: 817.335.4673
- Email: chuck.burton@achservices.org
- Facebook: @ACHchildandfamily
- Twitter: ACHchildandfamily @waynebyte
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