Kelechi Ezeadi

As a member of this Committee, there is collaboration to assess the implementation and incorporation of SBC into the FTM process across Child Welfare offices

• Through this transformative leadership plan, the agency, through the SORS board, contributes to drive organizational change
• Practically, this is enhanced by enhancing the skillset of Child Welfare workers, which results in positive outcomes for the practice and with families
• Statewide Facilitation
• Supervising Family Service Specialist I

• I am also a member of The DCF Employee Council (EC)
• The council is designed to engage staff in critical review and feedback related to Department rules, policies, and initiatives
• As a council member, I synergize philosophies and strategies implemented in Child Welfare with The Council and vice versa
• Simultaneously as a Casework Supervisor I have engaged in purposeful participative and collaborative leadership with internal stakeholders like Domestic Violence Liaisons, in home nurses, and Resource Development Specialists
• I employ participative leadership when we hold collaborative meetings with our external stakeholders as well(i.e
• Care Management Organization, Substance Use Disorder programs, Early Childhood Conferences.) I have also engaged in productive Collaborative Leadership sessions with inter-departmental leaders from the office of Diversity, Equity and Belonging, Office of Family Voice, and the office of Staff Health and Wellness
• The goal of these inter agency empowerment leadership sessions is to work on strategies on how we can continue the ongoing positive transformation, and narrative of the Department of Children & Families
• Statewide Facilitation

• As Casework Supervisor, I engage in the purposeful development of my three supervisees
• This is implemented through the facilitation of workshops I conduct
• The workshops completed have been on Emotional Intelligence, leadership styles(i.e
• Knowing how to apply adaptive and situational leadership in everyday child welfare work
• The goal of the workshops are to develop Visionary Leadership development strategies for the supervisees, who are also team leaders of their own supervisees as well
• Supervising Family Service Specialist I
• Passaic Central Local Office
• Solution Based Casework Implementation Workshops
• Solution Based Casework Team Facilitator-Office wide Vertical Leadership and Horizontal Development of Group Leaders and Case Managers in Child Welfare
• Group Leader-Field Training Unit1(Horizontal Development of New Team Members/Workers)
• Group Leader-Field Training Unit2(Horizontal Development of New Team Members/Workers)

• Due to unprecedented influx of Unhoused Families, I initiated a meeting with a multi-hotel owner in New Jersey as well as local office and Area office leadership in the Passaic County Area
• The purpose of this was to develop a collaborative protocol with external stakeholder on behalf of the agency’s unhoused families
• A stakeholder agreement was developed
• Consequently, there is now a clear, linear process whenever there is an Unhoused family
• The External Stakeholder continues to collaborate with our Child Welfare Division through Participatory Leadership
• Unhoused Families Project Initiative with External Stakeholder
• Supervising Family Service Specialist I

• Responsible for the supervision of civil and criminal investigations for DCPP’s special response team after business hours, and on holidays
• During supervision of such cases, we work closely with the prosecutor’s office, various branches of Law Enforcement, and in many cases, the FBI directly
• My work with the FBI mainly pertained to children who were missing and transported across state lines for human trafficking
• My other duties include assisting Investigators on problematic cases where issues such as Safety, permanency, and Well-Being need to be determined
• Additional duties include deciphering the need for Safety Protection Plans, taking children into protective custody with law enforcement, and teaming with law enforcement on complex criminal investigations pertaining to domestic violence, child sex abuse, and serve child abuse

• Completed processes and several Family Team Meetings necessary to earn the certificate to become a Family Team Meeting Coach
• Duties included training and developing an FTM Facilitator as well
• Completed a15-person FTM that was supervised by FTM Master Coach, and contracted Family Intervention Service, Grandmaster Coach
• Passaic North Local Office

• Responsible for the selection and interviews of prospective, promising, and qualified potential DCPP employees based on a series of questioning, processing, and training, as well as the application of proper protocols, and interviewing techniques

• I provided personalized therapy for children and young adults (ages5-21) in their own environments
• This role involves conducting comprehensive assessments, creating individualized treatment plans, and offering support to help young clients thrive
• I worked closely with families to ensure my therapeutic interventions were culturally sensitive and appropriate

• Lectured as a Guest Speaker on an Elder Abuse course
• Presented on PowerPoint slides regarding types of Elder abuse
• Intergenerational Transmission of Violence Theory
• Social Exchange Theory, Family Stress Theory, Psychopathy, Theory of Elder Abuse

• I provided part-time mental health or counseling services in the following modalities: Stress Management, Trauma, Anxiety Disorders, Mood Disorders, Child Sex Abuse, Sand Tray Therapy, Strength based and Empowerment approaches, Solution Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Crisis Management, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Christian intervention
• Sessions are provided in45-minute sessions for each client
• Sessions are available via in-person appointments and tele-health

• As an Intake Supervisor, I am responsible for the supervision of intakes and managing active investigations
• There is an emphasis on Safety and Risk in intake cases
• Determinations are made whether problems can be resolved at the intake stages or transferred to a permanency unit for ongoing services
• Additional supervision functions also include handling administrative and personnel matters
• Supervisors are responsible for teaching and supporting the five designees under my supervision
• Designees under supervision are required to ensure the Safety, Permanency, Well-Being, and Stability of each child assigned to their respective caseloads
• Responsible for covering15 workers, supervising multiple units, assisting Casework Supervisors, Peers, and Local Office Manager with data interpretation, rotation schedule, strategy planning, and enhancing case practice
• Supervising Family Service Specialist II(Investigations)
• Passaic North Local Office

• Recently completed training for quality reviewing which authorizes reviewing casework/case practice from a qualitative perspective
• Responsible for conducting three (3) qualitative reviews in the counties of Passaic, Bergen, and Morris Counties for the2014 year
• The role of a qualitative reviewer is to review cases to ensure the overall safety, well-being, and functioning of the family post-DCP&P involvement
• Additionally, the Quality Reviewer provides strategic feedback to the case management team to strengthen the teams’ case practice and assessment skills for the future

• Responsible for enforcing and monitoring proper and effective case practice procedures as it relates to State policy and the law
• Duties also include enhancing the development of staff to ensure safety, and permanency planning for children in placement is adhered to
• Additional duties include monitoring and improving the case progression of children who remain in in-home and out-of-home placement settings
• Duties also include performing audits, appeals, and expungements
• Case Practice Specialists are also responsible for developing reports relating to Child Deaths, Child Fatalities, and Critical Incident reports as well
• A recently developed policy now requires signed contact sheets for the case record
• Also had a “Did You Know?” posting published statewide

• As an Intake Supervisor, I am responsible for the supervision of intakes and managing active investigations
• There is an emphasis on Safety and Risk in intake cases
• Determinations are made whether problems can be resolved at the intake stages or transferred to a permanency unit for ongoing services
• Additional supervision functions also include handling administrative and personnel matters
• Supervisors are responsible for teaching and supporting the five designees under my supervision
• Designees under supervision are required to ensure the Safety, Permanency, Well-Being, and Stability of each child assigned to their respective caseloads
• Responsible for covering15 workers, supervising multiple units, assisting Casework Supervisors, Peers, and Local Office Manager with data interpretation, rotation schedule, strategy planning, and enhancing case practice
• Supervising Family Service Specialist II(Investigations)
• Passaic North Local Office & Essex Area Office