Maria Imelda Perez-Guevara
Conservatorship Caseworker
Kingsville,TX
Summary
Considerate Caseworker offering over 20 year history of client support, coordinating referrals to outside resources. Counsels and advises children and parents to foster access to assistance and community programs. Certified in Community Supervision Officer and Social Caseworker.
Dependable Caseworker offering 20-year background in structuring client treatment plans and working closely with social workers to assist in daily tasks. Hardworking and motivated individual skilled working with broad range of age groups, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. In-depth understanding of human behavior and resource gathering techniques.
Organized and dependable candidate successful at managing multiple priorities with a positive attitude. Willingness to take on added responsibilities to meet team goals.
To seek and maintain a full-time position that offers professional challenges utilizing interpersonal skills, excellent time management and problem-solving skills.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
7
7
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Conservation Worker
Texas Department Of Protective And Regulatory Services
Kingsville, Texas
11.2012 - Current
- Taking over cases from Investigation caseworkers after children are removed from their homes and placed in care outside their homes.
- Determining each child’s needs and arranging for additional testing, evaluations, records, or further assessments they need.
- Conducting home studies of family members or family friends (kinship providers) who might care for the child.
- Making sure the people who are caring for the children have what they need and keeping them informed about the case.
- Working with children, families, and communities to plan for a child's permanent living arrangement.
- Finding potential permanent placements for the child by meeting with parents, family members, and other people who are important to the family.
- Making sure families get services to keep their child safe and help them keep their child at home.
- Meeting with children, parents, family friends, or foster homes in public as well as in their own homes.
- Visiting children at least monthly to see if the child feels safe where they are living and to ensure their needs are being met.
- Participating in court hearings. This includes preparing a family before the hearings, preparing court reports, and testifying in court about the child’s needs, the family’s progress, and the department’s efforts to achieve permanency for the child.
- Transitioning children back home and providing support to the family until the legal case is closed.
- Documenting casework activity.
- Maintaining good working relationships between Child Protective Services staff and law enforcement officials, judicial officials, legal resources, medical professionals, and other community resources.
- Testifying in legal cases.
- Preparing court reports for cases scheduled for status hearings , permanency hearings and final hearings.
Early Head Start Teacher
Community Action Head Start
Premont, Texas
01.2011 - 10.2011
- Increased student satisfaction by frequently communicating with students about needs and adapting lessons to interests and classroom progress.
- Enhanced 3-5 -year-old students understanding of rules, safety and behavioral guidelines and disciplinary protocols by redesigning and simplifying them.
- Organized activities to teach preschool children foundational learning skills such as letters and numbers.
- Protected children in-class, at recess and off-site with observational skills and positive reinforcement for good behavior.
- Helped new preschool children get used to classes by giving one-on-one support.
- Created plans and communicated deadlines to ensure projects were completed on time.
- Used Microsoft Word and other software tools to create documents and other communications.
- Carried out day-day-day duties accurately and efficiently.
Community Supervision Officer
Kleberg County Community Supervision Office
Kingsville, Texas
02.1998 - 02.2011
- Supervised 8 employees and performance of tasks and managed 35 sex offenders.
- Developed and maintained courteous and effective working relationships.
- Proved successful working within tight deadlines and fast-paced atmosphere.
- Exceeded goals through effective task prioritization and great work ethic.
- Interviews, screens and assesses offenders as required to determine an appropriate level of supervision, and to develop appropriate strategies for supervision
- Developed supervision plans for offenders, and makes appropriate referrals to address the risks and needs of the offenders
- Make appropriate chronological entries and completes written reports, including pre/post sentence investigation reports, violation reports, amendments, and evaluations for early release in a timely manner using good written communication skills
- Maintain case files and documentation on all contacts with probationers and others
- Enforce all conditions of supervision placed on offenders by the courts, and uses appropriate intermediate sanctions to assist defendants, to gain compliance, and to change behavior
- Collect specimens from offenders as ordered by the court for urinalysis or breathalyzer screening to detect the use of alcohol or other drugs.
- Ensure offenders pay restitution and other court-ordered obligations, and addresses delinquencies in appropriate ways.
- Conducted visits at homes, workplaces, or places where offenders are referred to address their needs or risks for the purpose of evaluation and supervision.
- Provided expert testimony and recommendations at court hearings.
- Conducted self in a professional manner with colleagues in the criminal justice system, with offenders, with victims, and with the public.
- Complied with the TDCJ-CJAD Code of Ethics.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Psychology
Texas A&M University - Kingsville
Kingsville, TX 08.1993 - 12.1996
Master of Science - Sociology
Texas A&M University - Kingsville
Kingsville, TX 08.2009 - 12.2012
Skills
Self-Motivated
Problem-Solving
Critical Thinking
Teambuilding
Dependable and Responsible
Active Listening
Decision Making
Timeline
Conservation Worker
Texas Department Of Protective And Regulatory Services
11.2012 - Current
Early Head Start Teacher
Community Action Head Start
01.2011 - 10.2011
Master of Science - Sociology
Texas A&M University - Kingsville
08.2009 - 12.2012
Community Supervision Officer
Kleberg County Community Supervision Office
02.1998 - 02.2011
Bachelor of Arts - Psychology
Texas A&M University - Kingsville
08.1993 - 12.1996