Social Workers: Generations Strong

March is National Social Workers Month, a time to highlight the work of social workers in our community. This year’s theme is “Social Workers: Generations Strong.”Read more


Celebrating Black History Month: Meet Asharra Miller

February is Black History Month, a time to pay tribute to the accomplishments of African Americans, who are often faced with adversity. The contributions and achievements of African American men and women span the course of history and all professional fields. Family & Children’s Service honors the contributions and achievements of African Americans, both past and present who have exemplified FCS’s vision to strengthen, protect and preserve the dignity and independence of people in need.Read more


Celebrating Black History Month: Meet Tiara Brown

February is Black History Month, a time to pay tribute to the accomplishments of African Americans, who are often faced with adversity. The contributions and achievements of African American men and women span the course of history and all professional fields. Family & Children’s Service honors the contributions and achievements of African Americans, both past and present who have exemplified FCS’s vision to strengthen, protect and preserve the dignity and independence of people in need.Read more


Meet Minneta Brockington, December Aide of the Month

Congratulations to our December Aide of the Month, Minneta Brockington! Minneta received her Certified Home Health Aide training through Family & Children’s Service (FCS) in 1999. This is Minneta’s second time being named Aide of the Month.Read more


Meet Mariah Nelson, July Aide of the Month

Congratulations to our July Aide of the Month, Mariah Nelson! Mariah received her Certified Home Health Aide (CHHA) training through Family & Children’s Service and has been with the agency for 12 years. When asked what inspired Mariah to become a CHHA she explained “I saw the need to help people and when I saw how gratified I felt after caring for my clients, I thought this is what I should do.”Read more


Meet Gloria Valbrune, June Aide of the Month

Congratulations to our June Aide of the Month, Gloria Valbrune! Gloria has been a Certified Home Health Aide (CHHA) with FCS Home Care Services for an impressive 24 years. Prior to working at FCS, Gloria worked at a nursing home where two coworkers suggested she apply for a job at FCS. Gloria remembers thinking “I don’t drive and I know they will ask me for a driver’s license. So, when I got my driver’s license I applied.”

Gloria recalls taking her certification class at FCS in 1995, proudly remembering “I took the class and started working right away. I finished on Friday and started working on Monday.”Read more


Happy Administrative Professionals' Day

Happy Administrative Professionals' Day! The name and purpose of this day of recognition has changed slightly over the years. It originated during World War II, when there was a need for skilled administrative professionals in the workforce. It helped to recognize the contributions that administrative personnel brought to the economy, as well as support their personal development and hopefully attract people to the field.

Read more


On Being a Nurse

Kathleen Rosa is Registered Nurse with FCS Home Care Services, part of a team of four registered nurses who oversee the daily care needs of our nearly 200 Home Care clients. As part of National Nurses Week, we asked Kathleen, whose nursing career has spanned five decades, to share her thoughts on being a nurse. 

This week is National Nurses Week -- a significant week for me as this year marks 50 years since I finished nursing school and began my nursing career!

I graduated from the Central Islip State School of Nursing, a hospital-affiliated nursing school, in 1968 and landed my first nursing assignment at New York Hospital in the pediatrics unit. A second pediatrics assignment followed at the Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospital in Manhattan, (now the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center, an affiliate of the New York Medical College School of Medicine). I enrolled in the Baccalaureate program at Long Island University, and soon after, was inspired to change my focus by one of my nursing professors. She taught Public Health and had a newspaper photo of herself at work in Brooklyn on a bicycle with her nursing bag in a basket in the back. What could be better than that?! Read more


A Caregiver at Heart

loisFor nearly 30 years, Lois Gidaro has worked as a certified home health aide for Family & Children’s Service (FCS), caring for clients who sometimes have no one else to care for them. Lois is one of more than 80 FCS certified home health aides and supportive care aides who provide care to nearly 220 clients throughout Monmouth County. Lois spoke with us during National Home Care Aide Week about her lifelong career choice to be a caregiver.Read more


Art Meets Heart

IMG_8459
The artist, Judy Stach, at work

I believe that every person on the planet has a unique ability to be an advocate for others. In my case, that advocacy is through art. Why art? Why not?! Art is an important vehicle for change. It teaches us history, challenges our minds to invent, and, I believe, brings us closer to understanding all that God, the most perfect artist, created.

Read more