Ann Whiting ’85
Ann Whiting ’85 has been a Child Welfare Worker for four years, serving youth between ages 15 and 21 in Alameda County, California. While Ann works for the county, much of the job involves coordinating with local non-profit care providers, and, of course, the legal system. Just two days before Ann was back on Evergreen’s Olympia campus for Return to Evergreen, Roger Chan, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the East Bay Children’s Law Offices (EBCLO) told a full crowd at the 5th Anniversary Party for the organization that “when we hear Ann is the child welfare worker on the case, we know that the child will be well taken care of”. Roger gave that speech while awarding Ann an Ebby award, the first annual, which recognizes individuals who have dedicated their lives and careers to providing their clients with excellent services and support.
Ann’s first reaction to receiving the award was disbelief and shock, and a bit of discomfort. Having been a social worker for just nine years, and just four in her current position, Ann considered the 300 other social workers serving the same community who deserve recognition. For Ann, receiving an award calls attention to the frustrating big picture of the foster system, something difficult to consider when there are over 400,000 children in out-of-home foster care in the United States, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. The population Ann serves frequently age out without family to depend on or having been adopted.
Ann hasn’t always been a social worker, but has spent most of her career representing teenagers. Ann was a clinical therapist for eight years, and the training and background for clinical work is often an asset, although there’s been a significant learning curve without a master’s degree in social work. Ann is thankful for “the interdisciplinary approach at Evergreen that has informed [her] team and holistic approach to social work”. But Ann actually studied grant writing at Evergreen, which she reflects was about making a compelling argument. Now, Ann uses those skills to help kids “envision a better future,” as well as to pull together funding to make those dreams come true. Ann is dubbed AnnaClause by her coworkers, meaning they know she will figure out a way to deliver funding, from getting teens the braces they need, a scholarship for a class trip abroad, music equipment, and even school programs for career development.
Ann Whiting with her daughter at EBCLO 5th Anniversary Party on October 16, 2014
Ann describes a relatively light caseload compared to other social workers in other counties, she has 26 youth that need monthly visits and care coordination. She cites the temptation to adopt more children, as many of her colleagues do, but as a parent working full-time in an emotionally challenging occupation, caring for her one child means a full plate. She works to get as many kids adopted or connected to family or extended family as possible. Ann adopted her own daughter at age eight, an age often perceived as too old by many prospective adoptive parents.
For Ann, work as a therapist, and then as a social worker, has been a calling. It’s not just her gift of understanding, but it’s also a go-getter attitude that she uses to fight for the best outcomes for all her kids. Even as a student at Evergreen, Ann’s senior project was to get the Big Brother Big Sister Agency off the ground in Thurston County, which had flopped in the ‘80s, by recollecting the board of directors, getting the bylaws re-written, doing fundraising, hiring an Executive Director, and renting an office. For Ann Whiting, “No” has never been an option, and so while it was hard to accept, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to receive an Ebby award this October for outstanding service as a Child Welfare Worker in Alameda County.