Alberta Blocker

My journey into child welfare was really more fate than planning. I got my degree in public health from the University of South Florida, expecting to go the CDC consultant route, but after graduation I started working for a state agency and ended up in child welfare investigations after some layoffs. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I really loved investigations and saw a need for people who were really more dedicated and empathetic, just wanting to make a real difference in these kids' lives. I started as a child investigator and then transitioned to utilization management, working with Partnership for Strong Families, where I've been for 3 years. I have extensive experience in compliance, working with state and regulatory agencies. I spent quite a bit of time doing inspections and making sure that everybody providing childcare in the state and my region was compliant. If you wanted to open a new center, I would help you open and issue your license once I made sure all your T's were crossed and I's were dotted, and then I continued to make sure you were in compliance from there. Now I've launched my own consulting agency, Elevate Care and Compliance Services. I work with people interested in starting their own businesses, and those who have started and are struggling to keep up their compliance and might risk losing their licensure because of issues with DCF, the Agency for Healthcare Administration, and other regulatory agencies. My main area of expertise is compliance for group homes serving adults with disabilities, child welfare group homes, and licensed childcare facilities. I've learned that if you don't take care of yourself, you're no good to anybody else, especially working with kids with special needs and families with high needs.