Jamie Gorrono

A Colorado Family Advocate at the Office of Respondent Parents' Counsel (ORPC) supports parents involved in child welfare cases by providing direct, client-centered advocacy, connecting them with resources, and helping to ensure their voices are heard in court. These advocates often work as part of an interdisciplinary team with attorneys, social workers, and investigators to help parents navigate the system and achieve stability. The ORPC's Parent Advocate Program specifically utilizes individuals who have lived experience in the child welfare system to support other parents.

• Provides unconditional support and guidance for individuals, businesses or groups while they are moving to create a new story. I assist the client in reaching personal goals with excitement and courage. I guide the client in developing a strategy to discover their potential and overcome their fears. I do this by helping them get clarity while uncovering and addressing beliefs, blocks, behaviors, habits and patterns of thinking that prevent them from creating the life they desire.

• Implements and administers PolyOne's human resources services, policies, and programs. Assists in the decision-making processes and positively affects the results of the organization by recruiting, retaining, rewarding, and developing talent in a manner that is cost-efficient and compliant. Coaching and mentoring of employees in job development and mindset work around succession planning.

• Supervised probationers while providing referrals to community resources. Formulated case plans with the offender with the goal of establishing pro-social behavior and repairing the harm caused to the community and victim(s). Motivates and manages the offender’s probation period using a continuum of sanctions and incentives. Conducts investigations and provides recommendations for sentencing to the court based on findings. Presents information verbally and in writing before the court. Maintains current and accurate records and probation notes as established by department policy. Conducts field or home contacts. Attends meetings and training as required. Participate in state projects such as motivation interview, moral recognition therapy and assessment tools.

• Processing of referrals, investigating allegations of child abuse or neglect, making referrals to community supports, making decisions regarding child maltreatment findings, placing children with relatives, foster homes or aggregate care facilities, conducting interviews with clients, managing ongoing cases, learning and complying with mandated timelines and supervising family visitation.
• Represented Montrose County professionally in court proceedings to include honest and accurate testimony, professionally written court reports that are submitted timely and make appropriate recommendations for the safety, permanence and well-being of the child.

• As a senior Case Manager, primary work was with youth ages 11-18 that were referred when their behavior was perceived to endanger himself or herself, family or the community. While working AT mesa County I worked with both adolescent intake and ongoing services. Duties included and responsibilities in these positions included focusing on alleviating conflict between youth and families; focusing on safety and permanency for the youth, writing reports to the court, facility treatment team meetings and data entry on the Colorado Trails computer system.

• Responsibilities included regular visits to the Division of Youth Corrections, Grand Mesa Youth Services Center, where I administered Substance use Abuse Surveys and Adolescent Self-Assessment Profile Questionnaires. Co-facilitated family education, cognitive and anger management groups. In these groups, experiential projects were presented and then processed the material in a manner in which the clients could relate. Responsibilities also included making clients and their families aware of community resources.