1. Kids At Heart,llc
Denise Boeckmann

2. Mission Statement
To provide a safe, secure environment for children to spend quality time with their parents, siblings and other family members.

3. Kids at Heart LLC, was founded on October 24, 2004 by Denise Boeckmann and Shari Frazier.
Denise and Shari initially worked for DCFS and once budget cuts were made the state agency urged them to continue working and they decided to start their own supervised and monitored visitation services.
The goal for the agency is to provide their clients, Social workers and the courts with honest, unbiased, detailed reports on each interaction between parents and their children as

4. What does kids at heart provide?
Kids at Heart,LLC, provides exchanges, transportation for children to and from visitation and supervised visitation for children, parents and families. It also provides telephone visits.
There are three main forms of visitations:
Supervised – within sight and sound of children at all times.
Monitored- if the visitation is two hours, the visitation specialist will be present for the first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes or however the social worker or court has decided.
Strict unsupervised-provides transportation to and from visits

5. Qualifications
Kids at Heart, LLC is a proud member of the Supervised Visitation Network, which is an international organization of professionals who provide supervised visitation and access services to families
Their dedicated employees must have a minimum of 27 hours of PRIDE training (foster parent training) and possess certification in First Aid/CPR, blood borne pathogens/HIV, car seat safety, personal bias, grief and loss and domestic violence. There are also other trainings held throughout the year.

6. Visitation Sites
Kids at Heart offers a safe and convenient location for visitations to take place in. Their Kennewick site offers a one-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen, and a fenced backyard that parents and children can utilize to make their visit in a home-like environment.
They also provide supervised/monitored visitation throughout the community in an approved site per social worker or court order.

7. Bio/personal goals
13-14 years back Denise realized this is what she always wanted to do, help children.
She doesn’t know what else she would be doing if it weren’t for Kids at Heart.
Her hopes in working in this field are to ensure quality time between parents and children so they may retain their bond.
She believes in making a difference in each persons life even if it may only be minimal.

8. Likes
She loves her job because she gets to meet the kids and likes to help the parents retain their bond if that’s what’s best for the child.
She loves her work and is not in it for the money because there is none.
Everyday is a different day and it constantly changes so it doesn’t get routine.

9. Dislikes The pay is horrible
This job can bring different situations which can be dangerous and the constant need to watching out for warning signals can be draining.
Must be available seven days a week
Lots of paperwork because they are contracted by DCFS ,CPS , family court, and superior court, and all require extensive documentation
There is no funding for parents who aren’t court order but still could benefit from their services

10. Causes of child abuse
Sometimes it’s the way their parents raised them, and this passed down from generation to generation because the lack of education
Lack positive parenting skills

11. Intervention/Prevention
Educate parents to provide positive environments by first gaining necessary skills
Community involvement
Things shouldn’t have to get so bad before something happens

12. Advice for those pursuing Social Work
Be sure that this is what you want to do because it’s long hours and not enough pay
Be prepared to deal with heartbreaking situations
Keep an open mind
Expect lots and lots of paperwork!

13. Thank you!
Kids at Heart, LLC 121 N. McKinley St. #1 Kennewick, WA (509) Phone (509) Fax By: Brisa Vasquez