CASA Spotlight: Meet Jean Coleman
“I love that the Tot Shop program can help so many new parents who otherwise might struggle to meet their children’s simplest needs.”
When people enter the CASA office, the first face they see is Jean Coleman’s. Jean is the CASA administrative assistant and the director of the Tot Shop. She has been with Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) for twenty-four years this coming May. She started out part-time with the agency as a nighttime receptionist when it was open from 8 AM to 9 PM, Monday through Thursday. In 2011, she began working full-time with the agency, splitting time between administration, CASA, and the Tot Shop.
Before starting at FYBS, Jean worked for the Porter County Department of Child Services for a total of thirty years. When she was hired, the name of the department was Porter County Child Protective Services, and they were considered Porter County employees. The building was shared with the Porter County Health Department and the Planning Commission while the actual office was shared with Child Protection Services, the Food Stamp office, and the Medicaid office. At that time, there were two assessment caseworkers, only four on-going caseworkers, and one supervisor. Jean was the only clerk for the caseworkers, and the only attorney had his own practice and was contracted out for DCS cases. Around 1987, the DCS employees became state employees and moved to a building on Indiana Avenue in Valpo where the Central Park Plaza ice skating rink is now located. They still shared the building with the Food Stamp and Medicaid offices, but they gained an in-house attorney. In 2008, DCS by itself moved into office space on Lincolnway across from the courthouse, and now DCS is located in a brand-new office on Route 30. To say that Jean has had a lot of experience is an understatement!
Jean firmly believes in the CASA program and what it stands for. She has seen a lot of DCS cases in her career, and she knows that CASAs make a difference in the lives of the children they advocate for. She also feels that the CASA staff are all like family to her, and she says she is lucky to have co-workers that are also her friends. Along with her work at CASA, Jean is also the Tot Shop Coordinator. Established in 2003, the Tot Shop serves parents living in Porter, Jasper, LaPorte, Pulaski, Newton, and Benton Counties. The Tot Shop encourages responsible parenting by giving coupons to parents who do prenatal visits, well-child checks, parenting classes, health screenings, and immunizations. From pacifiers to cribs, the Tot Shop has it all! Everything in the Shop is brand new so it’s truly a shopping experience. Jean enjoys working in the Tot Shop and seeing all of the sweet children in our region. She feels that it doesn’t get better than that!
When she isn’t running the Tot Shop or helping the CASA staff with absolutely everything, Jean loves to watch her twelve-year-old grandson play in every sport he can! Along with her husband, Scott, she also loves to camp and kayak in the warmer months. They usually camp at Indiana State Parks, but they have pulled their camper all the way to Nashville, TN in the past.
Jean says she has learned so much working for FYSB. There have been sad stories that don’t always end well to good stories of helping young families get what they need to raise their children. Jean says, “I have cried and I have laughed, but through it all, I have enjoyed the ride I’m on!”
We are grateful to Jean for all of the work she does for the CASA program, the CASA staff, and the Tot Shop. We would be lost without her!
