Stephanie McKinney, Project CHILD Specialist, named Citizen of the Year

MT. VERNON, Ill. (March 10, 2015) - Rend Lake College’s Stephanie McKinney of Dahlgren, now a Wayne City resident, has been named the Illinois Southern District Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). McKinney works for RLC’s Project CHILD as a Child Care Assistance Program Specialist.

The Public Citizen of the Year award honors an outstanding member of the community whose accomplishments exemplify the values and mission of professional social work. According to the NASW website, those chosen make a significant contribution to an area or population of concern to the social work profession, specifically at-risk or vulnerable populations. They also act with courage, demonstrate outstanding leadership, and exemplify social work values and ethics.

Though McKinney is not a social worker in title, her daily work for Project CHILD is very similar to that of social work: helping others. She was nominated by former Project CHILD student worker Lamanda Bean, and says part of the nomination was due to her ability to empathize and effectively communicate with frustrated clients.

“I started using Project CHILD myself while I was working, finishing school, and taking care of my children, so I know first-hand what it feels like to be the parent on the other side of the desk,” said McKinney. “I enjoy my job so much because I feel like a bridge. I know both sides, and it’s the most rewarding part for me to be able to relate and help a parent. I know when Lamanda was here, she worked right next to me, and she would send me clients who were frustrated or upset and I would work with them to figure out what was the core problem and work out from there.”

Project CHILD is a child care resource and referral grant program housed at the RLC MarketPlace in Mt. Vernon. There, McKinney and other staff members do everything from helping potential clients fill out applications to setting up payments to providing trainings for care providers, and everything in between.

“Project CHILD helps parents who need assistance paying for child care. It serves low income people, but not necessarily the bare minimum,” said McKinney. “I work on the CCAP [Child Care Assistance Program] side, helping clients pay for the child care and setting up co-payments. Then there’s the Care Core side that deals with providing many different types of continuing education for Early Childhood Providers.”

McKinney is an RLC graduate who will mark her 15th year at RLC and Project CHILD this summer. In 2011, she was also honored with the RLC Outstanding Staff Award.