By Abdul Seraaj | Edited by Intisar Seraaj
Editor’s Note: The CEO of Seraaj Family Homes, Inc. (SFH), Abdul Seraaj, is currently making personal visits to some of the agency’s foster parents, as he likes to model the kind of continuous quality improvement practices our employees should practice. Although he’s the CEO now, Seraaj and his cofounding partner began the company while functioning in most of the roles themselves, including case manager, foster parent, and therapist. So, Seraaj often reverts back to his foundational roles and education—with a master’s degree in family and marital counseling—and makes home visit to clients himself. This keeps his skills sharp, allows him to personally connect with our foster parents, and exhibits the quality of home visits employees are expected to conduct. The series “Spring 2021 Foster Parent Visits” on our blog give us a look at his field notes for his visitations. Here’s his experience from visiting our foster parent Evelyn Terrell.
In SFH’s Montgomery, Ala. region [we have a] PFT (professional foster parent) [named] Evelyn Terrell, who enjoys working with foster children with special needs. Her beautiful, peaceful, and spacious home has been made very child-friendly. She says her foster children have enhanced her quality of life. One can easily see that she is not a PFT for the money. She views having kids in foster care as part of her personal health and wellness plan, especially since all her biological kids are well-established adults with their own families now.
She and her husband are involved in their community’s health and wellness, as well. Terrell says she enjoys getting her foster kids out of the house to enjoy the beautiful outdoors because she grew up as a country girl in Russell County, Ala. Growing up, she was an all-around athlete, playing organized softball, basketball, and volleyball. She says playing sports positively impacted her. So, she encourages SFH case managers and family support workers to get our foster kids out of the home and engage in community activities rather than just sitting and talking with the kids. [But besides that,] she stated that she has had several outstanding case managers throughout the years working with SFH’s Montgomery, Ala. region. She stated that she currently has a case manager who she can depend upon, [especially] in times of crisis. She says this is what she likes most about SFH: the outstanding support that SFH gives its PFTs.