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CFC's WIC Director in Taunton is Named Best In the State
WORCESTER ~ Karen Swass just completed her preparations for a workshop on
Hunger 101 when she returned to her seat in the Worcester Centrum.
She sat down just moments before the announcement was made for the Women, Infants and Children program director of the year. She was thunderstruck by the announcement. The program director of the year was none other than Karen Swass, Citizens for Citizens WIC program director for Greater Taunton and Greater Attleboro.
The 1,000 WIC staff and guests broke into applause as Karen was named. "I sat there for a moment in disbelief I was ready to applaud the choice not figuring it would be me."
Named for her excellence in management and her leadership and her participant service, Karen Swass accepted the honor in "behalf of my wonderful staff." She had high praise for the WIC employees in Taunton and Attleboro who serve a dozen communities and are dedicated to the clients they serve.
Of the 36 programs throughout the state, the CFC program director was chosen as a result of that very staff she had high praise for. The collaborative nomination was reviewed by a panel made up of WIC representatives and staff of the Department of Public Health.
Karen Swass oversaw the tremendous growth of the WIC program from the time she started 21 years ago. At that time, CFC's WIC program served only 500 clients in Greater Taunton. A year later, it moved into Attleboro and today there are nearly 3,000 clients.
A holder of a bachelor's in health and physical education and master's degrees in health education, she taught health prior to heading up the WIC program. The teacher part of her comes out when she conducts workshops or speaks before various groups.
She said that her greatest delights over the past 21 years as head of the WIC program have come from seeing pregnant woman come into the program early and get help in achieving a proper nutritional diet. Then seeing the babies and moms and watching the children grow healthy through the program.
The WIC Director of the Year also found a sense of success in watching WIC gain the respect of the community and making area residents understand that "WIC is not a welfare program but rather a vital health care program for working families. Our objective has been to remove any stigma erroneously associated with the program. We have gained acceptance in the medical community and the community at large but we continue our efforts to give the general public the true picture of who we are, what we do and who we serve."
She said that there are still 200 open slots in the WIC program when so many more could qualify. Ms. Swass stated that a family of two could earn $21,479 a year and qualify for WIC services. A family of eight could earn up to $55,001 a year.
She said: "Our clients deserve respect and we ask those in the program to rate us on our service and I am so pleased to see the response to be unanimous in their high praise of the staff for the way they are served."
She and her husband raised two boys and now they two grandchildren. She commented: "I love my grandchildren so much and I am so pleased to see that all the families that come in contact with this office are provided the opportunities to provide nutritional meals and offer their children a healthy and happy environment."
Mark A. Sullivan Jr., executive director of Citizens for Citizens, said that the dozen communities served by WIC have been well-served by the dedication of Karen Swass and her team of professionals.
He said: "The award as WIC director of the year is much deserved and the community and the entire CFC agency can be proud of her many accomplishments over the years. WIC's success in Attleboro and Taunton is the direct result of the total commitment Karen Swass has made to the mothers, infants and children in our area."
Frank S. Sullivan, CFC deputy director, worked closely with Karen Swass when the office was moved to its current location at One Taunton Green in 2000.
He said, "The WIC program is absolutely wonderful and now Karen has the professional facilities she so long wanted for her clients. In watching WIC develop through the years, we at CFC continue to appreciate Karen's dedication to the women and children who benefit from the services WIC offers. Karen is a staunch advocate of service with dignity for clients and this award recognizes her many talents and her many successes."
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