Spotlight on the Staff: Cheryl Cooley
LA Best Babies Network’s Staff Spotlight series features staff from the Welcome Baby, Healthy Families America, and Parents as Teachers home visiting programs in Los Angeles County’s Family Strengthening Network.
This month, we’re spotlighting Cheryl Cooley, a Family Support Specialist with the Healthy Families America program at Lundquist Institute’s South LA Health Projects.
Cheryl celebrates her 15th year with Lundquist/SLAHP at the start of the new year, a milestone that reflects her deep commitment and dedication to supporting L.A. County’s youngest residents and their families.
“I really, really love to do this job,” she says. When asked what keeps her inspired to do this work, she responded, “I work with an awesome team, and I work in an awesome community.”
As part of the Healthy Families America home visiting program structure, Cheryl usually meets with her client families on a weekly basis at first. Over time, based on a family’s readiness, the frequency of visits may gradually decrease — from weekly to every other week, then monthly, and finally, quarterly.
During these visits, Cheryl covers a variety of topics with the family that help cultivate and strengthen nurturing parent-child relationships, promote healthy childhood growth and development, and enhance overall family well-being.
“I enjoy pouring into [the families],” she says, “because the return is always going to be greater than what I give … I’ve seen the return, and it’s always great.”
In the video below, Cheryl sits down with L.A. Best Babies Network’s Communications team to reflect on her experience as a Family Support Specialist and shares what continues to motivate her after all of these years.
Thank you, Cheryl, for your incredible dedication and all the wonderful work you’ve done with families in L.A. County over the years!
Find a Home Visiting Program in L.A. County
- Do you know someone in L.A. County who is pregnant or who recently had a baby? They can find a free in-home support program at eDirectory.HomeVisitingLA.org.
See other Spotlight on the Staff posts »