Press Contact:
Edward Borges
edward.borges@ocfs.state.ny.us
Public Information Office
(518) 473-7793
Madison County Adult Protective Services Workers Recognized for Outstanding Service
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) today (Oct. 27) awarded Certificates of Recognition for Excellence in Providing Protective Services for Adults (PSA) to Mark Babowicz and Dawn LaGreca, caseworkers in the Madison County Department of Social Services (DSS) Adult Services Unit.
The certificates were presented by Alan Lawitz, OCFS director of the Bureau of Adult Services, and Deborah Greenfield, also of the Bureau of Adult Services. Madison County DSS Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald and Board of Supervisors Chairman John M. Becker also participated.
OCFS Commissioner Gladys Carrión, Esq., said: “Protective Services for Adults workers are on the front lines in responding to referrals of adult abuse, neglect and exploitation. They are the ones who act to protect vulnerable adults with impairments, who have no one else willing and able to assist them. With these Certificates of Recognition we proudly acknowledge and celebrate superlative work by PSA workers.”
Commissioner Fitzgerald nominated these workers for their persistent and creative work with a client with extensive physical ailments and in danger of losing a leg, who was living in his truck under deplorable conditions and refusing to leave. After several days of repeated attempts to persuade him to leave the truck and accept medical attention, and after consultation with the DSS Legal Department, the Commissioner’s Office and several other agencies, these workers were finally able to persuade the client that he needed hospitalization. He was taken to the hospital and received the treatment he desperately needed.
Hospital staff later confirmed that if the workers had not gotten him to a hospital when they did, the client would have lost at least one leg, if not both. After a couple months’ stay in the hospital, the client was able to return home without the need for further services. Commissioner Fitzgerald praised Mark and Dawn “for the work and obstacles they overcame to make sure that this gentleman was safe and received the care that he needed so that he did not suffer further harm or die.”
Adults, 18 or older, may need protective services for a variety of reasons. Madison County residents can obtain help and information by calling (315) 366-2211 or by visiting www.Madisoncouty.org .
For the telephone number of other counties’ PSA units, call 1-800-342-3009 (press option 6). For more information about PSA, visit the website of OCFS, which oversees PSA, at www.ocfs.state.ny.us
### |