[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 7 (Monday, January 13, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E52-E53]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN RECOGNITION OF BEVERLY BEASLEY JOHNSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 13, 2014

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Beverly Beasley Johnson for 
her 37 years of outstanding public service in California and Michigan. 
Beverly is driven by her dedication to justice and has touched the 
lives of thousands of people, particularly children.
  For the last seven years, she was the Director of the San Mateo 
County Human Services Agency (HAS) which envisions a world where every 
child, adult and family lives in a safe, healthy and thriving 
community. The agency provides an always-expanding list of family 
services, child care, financial assistance, employment services, 
veterans services, food assistance and now even enrollment into the new 
health care system. Under Beverly's leadership the agency has 
implemented California's child welfare system improvement plan and 
focused on the disproportionate representation of African American 
children in the child protective services system. Beverly and I share a 
steadfast determination to stop commercial sex trafficking which 
enslaves between 100,000 and 300,000 children in our country alone.
  The level of professionalism and excellence at the agency is 
experienced by San Mateo residents every day, and has been recognized 
by the Council on Accreditation (COA) and the Commission on 
Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). In fact, San Mateo 
County's HSA was the first public agency in California to receive the 
COA accreditation and it was just renewed for another four years.
  Beverly has been working closely with the state's parole re-entry 
program. She led her team to research, design and implement the award-
winning ``Service Connect'' model to ensure that formerly incarcerated 
residents had the best chances to successfully reintegrate into the 
community by having easy access to services and support. Beverly has 
worked hard to remove the stigma of food stamps as a government handout 
and to educate the general public about food insecurity. She partnered 
with the county and the nonprofit Code for America to create an app 
that will help residents connect with valuable local services and 
programs.
  Before joining NSA, Beverly held a similar position at the Kern 
County Department of Human Services for four years. There she launched 
``Heart Gallery'' for children awaiting adoptions and the Child Welfare 
Parent Leader Program. She employed parents who had successfully 
reunited with their children to mentor other child welfare families and 
she championed the Annie E. Casey Family to Family Program.
  Beverly grew up in Michigan and earned her Bachelor's Degree in 
Psychology from Oakland University and her Law Degree from Michigan 
State University Detroit College of Law. She served as the chief deputy 
director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights after working for 
26 years as a social worker, supervisor, manager and administrator of 
public welfare and human services for what is now named the Michigan 
Human Services Agency.

[[Page E53]]

  Mr. Speaker, as you can tell by these accomplishments, Beverly 
Beasley Johnson has a steel backbone and a generous heart. She believes 
that every person should be presumed to be worthy until proven 
otherwise, and she has worked hard to ensure that the purposes of 
social service programs are upheld. Ultimately, those purposes are to 
feed and house the poor, to relieve suffering for those wrongly 
afflicted, and to ennoble the human spirit by educating, supporting and 
guiding good people towards sound choices. Beverly has been outstanding 
in achieving these purposes during her career.
  In her well-deserved retirement, Beverly will split her time between 
California and Michigan. She is looking forward to spending more time 
with her husband Thomas, her four children, five grandchildren and soon 
her first great-grandchild.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to 
honor Beverly Beasley Johnson, a genuine public servant, a champion for 
people in need and a woman with a huge heart. She has led so many onto 
a path to a better life.

                          ____________________