[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 8317-8318]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO KATHY FRANCIS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 4, 2004

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a resident of 
Vermont, Kathy Francis. I am not the first to recognize her merits. She 
has already been honored by the Vermont Foster and Adoptive Family 
Association as the Vermont Social Worker of the Year. In a week she 
will be recognized by the National Foster and Adoptive Families 
Association as National Social Worker of the Year.
  We all know that our nation's future lies with its children. The 
young of today will be the adults of tomorrow. But being young is not 
always an easy or comfortable position: many children in America are at 
risk, and need adults--parents, relatives; teachers, social workers, 
families--to support and guide them.
  Perhaps most at risk are those without birth parents. And it is 
toward these children that Kathy Francis has made a major, ongoing 
commitment. A child protective social worker for Vermont's Social and 
Rehabilitative Services Department for the past ten years, Kathy has 
worked overtime, and with great dedication, to make sure that the 
children she

[[Page 8318]]

serves, and the families they are placed with, have support of every 
kind. That these children will move forward to live rich and productive 
lives, and that the families they live with will surround them with 
support and love (and will receive love in return), has much to do with 
Kathy's ardor, perseverance and devotion to these Vermont children.
  She is profoundly deserving of being honored Social Worker of the 
Year, and Vermont is greatly proud of her.

                          ____________________