Adoption Exchange Association

Our central goal is to ASSIST and ENCOURAGE our members nationwide
as they find adoptive families for ALL children
and youth who wait in foster care.

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ELLEN W. CAREY SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Ellen W. Carey was a remarkable advocate for children, friend, mentor, and colleague to many in the field of child welfare and adoption. A gift to AEA in Ellen Carey’s name will give a needed scholarship to a promising student in social work at Howard University, Ellen’s alma mater.

Throughout her thirty-eight years career, Ellen W. Carey worked on behalf of children in the child welfare system, serving as case manager and Resource Recruitment Coordinator for several Maryland Counties, and as Coordinator of the Consortium for Child Welfare in Washington, D.C. Those who worked with Ellen Carey considered her to be a lifelong mentor and feel a debt of gratitude for knowing her. She was considered one of the field’s “wise elders” who had enormous national responsibility and prestige but never forgot the reason for her work: to achieve permanency and safety for the nation’s children. Ellen took a creative approach to recruitment and was truly committed to children of color and children with special needs.

In tribute to Ellen W. Carey, the Adoption Exchange Association created this scholarship. Organizations and individuals can contribute, both to honor Ellen’s life, and to give hope and assistance to a promising young person entering the field.

2011 Ellen Carey Award Winner
The 2011 recipient of the Ellen W. Carey Award is Christal G. Herbin, a second year graduate student attending Howard University working toward a Master's degree in Social Work. Christal followed her heart when she decided to study Family and Child Services. In 2009, Christal received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Birth to Kindergarten Education and a minor in Sociology from Greensboro College.

Christal’s Story:
I am a 33 year old African America, single mother of two daughters, 10 and 21 years old. My 10 year old daughter, Jenea, is my biological child and my other daughter, Anna, is now in her third year of college at Winston Salem State University, where she is studying to become a nurse.

If it were not for Anna, I’m not sure if I would be attending Howard University. Four years ago, while supervising a Church Lock-In, I met this young lady in her last year of high school. After talking to her later that evening, I learned that she was homeless. Anna was staying from friend’s house to friend’s house. She was very determined to finish high school, and rode the city bus to school and to her after-school job.

One day when I got home, Anna was sitting outside my house. She was hungry and needed to talk. My heart went out to her. I asked her if she had a number to reach her mother and I called and asked if I could let Anna stay the night at my house so that she would know that Anna was safe. Within a matter of seconds she told me "you can have her." I had a long talk with God, asking him what to do for this young lady. It was put on my heart to take her into my home.

After helping Anna to get through high school and into college, I was able to see the impact that she had on my life. I now know that I was placed here on earth to help the ones who cannot help themselves. For me, that is the children who do not have a loving, caring or supportive home. I know that adoption truly works to save the life of a child, because I have seen it with my own eyes. Anna graduated from high school in June of 2011, and has enlisted in the United States Army.

Once I have obtained my MSW from Howard University and become a licensed social worker, I aspire to gain a position with Guardian Ad Litem in my home town of Greensboro, NC. If given this opportunity to become a part of the Guardian Ad Litem team, I will advocate for the rights of children. This will give me the ability to use the skills and knowledge I have gained at Howard University to be the voice that they desperately need, as well as serve the children and families of my community.