After 35 years of working in social services for the state of Missouri, Roby resident Linda Elliott is calling it a career.
Elliott was honored for her lengthy stint in a ceremony last Thursday at the Division of Family Services building in Houston. Among more than 100 attendees of the event was Rep. Robert Ross, who read and presented to Elliott a proclamation recognizing her career.
A graduate of Plato High School, Elliott began working for the state in Lebanon in March 1979 as a secretary for what was then the Division of Aging (now the Department of Senior Services). After about a year in that position, she transferred to Texas County and worked as a DFS secretary.
Elliott went on to hold several other titles at the Houston office. She was a caseworker for several years, took on the now defunct Futures program, and then moved over to the Children’s Services Division, staying in that position for nine years.
For the past year, Elliott has been a contract oversight specialist, overseeing work done for the state by contracted case managers. She said major differences exist between how DFS caseworkers performed their tasks in 1979 and the way they do it now.
“The communication, the hands-on aspects and actually visiting with clients is missing,” she said. “The group in the office here now doesn’t see any clients – they just do computer work. It’s much less personable than it used to be.”
Elliott recalls regularly visiting with clients, even in their homes.
“I think that’s where a lot of our workers are missing out,” she said. “They don’t have that communication with the clientele. As a children’s service worker, you’re right there hands-on with the children and the families. But today, I might not like doing the other job because I love that hands-on aspect.”
Next up for Elliott is focus on raising young horses and spend more time with her husband, Bo, who raises trains Missouri fox trotters.
“The state has enabled me to raise my family and get great benefits and I love it here,” she said. “It’s going to be hard to walk away from – this is my other family. But it’s time for me to devote more time with my husband, grandchildren and my family.”