Orlando Health Case Coordinator Named Social Services Professional of the Year

Katie Masters, a Senior Case Coordinator who has been with The Howard Phillips Center for Children & Families, a part of Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, and on the Child Protection Team for over 12 years, was named by the Central Florida Victim Services Coalition as the Social Services Professional of the Year.

Within the Children’s Advocacy Center, the Child Protection Team is a multidisciplinary team of professionals in Orange and Osceola Counties who provide expert assessments of child abuse and neglect cases to assist the Department of Children & Families (DCF) and law enforcement and help protect our community’s most vulnerable children. Following assessment, the team provides recommendations on intervention in order to preserve the health and well-being of a child and ensure each child is in a safe environment. Services include medical examinations and consultations, forensic interviews, psychological evaluations and more.

Katie was nominated by one of our law enforcement partners based on Katie’s many years of exceptional service in her role as a forensic interviewer. One exceptional example included the work she did on a very brutal child abuse case involving a child who was cared for at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer and then came to The Howard Phillips Center for Children & Families for additional examination and videotaped forensic interviewing services. Katie was able to get this severely traumatized child to open up to her and provide the details law enforcement needed to pursue criminal charges in this case.

Thank you to Katie and the team at The Howard Phillips Center for Children & Families for providing hope, healing and compassion for the children and families in Central Florida.