Staff Spotlight: Jamie Bauman

In 2019, Baylor alum Jamie Bauman joined PCHAS as a case manager supervisor for Foster Care and Adoption. Her passion for social work began her freshman year of college when she did a summer internship at her local church.

“There were three little girls who had been adopted from Russia…I got to meet them and spend time with them and I was intrigued as I watched them transition to living in America,” Jamie explains. “I was walking the halls with one of them one day, and she pointed at a brochure and said, ‘That’s my friend.’ That’s when my heart went out to the kids who were still in Russia and didn’t have a home,” Jamie says.

It wasn’t until grad school that she did an internship with Child Protective Services (CPS) and learned about the needs of kids here in Texas. That’s when her love for serving in the child welfare system and working with kids bloomed.

After graduating with her Masters in Social Work, Jamie stayed with CPS and worked directly with the kids who were trying to find their forever families. In this new role, she represented the child and prepared them for adoption.

Ten years later, Jamie thought it was time for a change. “I always knew I wanted to move to a private agency and I was ready for something different,” Jamie says.

When she found PCHAS, she knew it was meant to be. Being the case manager supervisor for the Foster Care and Adoption Program has given her an opportunity to work directly with other case managers.

The years Jamie worked for the state paid off and she gained invaluable expertise, but she had to learn on her own. At PCHAS, she has the ability to take other case managers under her wing and prepare them. That way, they don’t have to learn by themselves, like she did. “I can coach them, use the experiences that I’ve had in order to help them make wise decisions and think through situations,” Jamie explains.

Even though her day-to-day work involves more time with case managers and foster parents, sometimes she still gets thrown a wild card.

“I was headed to bed and got a phone call from CPS at 11:55 p.m. They said they had a little one coming in who needed a home. So, I reviewed their information, went over it with one of our foster parents and they accepted placement,” Jamie said. Two hours later, around 2:30 a.m., the little one was in the arms of their foster mom.

Even though these late-night placements don’t happen often, Jamie points to these situations as an example of the need for more foster parents. “We need more foster parents so I can pull some more late-nighters,” she says, grinning. 

In honor of National Social Worker Month, PCHAS is spotlighting some of our amazing social workers. PCHAS is proud to provide Christ-centered foster care and adoption services. To learn more about how to become a foster parent, email fosteradopt@pchas.org or call 281-324-0544 to connect with a Foster Care and Adoption Guide.