Foster Care & Adoptions

Meet the Team


Julissa M. Castillo

Executive Director of Foster Care and Adoptions

castilloj@mckinleycc.org

Julissa is the Executive Director of McKinley Children's Center’s Foster Care and Adoptions program and has been with McKinley since 2005. She has over 15 years of experience working with children and families.
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Julissa has extensive experience in providing services in the areas of youth shelter care, school counseling, domestic violence, and child abuse counseling, as well as foster care and adoption. She has worked for Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Human Services Association and Children of the Village Foster Care. She retired as a 1st Lieutenant Finance Officer with the United States Army after serving for 10 years.

Julissa is a consultant with Foster Care Kinship Education with the local community colleges for over nine years and provides child welfare educational classes to the community. Julissa earned a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Society from the University of California at Santa Barbara and earned a Master’s Degree in School Counseling with a Pupil Services Credential from the University of La Verne.

 

Maria Lorena Perez

Regional Administrator of Foster Care and Adoptions

perezm@mckinleycc.org

Maria is the Regional Administrator for the Foster Family and Adoptions Program. She has been with McKinley Children's Center since October 2004. She has a Master’s in Social Work with a specialization in children, youth and families from Cal State San Bernardino. Maria enjoys helping others in advocating and bringing awareness to the community about child welfare. She sees her role at McKinley as being a part of an extended family and she likes to share the McKinley vision with all of the families and children she works with.

 

Robbie Thomas

Adoptions Social Worker

thomasr@mckinleycc.org

Robbie is an Adoptions Social Worker and has been with McKinley since 2008. During her time of service her duties have called for patience, endurance and, most of all, compassion. She loves her colleagues, clients and the challenges she faces on a daily basis.

 

Manuel Miranda

Social Worker

mirandam@mckinleycc.org

Manuel has been a Social Worker since 2007 and is very passionate about his work. Manuel particularly enjoys working with new foster families, as he is responsible for training prospective foster parents. In addition to training, he loves the work he does with the foster families and keeps in touch with them weekly, if not daily.

 

Susana Zavala

Foster Parent Coordinator

zavalas@mckinleycc.org

Susana, Foster Parent Coordinator, has been with McKinley since 2007. Susana is responsible for coordinating many activities with foster parents and she stays in constant contact with them to make sure that they are receiving the support they need to be successful. Susana is compassionate, understanding, detail-oriented, and flexible, and is available to help foster parents enjoy their experience with McKinley.