News:Charlie Allinson Award - Barbara Trujillo
The Charlie Allinson award is in honor of the past director of the State Division for Developmental Disabilities. He was known for his life-long commitment to individuals with developmental
disabilities, and as a strong advocate within the system.
This year’s award was presented to Barbara Trujillo, the benefits specialist with resource coordination. Barbara is our in-house expert with regard to benefits, helping individuals and families navigate the systems involved when applying for benefits, including Medicaid waiver services.
She is able to use her long-term contacts at the county departments of human services, Social Security Administration and other agencies to solve problems, trouble shoot and keep on top of the process.
Resource coordinators and families alike have come to rely on Barbara when trouble arises. As you can imagine—given the state computer system—trouble with benefits has become an everyday occurrence which can be extremely stressful for families. Barbara will immediately contact the appropriate agency to avoid any gap in Medicaid and services. She also helps when people apply for benefits and the process has become stalled.
Working with emergencies has become common for Barbara. She prioritizes and immediately does
whatever is needed to help that individual get approved for emergency services, including taking documents directly to the agency that needs them.
Barbara is a member of DDRC’s 25th Hour Committee that receives emergency requests. Her knowledge of outside resources and benefits has been critical for helping individuals and families in crisis. We also often rely on Barbara to assist with interpreting, as she is bilingual. Many families have sent in heart-felt letters of appreciation to Barbara. In turn, we would like to take this opportunity to let Barbara know how much DDRC appreciates all of her work on behalf of individuals and their families. Barbara Trujillo exemplifies dedication and caring as the 2007 winner
