Living and Giving: Rosalynn Perkin’s Story
By Allie Gray Freeland, Writer
As a biological and foster mother, community birth worker and a newly minted Case Management Outreach Coordinator with Chorus Community Health Plans (CCHP), Rosalynn Perkins dedicates her life to compassionate care and serving those around her.
With six biological children ranging from ages one to 22 years old, her home is busy and full of love. On top of her already busy household, in 2015 she stepped up to the plate to foster two children through kinship care, an experience that deeply shaped her.
“We entered into foster care as an emergency setting placement,” said Rosalynn.
The first child entered her life at age 6 until age 14 and the second came to her as a newborn and remained in her care until 4 years old.
Discovering the Care4Kids Program
From the start, Rosalynn showered her biological and foster children with care. But it wasn’t an easy feat. She juggled coordinating appointments, navigating referrals and advocating for medical needs. All while working full-time.
One day, she received a mailer from Care4Kids, which piqued her interest. Wisconsin’s Care4Kids is a voluntary Medicaid program operated and administered by Children’s Wisconsin and Chorus Community Health Plans. It’s designed to support children in “out-of-home care” in meeting their health needs and establishing a medical home for them. A Care4Kids case manager coordinates care and build relationships between the child, their caregivers and medical providers,
Her introduction to the program came as what she calls “divine intervention.” In fact, a health care coordinator called on a particularly challenging day. As a deeply devout woman, she felt it was a sign — the support she needed had arrived at the right time. Her family qualified for the Care4Kids program, and a health care coordinator reached out after getting her information about the program.
The health care coordinator called to share the services and resources CCHP offered. Once she applied, assistance was swift. Support was in place for her eldest foster within one week. For example, Rosalynn’s foster child was able to be seen for primary care as well as specialty care like optometry and specialized therapies.
Once her foster child was onboarded with Care4Kids, everything changed. The program streamlined the scheduling process, ensuring all out-of-the-home medical appointments, even for specialties like mental health, audiology and physical therapy, fit into her family’s busy schedule. The program created a dedicated "medical home" team. This ensured a personalized treatment plan tailored to her foster’s health care needs, including trauma-related care.
Taking medical appointment coordination off her plate, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief for both of her foster children.
The Power of Advocacy
Once Care4Kids came into the picture, they immediately understood the family’s background. “I didn't have to explain the background of the severity of my foster children’s conditions.”
A strong believer in representation in health care, Rosalynn also actively advocated for her foster child to see Black providers and therapists who could understand her foster children’s background and experiences.
“I wanted to make sure my eldest foster son had African American providers so he could see the positivity in his community,” Rosalynn said.
Care4Kids played a crucial role in supporting these efforts, ensuring culturally competent care was accessible. The program even integrated input from the birth mother so she could make medical decisions. As soon as the younger foster child was in Rosalynn’s care, she applied to the program.
Invaluable Resources, Coordination and Peace of Mind
For new foster parents, Rosalynn emphasizes that Care4Kids is not too good to be true. She encourages eligible families to participate and take advantage of all program offerings, from primary care to specialized therapies like equine and art therapies.
“These resources benefit not just the foster child, but the entire family, helping biological and foster siblings navigate their experiences together.”
Rosalynn also credits Care4Kids for offering the structure and support to help her focus on loving and nurturing the children in her care, rather than stressing over appointments and paperwork.
“Care4Kids gave me the ability to love on ALL of my children,” said Rosalynn “Being able to focus on them and not have to be an advocate for every appointment gave me immense peace of mind.”
A New Professional Chapter
While her fostering journey ended in 2022 when her youngest foster child was reunited with their father, a new chapter began.
Her stars aligned again as she saw an open position at CCHP, the organization that supports the Care4Kids program.
Drawing from her passion for advocating for and supporting those in need, Rosalynn knew that she couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
She soon applied and got a call back from CCHP. After the series of interviews, she was hired as a Case Management Outreach Coordinator (ACMOC). The role conducts health needs assessments for children and adults who have applied for state insurance benefits. It also includes assessing needs, providing community resources and referring individuals to government-funded programs like Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby or behavioral health services.
A Culture of a Shared Growth Mindset
After Rosalynn started, she was immediately impressed by the longevity of employees — many had been there for 10 to 20 years. “That stability was a huge factor in my decision.”
She immediately felt at home. Everyone was supportive, patient and willing to help her transition smoothly into her role.
The team structure, check-ins and flexibility were also factors that made it easy to do her job. For instance, when new processes are introduced, CCHP provides recorded trainings, job aids and follow-ups to ensure everyone understands the material. She quickly learned to value CCHP’s open environment — where she could ask anything without fear of judgment.
“Mistakes are seen as learning opportunities and managers actively check in to offer help,” said Rosalynn. “They also track and share performance metrics while being transparent about their own learning curves.”
A Matched Mission and Culture
Today, Rosalynn sees CCHP as an extension of her home and values. Her peers and managers are equally honest, communicative, solution-focused, transparent and invested in the greater good of the community and world.
“Leadership values employee input, whether you’re new or experienced,” she said “And they encourage innovation. If we suggest a change, they’re open to trying it and adjusting as needed.”
Rosalynn encourages those who are considering a new professional role at CCHP to research and make sure it's the right fit and aligns with your own core values.
Luckily, for Rosalynn, it was.
At the core of CCHP is one simple, beautiful goal: to have the healthiest kids in the state. “And that’s a mission worth being part of,” said Rosalynn “Being part of this team means making a real difference.”