SEATTLE – Casey Family Programs, the nation’s largest operating foundation dedicated to safely reducing the need for foster care and building Communities of Hope for children and families, announced today the recipients of the 2022 Casey Excellence for Children Awards. A 2022 Casey Excellence for Children Leadership Award has been awarded to Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez as one of 10 winners from across the country. As leader of the largest tribal nation, he worked closely with public health experts on an aggressive response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to the Navajo people having one of the highest vaccination rates in the world at approximately 75%. He’s also been instrumental in using federal funding to support once-in-a-lifetime investments in critical infrastructure developments that will improve the well-being of the Navajo people now and for future generations. President Nez is a longtime advocate of healthy living, and strongly encourages the Navajo people to practice the Navajo teaching known as T’áá hwó’ajít’éego, or self-reliance and self-determination. His priorities include mental and behavioral health treatment, and assistance for communities as they recover from the pandemic’s far-reaching impacts. The Casey Excellence for Children Awards are a national recognition of the accomplishments of leaders, especially those with lived experience in the child welfare system, who are working to safely reduce the need for foster care and build Communities of Hope to ensure the safety and well-being of children and families. The awards are named in honor of Jim Casey, the founder of United Parcel Service, who established Casey Family Programs in 1966 as an operating foundation to help improve the safety and success of vulnerable children and their families across America. The mission of Casey Family Programs is to provide and improve — and ultimately prevent the need for — foster care. For more than 55 years the foundation has worked directly with children and families to improve life outcomes and well-being. Today Casey Family Programs also works with child welfare systems and other partners in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and with more than a dozen tribal nations to influence long-lasting improvements to the safety and success of children, families and the communities where they live.
