Assemblyman Ken Cooley joined the California Legislative Women’s Caucus to recognize extraordinary women from across the state in celebration of Women’s History Month. This year, the Assemblyman honored Michelle Callejas of Sacramento. 

“Recognizing Michelle on this momentous occasion at the Capitol brings me great pride,” said Assemblyman Cooley. “Michelle’s dedication to working collaboratively with families and partners within our community fosters better experiences and exemplifies outstanding community service.”

Michelle Callejas has worked in the health and human services field for over 25 years and is currently the Director of Child, Family and Adult Services for Sacramento County. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, a Master’s Degree in Counseling, and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. 

She began her career at W.E.A.V.E., a local domestic violence agency, providing services for victims of intimate partner abuse and sexual assault.  She also provided group counseling for children exposed to domestic violence and delivered court-ordered counseling services for women involved in Child Protective Services trying to reunify with their children. 

She began working for Sacramento County in 1996, and has served in child welfare, mental health, and the District Attorney’s Victim-Witness program working with family members of homicide victims and victims of hate crimes. 

Michelle served as Deputy Director of Child Protective Services for seven years, where she identified opportunities to work with system and community partners to better address the complex needs of children and youth in foster care. She and several other leaders in Sacramento completed a Multi-System Integration Certificate Program at Georgetown University and have implemented practices to reduce the number of foster children that cross over to the Juvenile Justice system. The team also worked with other community partners to develop a county-wide protocol to identify and serve child victims of commercial sexual exploitation. She is currently co-leading efforts to develop a county-wide prevention plan that focuses on strengthening families and preventing child abuse.

 “It is truly humbling to receive this award.  I consider it a privilege to serve our community and want to acknowledge the dedicated staff in the Department of Child, Family and Adult Services who are serving and supporting children, families and adults each and every day in District 8 and the larger Sacramento area,” said Michelle. 

Assemblyman Ken Cooley represents the 8^th Assembly District which includes the communities of Arden-Arcade, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, Rancho Murieta, Rosemont, Wilton and other portions of unincorporated Sacramento County.   For more information, please visit http://asmdc.org/members/a08/