Meet the Tyler Management Team
Abby Smartt – Regional Director
Abby Smartt began serving as Case Manager Supervisor for A World For Children in March 2018. Abby graduated with her Master of Science in Social Work degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 2017, specializing in clinical practice with children and families. Her passion for working with children who have come from hard places led her to working as a case manager for other child placing agencies in the DFW area for over two years, as well as, working as a therapist for teen mothers in the foster care system. Abby is a certified Motivational Interviewer and practitioner of Trust-Based Relational Intervention. Abby practices from a strengths-based, attachment-focused perspective and believes that all children should have a safe, loving environment in which they can grow and learn. She enjoys working with the Dallas, Tyler, and Burleson teams to ensure every family feels supported and every child feels loved.
Patti Rooks – FH Dev/Community Director
Patti Rooks has many years of working in Child Welfare. She and her husband were foster parent for over 14 years. They were licensed as a therapeutic foster, group home and preferred parenting teens and hard to place kids. For several years they were licensed through A World For Children in Brownwood. Even though they started the foster care journey to adopt one child, during their 14 years of fostering they adopted 18 children from the foster care system. Over half or those were placed with them and adopted as teens. They also have one biological child and are now raising the daughter to one of their former foster children.
With a passion for children Patti has served on the Johnson County Child Welfare board, past president of Johnson County Foster Parent Association, Past president of Council on Adoptable Children of Texas. She has facilitated a foster/adopt support group for over 10 years. She has a popular adoption blog “Extreme Adoption” and a podCast “Intentional Parenting” / Before joining A World For Children as Case manager She worked for several years as a case manager for both Post Adopt Services and Catholic Charities in their International Foster Care Program. She is an avid learner and is an instructor for Parenting with Love and Logic, Anger Management for Teens, American Red Cross CPR/First Aid instructor and a TBRI practitioner. She is a great support to foster parents and is always looking for ways to help families thrive.