Burnet County honors Dorinda Duzan for CPS service
Lew K. Cohn/The Highlander
Burnet County Commissioners honored Dorinda Duzan upon her retirement from the Burnet CPS office on June 11. From left are Llano County Attorney Becky Lang, Pct. 1 Commissioner Jim Luther Jr., Pct. 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle, Duzan, Burnet County Judge James Oakley, Judge Cheryll Mabray of the Child Protection Court of the Hill Country, Pct. 3 Commissioner Billy Wall, Pct. 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery and Burnet County Attorney Eddie Arredondo.
By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor
Co-workers, county officials, family and friends honored retiring Burnet Child Protective Services supervisor Dorinda Duzan last week in recognition of her many years of service.
Burnet County commissioners unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday, June 11, thanking Duzan for her work on behalf of the children of Burnet County.
Duzan, a former teacher in Austin ISD, had worked in the Burnet case office for the past 15 years and had worked closely with Burnet County Attorney Eddie Arredondo, Llano County Attorney Becky Lang and Judge Cheryl Mabray of the Child Protection Court of the Hill Country to advocate for children when initiating investigations into abuse and neglect.
“It takes a large number of people behind the scenes working as a unit, dedicated to working for the needs of children,” Arredondo said. “Behind them was Dorinda Duzan and we are here today to say thank you to her for the things she has done to help the children of Burnet County.”
“Dorinda held my hand and taught me how to do my job in order to make a difference in the lives of children,” Lang said. “I appreciate her being such a good leader for her office.”
“The day Dorinda called to say she was no longer going to be working here was a sad day for me and a huge loss for all of us who work with kids,” said Mabray, whose court hears cases regarding child abuse and neglect.
“We may not have always agreed on what to do, but I know Dorinda always had the child's best interest at heart. She was always there to support everyone and she leaves behind some big shoes to fill.”
Duzan's employees praised her leadership and her commitment to the job.
Kim Mansell, a CPS program administrator, said Duzan “taught a lot of us here how to do the job.”
“She taught me that doing the right thing was sometimes doing the hard thing, but we should always try to do what is the right thing,” Mansell said. “She has been a wonderful role model for all of us.”
Teresa Greenburg, a kinship development worker, said Duzan took an office which had a high caseload, high turnover and poor morale and “turned around the process from being adversarial to one of teamwork.”
“Ninety-five percent of the people who she hired or who were there when she came are still there today,” Greenburg said. “The turnover rate statewide is something like 40 percent. The measures she would go to accomplish her goals for this office were nothing short of admirable.
“She was always working to keep kids safe and to help see them transition our of our department as soon as possible and she would go above and beyond to make that happen.”
Duzan thanked the county for the honor and said she has “a lot of respect for the court and for the Burnet County Child Welfare Board,” a group of volunteers who help provide support to children in foster care in the county.
“Burnet County has always been responsive to whatever is needed for the children,” Duzan said. “I thank you very much for this honor and I appreciate everything you have done to help us.”
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