Caroline Gooden may have retired, but that doesn’t mean her work is finished.
She will continue to coordinate a grant on a part-time basis to teach graduate students how to work with young children who were born substance-exposed.
It’s par for the course for Gooden, who started by majoring in psychology in Madison, New Jersey as a way of entering the education field through the back door where she started working with young children with a variety of disabilities.
“I love working with kids, and especially like working with kids with disabilities,” she said. “I did my master’s at UK, early childhood special ed, and didn’t look back.”
Gooden has worked with HDI in a variety of roles since 2005, from helping develop the way the state measures progress for children with disabilities from birth to five years, to advising states on special education regulations for children and their families, leading KY’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and other Disabilities (LEND) program and coordinating the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Training for Interdisciplinary Professions (NASTIPS) project. Often, Gooden said the work she did with children, families, and providers was sobering and powerful.
“Through NASTIPS, we get to look at what’s best for children in terms of their development and how to help families who are in recovery,” she said. “It’s very comprehensive and touches a lot of different systems.”
Gooden said that this recent project is some of the favorite work she’d done through HDI and the College of Education – focusing on services to babies with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.
“I like all things early childhood, special ed,” she said. “Anything related to that area I love.”
The difficulty in picking a real favorite though underlines something Gooden really enjoyed about working with HDI.
“I think one of the best things about HDI is that I’ve been able to work on a lot of projects in different areas related to disability,” she said. “It’s never dull at HDI.”
She’s also really loved how focused on relationships her work at HDI has been.
“I would say that what I’ve enjoyed the most is working with the people at HDI and across the state and nation,” she said. “Building relationships is something I love to do, getting to know different people, and getting to know their strengths and their needs.”
Even though she’ll still be working at UK part-time, Gooden is excited to get into her retirement.
“I want to spend more time with family and friends and more time in the woods – hiking, swimming, boating, and relaxing,” she said.
