Meet Jennifer Mathwig
Family Care Administrator for Sheboygan & Ozaukee Counties

Jennifer Mathwig, Community Care’s new Family Care Administrator for Sheboygan & Ozaukee counties, brings passion and vast experience to her work for Community Care. She has spent her entire professional career helping people live as independently as possible and is motivated by experiences in her personal life.

“It all started for me in college,” says Jennifer. “I knew I liked psychology and I knew I wanted to make a profession of helping others.” She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with an emphasis in counseling.

Jennifer has always enjoyed close relationships with her grandparents, three of which have now passed away. Her maternal grandmother, who turns 102 in June, is still living in her own home, and has remained spunky and independent in her golden years. “She has really inspired my career and my motivation to help people stay in their own homes. She is living proof that age doesn’t matter, only quality of life,” she says.

Inspired by her grandparents, after college Jennifer first worked at a group home for people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and served as a community-based residential facility manager for three years.

She came to Community Care in 1998, hoping to leave behind the 24/7 responsibilities of group home management, but still maintain contact with the older adult population she loves to serve. At Community Care, Jennifer found a “dedication to helping people with disabilities maintain their independence and quality of life in a less restrictive environment.” Jennifer began working as a case manager for the Community Options Program (COP) and COP Waiver Program, through a contract between Community Care and the Milwaukee County Department on Aging. These programs later became a Family Care pilot in Milwaukee County in 2000.

She followed a natural progression to management, with her work as a case manager leading to a role as a unit supervisor in 2001. In 2006, she became an administrator for Community Care’s programs in Milwaukee County. She stepped into her current position in Sheboygan and Ozaukee counties this year. In her new role, Jennifer ensures that case management and service delivery in these two counties meets the state contract requirements. Within the next two years, Community Care’s Family Care Program in Sheboygan and Ozaukee counties will serve more than 1,100 frail older adults and adults with physical and/or developmental disabilities.

Now in management, Jennifer does not have as many opportunities to provide direct service to participants. She appreciates hearing success stories from staff in the field and knowing that her experience in the field helps her counsel care managers as they navigate the challenges of working with aging adults and their families. “It’s good when you can tell a care manager, ‘I have been in the same place you are in now and I made it through. You will, too.’ ” She is enjoying learning about younger populations as well, as the Community Care Family Care program also serves adults with physical and/or developmental disabilities who are as young as 18. She is finding her experience with older adults is a useful complement to the additional two populations she is working with now.

“Community Care has been a good fit for me. I care about the mission and Community Care has never deviated from the pursuit of its mission since I began here,” says Jennifer. Jennifer says her employment at Community Care is not just “a recreational stop” on her career path. She views it as having reached her destination.