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# Social justice: Refuerzo gets recognition
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/social-justice-refuerzo-gets-recognition/
- Published: 2004-05-15T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:18:43.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Health, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Daily Press staff*

A local hospital worker has been honored nationally for her service to the community. Rebecca Ritarita Refuerzo, executive director of the Child and Family Development Center at Saint John’s Health Center, has been named as “Social Worker of the Year” by both state officials and the National Association of Social Workers. Refuerzo was recognized last month by the California Chapter.

As the center’s executive director for the past 10 years, Refuerzo has led the organization in increasing its responsiveness to the community’s mental health needs and in providing the highest quality services available to the poor and vulnerable, hospital officials said. They added that her inspirational leadership is driven by her personal conviction that it is one’s “moral duty to make a difference.”

“We at Saint John’s are very proud of Rebecca and the recognition she has received,” said Bruce Lamoureux, CEO of Saint John’s Health Center. “Through her work at Saint John’s CFDC, she’s improved the lives of so many children and families in the community.”

Refuerzo’s professional career of service to the community has spanned 30 years and three states. She has previously worked as the clinical director at the Didi Hirsch Center; as a senior lecturer at the UCLA School of Social Welfare; and as a private practitioner. In addition, she is an advocate on policy issues affecting mental health services and under-represented populations.

She was nominated for the national award by her colleagues at the city of Santa Monica, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, UCLA faculty and by her colleagues at Region H.

Refuerzo received her bachelor’s degree at the University of California at Davis and received her master’s degree in social welfare from the University of California at Berkeley. She lives in West Los Angeles with Ben, her husband of 35 years, and their 7-year-old daughter Jade.

The Saint John’s Health Center Child and Family Development Center has been providing a range of mental health, developmental, educational and outreach services in response to community needs since 1962\. Child-centered and family-focused services are provided by a multidisciplinary team, which includes clinical social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, teachers and occupational and speech therapists.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 15, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/051504.pdf?ref=smdp.com)