Child Welfare League of America

Workshop Session A

A1 Uniting Many Voices to Help Families Heal: Stories from a Gulf Coast Collaboration Project

Learn about community collaborations, public/private partnerships, and national/local relationships that have helped strengthen providers' abilities to respond to the trauma inflicted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Presenters: Katherine Volk, Project Manager, and Kristina Konnath, Trauma Specialist, National Center on Family Homelessness; and Jeff Olivet, Trainer, National Health Care for the Homeless Council, National Center on Family Homelessness, Newton, MA

A2 A Model for Developing Adoption-Competent Mental Health Services in Rural Areas

The Center for Adoption Support and Education is providing in-depth training to 90 indigenous therapists and social workers in rural Virginia where adoption-competent services were almost nonexistent until now. This workshop explains how interest was kindled, and describes the training competencies, modules, and evaluation components used.
Presenters: Debbie Riley, Executive Director, and Allison Harshaw, Program Coordinator and Therapist, Center for Adoption Support and Education, Burtonsville, MD; and Anne Atkinson, President, PolicyWorks, Ltd., Richmond, VA

A3 A Child Welfare Approach to Serving Undocumented Immigrant Children

This workshop explores trends and critical needs of undocumented immigrant children, particularly as served by the Division of Unaccompanied Children's Services (DUCS), Office of Refugee Resettlement. Participants serving recent immigrant children learn to more effectively assist this population through a greater understanding of DUCS children's special needs and challenges.
Presenters: Shereen Faraj, Case Management Team Leader, and Janet Zinn, Program Specialist, Division of Unaccompanied Children's Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Washington, DC

A4 Preparing Your Agency for Performance-Based Contracting: It's Not Rocket Science, It's Harder

The transition from the traditional fee-for-service model to a performance- based service model is the focus for this interactive workshop. Under many of the new performance-based models envisioned by states, risk now is shared by the private agencies, and fiscal rewards and penalties are built into the contract and can impact an agency's ability to serve clients. Case studies and examples from state and provider perspectives are used to challenge participants to consider how prepared their agency is for this transition.
Presenters: Kathleen Kearney, National Director, Consultation and Training, Child Welfare Institute, Chicago; Bart Mawoussi, Vice President, Administrative Services; and Mark Monn, Director, Performance Management and Research, Family Services of Metro Orlando, Orlando, FL

A5 A New Vision of Guardians Ad Litem (GAL): Straws That Stir the Drink

The topic in this workshop is how GAL practice can be transformed to better serve children in foster care. The presenters, including a Family Court judge, use discussion, question/answer, and simulation exercises to help attendees understand and experience an innovative model characterized by low caseloads, substantial training, intensive supervision, and aggressive advocacy.
Presenters: Matthew Fraidin, Assistant Professor, University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, Washington, DC; Vivek Sankaran, Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor, University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, MI; and Juliet McKenna, Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC

A6 Keeping Families Together and Safe: The Child Protection-Housing Connection

This workshop describes CWLA's Keeping Families Together and Safe: The Child Protection-Housing Connection, a project that promotes and initiates cross-systems education, training, and collaboration between child protection and homeless services workers. Presenters discuss the housing and safety issues that cause many children to be separated from their families.
Presenters: Caren Kaplan, Director, Child and Family Protection; and Roxana Torrico, Director, Housing and Homelessness, CWLA, Washington, DC

A7 Promising Results/Pathways to Transforming a Child Protection System

This workshop presents the positive results of a 10-year effort to transform a child protection system. Partnership-based, collaborative practice sets a context for safety-organized social work intervention.
Presenters: Rob Sawyer, Director, Child & Family Services; and Sue Lohrbach, Clinical Consultant, Olmsted County, Rochester, MN

A8 Emerging Issues in Adolescent Brain Development: Implications for Youth in the Justice System

Research on adolescent brain development makes clear that young people's brains are not developed enough to allow for adult level reasoning and weighing of consequences. This workshop discusses how these findings affect juvenile justice policy and how implications of this research can support developmentally appropriate responses to delinquency.
Presenters: David Fassler, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT; and Bernardine Dohrn, Director, Children & Family Justice Center, Bluhm Legal Clinic, Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago

A9 Crafting New Juvenile Justice Legislation

Soon Congress will debate new juvenile justice legislation, and this workshop examines the hot topics, key provisions, and players. Workshop participants consider strategies to build support for needed  improvements.
Presenters: Tim Briceland-Betts, Co-Director, Government Affairs, CWLA, Washington, DC; and additional presenters TBA

A10 Delivering Clinical Services to Homeless Children by Utilizing a Wraparound Approach

Presenters explore the provision of comprehensive clinical services to homeless children and their families. This workshop discusses the building blocks to delivering services using a wraparound philosophical approach. Additionally, the effectiveness of coalition building among key stakeholders is considered.
Presenters: Susan Reyna-Guerrero, President/CEO, and Christine Achre, Chief Clinical Affairs Officer, Beacon Therapeutic Diagnostic and Treatment Center, Chicago

A11 Using Agency Self-Assessment to Examine Independent Living Services

This interactive workshop provides an in-depth look at web-based, comprehensive, and confidential assessment tools any agency can use. CWLA Standards for Transition, Independent Living, and Self-Sufficiency is one reference used to determine how well standards, practices, and service delivery compare.
Presenters: Chris Downs, Director, Practice Assessments and Web- Based Tools, and Randa Downs and Alan Puckett, Life Skills Specialists, Casey Family Programs, Seattle

A12 Collaboration in Advocacy

In 2005, the State of Colorado learned that Medicaid funding (utilizing the rehab option) for its residential treatment centers was going to be disallowed. This was unexpected, and state, counties, and providers scrambled to cover the loss of over ten percent of the state's total child welfare funding. A group of Colorado providers guide you through the process of developing a strategy to negotiate this development. They learned to partner with each other and to work with governmental entities to provide continuity for the system.
Presenters: Skip Barber, CEO, Colorado Care Management, Denver; Howard Shiffman, CEO, Griffith Centers for Children, Lakewood, CO; Bob Cooper, CEO, Tennyson Center for Children at Colorado Christian Home, Denver; and Karen Yarberry, CEO, Jefferson Hills, Lakewood, CO

A13 Residential Treatment: Evil Institution or Part of a Healthy Continuum of Care?

Using case histories and other examples, Walker School executives describe the school's evolution from a self-contained residential treatment center to a miniature continuum of care for high-risk, acutely troubled children and their families. A lively discussion ensues as we challenge the notion that residential treatment is inherently bad for children and unfriendly to families.
Presenters: Francine Rosenberg, Managing Director, Christopher Bellonci, Medical Director, Matthew Cooney, Director of Residential Services, and Jennifer Bray, Program Director, Walker School, Needham, MA

A14 Building a Holistic Frame: Assessing Spirituality and Ethnic Identity Among Adolescents in Foster Care

The focus for this workshop is the development of a survey of adolescent spirituality and ethnic identity. The impetus behind the survey is also examined. The survey results shed light on the role of spirituality and ethnic identity in the lives of adolescents in foster care.
Presenters: Catherine Roller White, Research Specialist, Peter Pecora, Senior Director of Research Services, Anne Havalchak, and Kirk O'Brien, Casey Family Programs, Seattle; and Lovie Jackson, Doctoral Student and Intern, University of Washington, Seattle

A15 Norfolk's Public/Private Partnership to Service High-Risk Families

This workshop examines the process in developing a public/private partnership to address families who are designated as being at high risk of further abuse, neglect, or out-of-home placements. The panel is composed of both public and private human service providers who were instrumental in the development and implementation of Norfolk's partnership model. A public agency social worker discusses the paradigm shift she made and the new skills she needed.
Presenters: Jill Baker, Programs Manager, and Cheryl Perry, Social Worker II, Norfolk Department of Human Services, Norfolk, VA; Janet Holden- Fuller, Regional Director, and Deborah Powell, Case Management Supervisor, Institute of Family-Centered Services, Chesapeake, VA

A16 Brand Fanatic

Developing a recognizable brand has never been more important for child welfare agencies because donors, elected officials, fundraisers, and other key constituents support organizations that are recognizable and have differentiated themselves in meaningful ways. Brand awareness strengthens name recognition, market position, and trust for every organization. This workshop examines effective strategies for developing an identifiable brand, and strategies for using brand recognition to get your message heard in a crowded marketplace.
Presenter: Elizabeth Skidmore, Executive Vice President, Child Welfare Institute, Chicago

A17 Going to the Next Level: Implementing Evidence-Based Practices

Attendees at this workshop move beyond thinking about evidence-based practices to actually implementing a program or practice. Data-driven decisionmaking, implementing new practice, and evaluating the results will be discussed and demonstrated with examples and exercises.
Presenters: Wendy Blome, Associate Professor, Catholic University School of Social Service; and Sue Steib, Director, Research to Practice, CWLA, Washington, DC

A18 Developing and Maintaining a Local System of Care

This workshop describes one community's response to improving the outcomes of well-being for children, youth, and their families.
Presenter: Don Mandelkorn, Director of Field Services, Vermont Agency of Human Services, Barre, VT

A19 The CDR: A Cross-System Integrated Database to Assess Trends and Measure Client Outcomes

Highlighted here is the development and usefulness of technology to support cross-systems data analyses that will better evaluate client outcomes and trends. The discussion also focuses on the benefits achieved through the use of business intelligence technology in a child welfare setting.
Presenters: Tammy White, Data Analyst, Dick Brant, Director of IT, and Kathy Meyers, Director of Research, Philadelphia Safe and Sound, Philadelphia

A20 How Do You Know It's Wraparound?

Wraparound, a collaborative, team-based approach to service and support planning, is the topic for this workshop. This popular approach involves cooperation among a wide spectrum of professionals to create an individualized plan for a vulnerable family or youth-many agencies say they do it, but what is it really? Learn from an expert in the field.
Presenter: Constance Burgess, Consultant, C. Burgess Consulting & Associates, San Leandro, CA

A21 Endless Dreams: Building Educational Support for Youth in Out-of-Home Care

This interactive presentation addresses the educational needs of youth in out-of-home care and presents tools and resources that can be used to educate about this often overlooked student population. Participants will leave with a copy of the Endless Dreams DVD and other resources for supporting educational success.
Presenter: Debbie Staub, Manager, K-12 Education, Casey Family Programs, Seattle

A22 Promises to Keep: Strategies for Building a Stable and Highly Skilled Child Welfare Workforce

This workshop presents strategies to enable state and local agencies to develop a stable and highly skilled workforce for providing child welfare services. Also included: developing models for effective child welfare recruitment and retention; providing information on workforce solutions; and creating an online community of practice, enabling child welfare professionals to share information and lessons learned.
Presenters: Pam Day, Associate Director, and Kim Helfgott, Senior Program Manager, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Fairfax, VA; and Donna Hornsby, National Child Welfare Training Specialist, Administration for Children and Families, Administration for Youth and Families, Children's Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC

A23 Proud Fathers-Proud Parents: Michigan Best-Practice Initiatives to Enhance Caretaker Nurturance and Outcomes for Children

Michigan's innovative Proud Fathers-Proud Parents Initiatives strive to collaboratively promote responsible fatherhood, healthy marriages, and co-parenting. This session discusses this program, which is designed to improve outcomes for children by enhancing male and co-parent caretaker nurturance. Process and outcome evaluation and implementation strategies are highlighted.
Presenters: Brian Ahmedani, PF-PP Program Evaluator, Duane Wilson, PF-PP Program Manager, and Anita Peters, Resource Development Specialist, Michigan Department of Human Services, Lansing, MI

A24 When a Child Dies: Special Review as a Program Improvement Tool

The Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) and CWLA have collaborated in designing a best-practice model for conducting special reviews of child fatalities and other critical incidents. The model encourages open dialogue and emphasizes instruction and learning rather than accusation and finding fault. A panel of CWLA and DCF staff discuss the special review model, and their experience as reviewers, managers, and workers on cases reviewed during the past year.
Presenters: Andrea Bartolo, Senior Consultant, CWLA, Acton, MA; Etta Lappen Davis, Independent Consultant, Bolton, MA; Andrew Reitz, Associate Director, Division of Consultation, Research, and Professional Development, CWLA, Quincy, MA; and Michael Schultz, Director of Research and Development, Connecticut State Department of Children and Families, Hartford, CT

A25 Maltreatment and Delinquency: The Undeniable Connection and the CWLA Framework to Improve Outcomes Across Multiple Systems

CWLA has developed a four-phase framework to assist state and local jurisdictions in improving outcomes for this shared population of youth and families. The workshop explores the experiences of CWLA's partnership with King County (Washington) and Los Angeles County (California) in implementing this framework. It also features the successes and challenges in other jurisdictions around the country.
Presenters: John Tuell, Director, Child Welfare-Juvenile Justice Systems Integration Initiative, CWLA, Washington, DC; Janet Wiig, Senior Consultant, CWLA, Phoenix, AZ; Lyman Legters, Casey Family Programs, Seattle; and Michael Nash, Juvenile Court Presiding Judge, Los Angeles County, CA


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