Child Welfare League of America

Super Sessions!
and Leadership Encounter

Come and participate in a Super Session for an in-depth exploration into these exciting topics:

SS1 Tribal-State Collaboration for Native Children and Families

Strong, positive relationships of state and county child welfare agencies with tribal governments are critical to implanting the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and to best outcomes for Native children and families involved with the child welfare system. We will focus on challenges and accomplishments in this work, featuring partnerships in California and Washington State as examples, with time for participant sharing and discussion.
Moderators: Terry Cross, Executive Director, National Indian Child Welfare Association, Portland, OR, and John George, Senior Consultant, CWLA, Bellingham, WA

SS1A Collaboration in a Large County-Administered State: The California Indian Child Welfare Workgroup

The first part of the session showcases partnership in California through a statewide workgroup involving about 55 tribal, county, and state staff who meet bimonthly to address ICWA issues across the state. Their initiatives, challenges, and accomplishments will be covered.
Presenters: Teresa Contreras, Chief, Office of Prevention, California DSS, Sacramento, CA; Percy Tejada, ICW Director, Dry Creek Rancheria of Pomo Indians, Healdsburg, CA; Theresa Sam, Assistant ICW Director, Santa Rosa Rancheria - Tachi-Yokut Tribe; and Loleta Garfield, ICW Director, Tule River Tribal Council, Porterville, CA

SS1B Collaborating for Change: One State's Model for Assessing Indian Child Welfare Practice and Improving Outcomes for Native American Children

The second part of this session showcases the collaboration in Washington State between the child welfare agency and Washington State tribes to develop and implement a case-review model. The model evaluates current state compliance with ICWA by providing reliable ICW data, assists in the State CFSR, and promotes improved outcomes for Native American children and families.
Presenters: Nancy Dufraine, Indian Child Welfare Manager; Lyn Craik, Quality Assurance Supervisor; Asia Goin, Quality Assurance Program Manager; and Christina Limpens, Quality Assurance Team Program Manager, Washington State DSHS/ Children's Administration, Olympia, WA; and Liz Mueller, Vice Chair, Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, Sequim, WA

SS2 The Intersection of Law and Social Service: Ensuring Best Practices for Children of Immigrants Separated from Their Families

The goal of this session is twofold. First, we will present findings from a pilot research project conducted by ISSUSA that will help inform policymakers and practitioners working with immigrant children and children of immigrants separated from their families. The research focuses on understanding the intersection of law and social work when dealing with unaccompanied, separated, or detained immigrant children and children of immigrants. Second, we will discuss the development of training curricula to promote cooperative partnerships between social workers and lawyers working to secure positive outcomes regarding status and permanency for these children.
Presenters: Julie Gilbert Rosicky, Executive Director, ISSUSA, Baltimore, MD; Felicity Sackville Northcott, Director, The Arthur C. Helton Institute for the Study of International Social Service, Baltimore, MD; and Lyn Morland, MSW, MA, Senior Program Officer and Director; and Laura Gardner, MSW, LGSW, Technical Assistance Coordinator, Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services, Washington, DC

SS3 Developing Programs for Effective Independent Living Skills

Many foster youth awaiting permanency face the reality of aging out of the system. Learn how to create, implement, and maintain a successful, cost-effective independent living skills program that achieves high client satisfaction and strong, life-changing outcomes. This session also examines growing interest on Capitol Hill to support foster youth, including the latest proposals to extend health care coverage and foster care assistance to age 21.
Presenters: Sabrina Schalley, Placement and Permanency Director, and Tammy Stalzer, Placement and Permanency Supervisor, Child Saving Institute, Omaha, NE; Tim Briceland- Betts, Codirector for Government Affairs, CWLA, Arlington, VA; and Congressional staff TBA

SS4 Getting Our Priorities Straight: Outreach to the Media and the American Public About Children's Issues

Just as important as how Congress views children's issues is how the voters see these issues. The public plays a vital role in getting the media and Congress to take children's issues seriously. In this super session you will learn about recent polling information on child welfare, how it has shifted and why, and how to create more effective and strategic messaging around these issues. Learn what your target audience thinks, why it matters, and how to fine-tune your message to make it more influential to this target audience. What kinds of messages are effective in changing the hearts and minds of the American public? How do you build an effective message around specific issues and get it across on both the local and national levels? This session builds on last year's preconference institute, dedicating more time to strategy and discussion. New this year will be a panel discussion with media experts around best practices and media strategy.
Presenters: Celinda Lake, President, and Anita Sharma, Senior Analyst, Lake Research Partners, Washington, DC; and Phil Sparks, Cofounder, Communications Consortium Media Center, Washington, DC

SS5 Emerging Mental Health Trends and Practices in the Child Welfare System

This super session highlights presentations on content from articles featured in the recent Special Issue of the Child Welfare Journal on Effectively Addressing Mental Health Issues in Child Welfare Practice, specifically on effectively assessing mental health needs. The session opens with insights about the family environment's influence on vulnerable children's mental health needs and whether they receive the services they need. Drawing on the research from the LONGSCAN study, findings about what constitutes a vulnerable family environment and what those assessing should be looking for will be highlighted. This is an important marker for flagging children who will potentially have mental health needs to determine whether they are receiving the services to meet those needs. This will be followed by guidelines for evaluating the mental health of infants and toddlers and the legal requirements and unique issues that need to be taken into consideration with this group of children. In particular, presenters will discuss the importance of assessments to take into account the life experiences prior to coming to the child welfare system, along with the impact of the different systems in which infants, toddlers, and their parents are involved. The last part will be a presentation on two new trauma assessment tools to assist with improved assessment of trauma in children and effectively integrating evidence-based treatment approaches to meet their needs. Many advances have been made in effective and evidence-based treatments for children who experience trauma, but the challenge has been in bringing that knowledge base to the child welfare field. How these tools are helping child welfare workers assess and document the trauma history of the child and make appropriate referral for evidence-based treatment given the child's trauma history will be covered.
Presenters: Richard Thompson, Director of Research, Juvenile Protective Association, Chicago, IL; Judith Silver, Director, Starting Young Program, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA; Sheryl Dicker, Former Executive Director, Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, Albany, NY; and Barbara Ryan, Chadwick Center for Children and Families, San Diego, CA

SS6 Bill of Rights for Children with Parents in Prison

This super session explores the serious and widespread implications of parental incarceration on children and families, the eight basic "rights" that provide a supportive framework for systems and community (local, state, and national) response, and the implications for America's child welfare system. Note: Session resumes after lunch (2:30 - 5:00 p.m.).
Presenters: Ann Adelist Estrin, Director, National Resource Center of Children of the Incarcerated, Jenkintown, PA; Peter Breen, Senior Fellow, CWLA, San Anselmo, CA; Dee Ann Newell, Senior Justice Fellow, Open Society Institute, New York, NY; Carol Burton, Senior Director, Osborne Association, Brooklyn, NY; W. Wilson Goode, Sr. Director, Amachi Public/Private Ventures, Philadelphia, PA; Creasie Finney Hairston, Dean, Jane Addams College of Social Work, Chicago, IL; Diane Wallace Booker, Executive Vice President and COO, US Dream Academy, Columbia, MD; Arlene Lee, Consultant, Center for the Study of Social Policy, Washington, DC; and representatives from Children's Defense Fund, The Panel of State Governments, and Annie E. Casey Kids Fund

SS7 New Initiatives and Legislation on the Connection Between Child Maltreatment and Juvenile Delinquency

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, in collaboration with the RFK Children's Action Corps of Massachusetts, is working with CWLA to change the dynamic between the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. This partnership seeks a more just society through helping disadvantaged children and youth. CWLA's Juvenile Justice Division is providing consultation, training, and technical assistance resources to implement systems integration, reform, and appropriate and effective responses to reduce juvenile delinquency and victimization. This work focuses on the connection between maltreatment and delinquency and effective multisystem approaches to achieve positive outcomes for this population of youth and their families. This super session examines CWLA-supported state and local initiatives engaged in child welfare and juvenile justice system reform and opportunities for expansion by public and private agencies and foundations. CWLA's initiative grew with federal legislation passed in 2002 and has been generously supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation since 2000. Congress is currently debating new juvenile justice legislation, including language to strengthen and expand this collaboration, and its implications for young people. In this session you will be updated on the status of the new legislation and discuss implementation strategies at the state and local level.
Presenters: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and member of the Board of Directors of the RFK Memorial, Washington, DC; Edward Kelley, President and CEO of Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps, Boston, MA; Tim Briceland-Betts, Codirector of CWLA Government Affairs, Arlington, VA; John Tuell, Director of Child Welfare - Juvenile Justice Systems Integration Initiative, CWLA, Arlington, VA; Janet Wiig, Director, CWLA Juvenile Justice Division and Senior Consultant, Phoenix, AZ; and Sorrel Concodora, Program Coordinator, CWLA Juvenile Justice Division, Arlington, VA

SS8 Eliminating Disproportionality: How to Create Racial Equity in the Child Welfare System

This session will provide participants with information and tools to address the issues from a multi-level approach, discussing implications at the national, state, and local levels. It will explore recommendations and responses to the GAO report and other related efforts at the national and state levels and discuss the impacts of various federal policies/programs (i.e. MEPA, SCHIP) on disproportionality and disparity of outcomes. The session will underscore the institutionalized roots of disproportionality and the need to address it through both: 1) supporting the development of healthy racial and ethnic identity and culturally relevant services and 2) through the elimination of institutionalized racism that lies at the core of disproportionality. It is suggested that participants read the GAO Report at www.gao.gov prior to attending this super session.
Presenters: Khatib Waheed, Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Social Policy, Washington, DC; Judge Patricia Clark, Chief Juvenile Judge, King County Superior Court, Seattle, WA; Dolores Jimerson, Director of Community Development, National Indian Child Welfare Association, Portland, OR; Robert B. Hill, Senior Researcher, Westat, Rockville, MD; Deborah A. Signer, Senior Analyst, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC; and Kimberly Siegal, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC

Leadership Encounter 4

8:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

LE 4A Passing the Torch: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders

(Joint session: Executive & emerging leaders)

This session will explore workforce challenges that focus on the approaches representatives from different generations present. It will include small-group "critical conversations" to inspire a dynamic forum for mutual learning and growth. Participate in this provocative session that will address both practical issues (approaches to technology and priorities in work benefits) and inspire dialogue on how these different perspectives affect our organizational culture and plan for effective leadership.
Facilitator: Dana Wilson, Vice President, Membership and Program Services, CWLA, Arlington, VA
Presenter: Elizabeth Skidmore, Executive Director, Child Welfare Institute, Chicago, IL

11:00 a.m. - Noon

LE 4B Where Do We Go From Here

(Joint session: Executive & emerging leaders)

Engage in a conversation with CWLA leadership to advance a plan of regional and national activities over the next year, addressing the needs of both executive and emerging leaders.


Close window