Child Welfare League of America

Workshop Session A and Leadership Encounter 1

Kaleidacare Demonstration

Room: Virginia B
1:30 - 3:00 pm
Attend this session to see what the fastest growing child welfare software company can provide for your agency. You will see software solutions that can help you track clients, measure outcomes, streamline billing, manage documents, and provide and track online training. Everyone who attends will receive a free drink ticket to use at tonight's reception!

A1 Creating Strength-Based Environments

This workshop prepares participants to initiate, facilitate, and maintain a strength-based culture within the school and residential environment and helps participants develop personal and professional sets of beliefs, enhancing a positive, strength-based culture.
Presenter: Neal Sternberg, Executive Administrator, Victor Treatment Centers, North Valley Schools, Whitmore, CA

A2 Enhancing Residential Treatment for Youth

Workshop participants discuss an innovative technical assistance project: a collaborative effort between a university psychiatry department and a state child welfare agency to improve workforce training strategies, quality of care, and client outcomes in residential treatment centers serving youth with severe emotional and behavioral disorders.
Presenters: Ronald Davidson, Director of Mental Health Policy; Christine Davidson, Director of Applied Services Research and Evaluation; and Michael Naylor, Director of Behavioral Health and Welfare, Institute for Juvenile Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL; and Michael Shaver, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Children's Home & Aid Society, Chicago, IL

A3 Culturally Competent Systems of Care for Latino Children and Families

This workshop describes a statewide training initiative on the use of systems of care as a culturally competent practice model with Latino children and families. The workshop presents results of this initiative and discusses the applicability of systems of care for practice with Latino children and families.
Presenters: Alan Dettlaff, Assistant Professor of Social Work, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL; and Joan Rycraft, Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Texas, Arlington, TX

A4 Beyond Gay 101: Skill-Building Activities for Frontline Staff

This skill-building learning lab workshop is designed as a follow-up to foundational training on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI) youth issues and provides participants with the opportunity for hands-on learning in the areas that concern them most.
Presenter: Robin McHaelen, Executive Director, True Colors Inc., Manchester, CT

A5 Giving Families a Second Chance: An Evaluation of Secondary Prevention

CANCELLED

A6 Using Data Tracking in Foster Care Recruitment

Integrating evaluations in child welfare can support more effective outcomes. Data collection processes developed to track parent foster care recruitment in the Recruiting Rural Parents for Indian Children (RRPIC) project are discussed. RRPIC's data management system used to monitor recruiter progress and achieve project outcomes is demonstrated.
Presenters: Deb Johnson-Shelton, Associate Scientist, Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, OR; and Susan Quash-Mah, Project Director, Recruiting Rural Parents for Indian Children, Eugene, OR

A7 A Model for Training Staff and Evaluating Outcomes

This workshop describes a training program for child welfare staff serving families during and following children's mandatory out-of-home placement due to abuse or neglect. Evidence-based, strength-based, individualized PMT skill building is delivered in a coaching format, assisting parents to develop or refine child-management skills. Pre- and postevaluation includes child assessment with the CAFAS and a parenting self-assessment using the Caregiver Wish List, which provides a format for parents to determine which skills to target for development.
Presenters: Kay Hodges, Professor, Eastern Michigan University, Ann Arbor, MI; and Barbara Hull, Director of Home-Based/ Aftercare Services, KVC Behavioral Health Care, Kansas City, KS

A8 Moving Prevention Forward

This workshop discusses the use of prevention services across the country to enhance the state's ability to improve the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families, and changes in policy that have emerged.
Presenters: Julie Collins, FRIENDS Project Director, CWLA, Arlington, VA; Melissa Brodowski, Federal Project Officer, Children's Bureau, Washington, DC; and Marina Chatoo, Program Manager, Community-Based Programs, North Carolina Division of Social Services, Raleigh, NC

A9 New Approaches to Foster Care Reunification

This workshop explores an innovative program in Illinois that allows birthparents to live on agency property while the foster family lives either upstairs from the birthparent or across the street. Through this program foster parents act as parent coaches, allowing families to achieve reunification at higher and quicker rates than traditional foster care programs.
Presenter: Joel Johnson, COO, SOS Children's Village, Chicago, IL

A10 The African-American Father: A New Paradigm for Permanence

This workshop examines fathers' involvement in children's permanency plans and explores child welfare practices that account for extended lengths of stay in foster care for children of color. Recommendations are provided for child welfare policy, practice, and research.
Presenter: Tanya Coakley, Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC

A11 2008 Update on Child Welfare Financing: Where We Are on Child Welfare System Reforms

The 110th Congress has been a busy one, with a series of hearings on key child welfare issues including financing, health needs of children in care, youth aging out, and the over-representation of children of color in the system. Bills including legislation on kinship care, extending Medicaid to youth leaving foster care, extending the age of foster care funding, and fixing the current eligibility requirements for federal funding are being debated. Where does this leave us for 2008 and the next administration? Is there a White House Conference on Children and Youth in the future? What can we expect from Washington? This panel presentation includes a status report on the latest legislation, important reauthorizations such as the Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act (CAPTA), and many other emerging issues. Participants will hear from Capitol Hill staff and Washington insiders.
Presenters: Presenters: John Sciamanna, Codirector, Government Affairs, CWLA, Arlington, VA; Matt Weidinger, Staff Director, House Republicans, Washington, DC; Sonja Nesbit, Professional Staff Member, House Democrats, Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, Washington, DC; and Catherine Graham-Hildum, Professional Staff Member, Senate Democrats, Senate Education and Early Childhood Development, Washington, DC

A12 Kinship Care: Why Congress Must Support Relative Caregivers Now

CWLA Standards define kinship care as the full-time nurturing and protection of children by relatives, members of their tribes or clans, godparents, stepparents, or other adults who have a kinship bond with child. The practice is growing partly because repeated studies and CWLA Best Practice Guidelines have revealed the value of placing children with a relative when appropriate. According to the 2000 Census, some 6 million children live with relatives -4.5 million of whom live with grandparents-which is a 30% increase between 1990 and 2000. Federal legislation to support kinship care was introduced in the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congress. In February 2007, Senators Clinton, Snowe, and Cochran introduced the Senate Kinship Caregiver Support Act. In May 2007, U.S. Representatives Davis and Johnson introduced the House companion bill (H.R. 2188). In this workshop, we will call on Capitol Hill staff and kinship care advocates to discuss the advantages of this program.
Presenters: Jaia Peterson Lent, Public Policy and Outreach Director, Generations United, Washington, DC; Tiffany Conway, Policy Analyst, Child Welfare, Center for Law and Social Policy, Washington, DC; Branden McLeod, Government Affairs Associate, CWLA, Arlington, VA; and Jill Hunter-Williams, Legislative Director, Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL)

Leadership Encounter 1

LE 1 Leadership and Workforce Development

(Joint session: Executive & emerging leaders)

This powerful panel presentation will explore the pertinent workforce challenges faced by the nonprofit sector including succession planning, recruitment/retention, and nurturing the next generation of leaders.
Facilitator: Phyllis Wallace, Vice President, Non-Profit Partnerships, American Humanics, Kansas City, MO
Panelists: Christine James-Brown, President & CEO, CWLA, Arlington, VA; Bill Bentley, President, Voices for Children, San Diego, CA (invited); and William Pollard, Board of Directors, American Humanics, Kansas City, MO (invited)


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