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Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) to Convene National Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC
Releases New Guide to Help Communities Meet the Needs of Children
For more information, contact
Joyce Johnson
Phone: 804/492-4519
Cell: 703/980-7641
E-mail: jjohnson@cwla.org
Featured Speakers Include Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY, Governor Janet Napolitano, (D-AZ); Charlie Appelstein author of The Gus Chronicles: Reflections from an Abused Kid; Bob Danzig, author of Every Child Needs a Champion; and Neely Tucker, author of Love in the Driest Season and CWLA President and CEO, Shay Bilchik
February 11, 2004, Washington, DC -- Calling for a sound plan of action that will support communities and the nation in meeting the five universal needs of all children, CWLA announced plans today to convene its annual advocacy conference in Washington, DC February 23-25, 2004 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. CWLA firmly believes a hands-on collaboration at the national and state level and in communities is essential to creating the policies, programs, and the political will necessary to ensure that children are safe, healthy, and thriving.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) will address the conference on Tuesday, February 24 and will discuss her vision for children from a national perspective. Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano will speak on her efforts to improve and reform the child protective services system in Arizona.
This years conference theme, Vision, Action Results, will bring together over 1500 advocates, including professionals, community leaders, administrators and others concerned with the well-being of children. They will gather in institutes on community collaboration, child welfare financing and management, family involvement, alcohol and other drug abuse, organizational excellence, child and family service reviews (a look at "what's working" in the program and practice arena), advocacy and the media, and leadership and board development.
"Our annual advocacy conference comes at a time when the president has put forth a budget, that is both short-sighted and misguided, lacking the investment in resources children and families need. While in Washington, nearly 1,500 members of the child serving community will take a message to the President and Congress that we need a commitment to a shared vision for a nation where children's universal needs are met in every community." Said Shay Bilchik, CWLA President and CEO.
To reach this goal, CWLA has developed a Community Implementation Guide that will be released at the national conference. The guide is a practical companion volume to the monograph, Making Children a National Priority: a Framework for Community Action, which presents information describing the needs of children, the challenges communities face along with promising solutions for meeting these needs. The Community Implementation Guide will help communities move forward with tools and resources that they can apply to their efforts to meet the universal needs of children.
Conference highlights include the following.
Exhibit Hall Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony (February 23 at 7:30 a.m.)
Opening Session (February 23 at 8:30 a.m.)
- Welcoming address from CWLA Board of Directors Chair Tim Noelker and remarks by CWLA President and CEO Shay Bilchik
Other speakers at this session include:
- Mike Kanarick & Liz Kleinberg Recipient of CWLA's Champions for Children Award
- Judge Ernestine Gray, Juvenile Court Judge, New Orleans, LA - Topic: Through the Eyes of a Judge: Providing Justice for Children
- Charlie Appelstein, MSW, Youth Care Specialist and President, Appelstein Professional Services, Salem, NH and author of The Gus Chronicles: Reflections from an Abused Kid
Meet the Authors and book signing (February 23 at 10:00 a.m.) in Exhibit Hall
Plenary Session (February 24 at 8:30 a.m.)
- A View from Capitol Hill - presentation by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)
- A View from the States - Honorable Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona
- CWLA's legislative agenda by CWLA Vice President for Government Affairs, Liz Meitner.
- Capitol Hill Visits - delegates will meet with their Congressional representatives to present CWLA's legislative agenda; and the vision for community action.
Dinner, Awards and Entertainment (February 24 at 7:00 p.m.
- Annual conference dinner Celebrating the Workforce sponsored by the Freddie Mac Foundation. Presiding over the awards ceremony will be CWLA President and CEO Shay Bilchik and Maxine B. Baker, President and CEO of the Freddie Mac Foundation. Together they will present the Freddie Mac/David S. Liederman Scholarships to outstanding social workers who plan to pursue Master of Social Work degrees.
Other awards winners include:
- Congressional Advocate of the Year - Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH)
- Corporate Advocate of the Year - Cisco Systems
- Corporate Friends of Children Awards - General Electric, Citizens Financial Group, Hannaford Brothers & Navigant International
- Anna Quindlen Award for Excellence in Journalism in Behalf of Children and Families - Eric Frazier & Heather Vogell, The Charlotte Observer, Carolyn Mungo, KHOU-TV, Houston, Texas
- Entertainment will be provided by Uhlich Voices and The Capitol Steps.
Closing Luncheon and Awards Presentation February 25 at 12:00 p.m.
The conference concludes with a luncheon featuring:
- Motivational speaker and author, Bob Danzig - Topic: Champions for Children
- Charles Gerba, Professor of Environmental Microbiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ - Topic: Healthier Childcare Facilities
- Presentation of CWLA Kids-to-Kids National Service Award (Awardees are: Ashley Marie Rhodes-Couter, Crystal River, FL; Daniel Rosado-Christopher, Hartford, CT; Christina Hanson-Martinez, Grand Forks, ND; and Lake-Noxen Learning Support Class K-3, Leham, PA
- Presentation of the CWLA Champion for Children Award to Patrick Taylor for promoting state-paid college tuition assistance for poor students in Louisiana and in a dozen other states
Established in 1920, CWLA has nearly 1,100 public and voluntary member agencies, which provide direct services to abused, neglected, abandoned, and otherwise vulnerable children and their families. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the organization is a leading advocate for quality child welfare services and federal legislation to benefit children and families, trains thousands of social workers and conducts numerous conferences and meetings each year, develops child abuse treatment and prevention strategies, conducts original research, and is the oldest and largest publisher of child welfare materials in North America.
For additional information on the conference, press passes, or specific locations and times for events, contact the CWLA press office at 202/639-4922 or e-mail press@cwla.org.
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