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Benefits

Full-color advertising!
Exhibitors receive a 30% discount on all conference advertising.
Deadlines

Reserve final program ad space by February 9, 2015.
Submit art by February 16, 2015.
Cancellations received after February 8, 2015 will be billed the full amount for the ad.
All cancellations must be in writing.
Exhibitors receive a 30% discount on all conference advertising.
Ad Rates and Options

Ad Type Size (Inches) Exhibitor Cost Non-Exhibitor Cost
Sixth Page 2.5 x 4.75 $210 $350
Quarter Page Vertical 3.37 x 4.75 $420 $675
Half Page Vertical 3.75 x 9.25 $840 $1,300
Half Page Horizontal 7.50 x 4.75 $840 $1,300
Full page (no bleed) 7.50 x 10.00 $1,680 $2,500
Full page (bleed) 8.75 x 11.25 $1,680 $2,500
Back Cover (no bleed) 7.50 x 7.00 to 8.00 $2,100 $3,450
Back Cover (bleed) 8.75 x 7.25 to 8.25 $2,100 $3,450
Other:

See Program Advertising.
Registration and Payment:

A 50% deposit is due with Registration. The balance is due before our conference start date of April 27, 2015.
Please register online OR email kdunn@cwla.org. Registering means you agree with our terms and conditions.
Make checks payable to the Child Welfare League of America, Inc.
Mail checks to: CWLA Advertising, P.O. Box 75171, Baltimore, MD 21275-5171
Questions? E-mail kdunn@cwla.org

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Monday, April 27, 2015
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

B1 – Perspectives of Birth Mothers of Internationally Adopted Children from Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of five African countries permitting international adoption of children, many of whom are adopted by families from the United States. Questions have been raised regarding the Ethiopian adoption process and implications for agencies and adoptive parents. This workshop presents findings of a study of birth mothers of Ethiopian children adopted internationally. Topics include: Ethiopian cultural and policy context, birth mother’s understanding of international adoption, motivations for surrendering children, awareness of and involvement in the adoption process, relationships with adoptive parents, and experiences post-adoption. Implications for policy, programs and practices in international adoption will be discussed.
Presenter(s): Tenagne Alemu, School of Social Work Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

B2 – National Blueprint in Action
This session will feature presentations from entities that have been using CWLA’s National Blueprint for Excellence in Child Welfare in their reform efforts to improve outcomes for children, youth, and families at the practice, research and policy level. Participants will have opportunity to hear about how it is being used in many agencies and communities such as the community lead collaborative efforts in Nevada and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. Participants will also hear how the principles can and are being used to guide humanizing research methodologies to produce meaningful data and promote better outcomes for children and youth. Participants will be provided handouts of tools used to help with implementing these ideas and opportunity to dialogue with the presenters as well as sharing what they are doing currently to implement the National Blueprint in their work.
Presenter(s): Julie Collins, CWLA, Washington, DC; Denise Tanata Ashby, Children’s Advocacy Alliance, Las Vegas, NV; and Monique B. Mitchell, Louisa Vann and Toni Jones, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

B3 – What Are We Missing? Why Do Kids Keep Dying from Abuse and Neglect? (Two-Part Continued in Workshop Session C3)
Come hear about themes and lessons learned through CWLA’s fatality review work in several states since 2005. Join presenters for a Town Hall forum to discuss why we have not been more successful in reducing child fatalities from abuse and neglect, and what we should do differently.
Presenter(s): Frances P. Allegra, President, Seed School of Miami, Inc., Miami Gardens, FL; Hon. Gail Garinger (ret.), The Child Advocate, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, MA; Etta Lappen Davis, Etsky Consulting, Bolton, MA; and Andrea Bartolo, CWLA, Acton, MA

B4 – 5 Powerful and Effective New Media Tools to Engage Your Community
Learn how integrating new media and traditional advocacy engages audiences and raises awareness for your organization. New media advocacy is a combination of on-demand access to digital content and the engagement and participation of followers for your mission related to an issue and its awareness. Whether it’s hits on the website, likes, or comments, increase your chances to engage audiences or gain additional donors by learning effective campaigns that tell your story and inform. Come ready to participate in the world of new media advocacy and learn five effective tools. Bring your smartphone, iPad, or computer to hit your mark.
Presenter(s): Joseph M. Costa, Marisol Barrios, and Alison Bell, Hillsides, Pasadena, CA

B5 – Playing Well In The Sand Box To Revitalize Communities
In this session, the presenters will provide an overview of an innovative and effective partnership among key community stakeholders to increase the collective impact on struggling families and children. The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, Florida has devoted its resources to engage the faith-based community, social service providers, community leaders, state, and federal funders to maximize each player’s potential to ensure a safer community.
Presenter(s): Trenia L. Cox and Yaridis L. Garcia, Juvenile Welfare Board, Clearwater, FL

B6 – Family Connect Meetings: Strengthening Family Engagement Practice for Youth of All Ages
A need exists for family engagement practices that support the intricate reconnection work required when youth and families have been separated for significant periods of time. Casey Family Program’s Family Connect Meetings bridge this gap. This staffing model draws on expertise of those who know the youth in their current setting, such as teachers, mentors and therapists, to share knowledge with the family. Family Connect Meetings provide opportunities to engage systems and community resources that interact with youth to develop a sense of shared responsibility for permanency. This model also facilitates renewed relationships and teaming between the family and child welfare authorities and expedites the permanency process.
Presenter(s): Holly Parks, Amy Michaels, and Nakisha Freeman, Casey Family Programs, Austin, TX

B7 – Building Blocks to Family and Community Engagment
Working to have a positive impact on the lives of children and their families is not the responsibility of any single agency, professional group, or individual, but rather it is a shared community concern. Family and community engagement is the foundation of best practice that promotes the social, emotional and well-being of children, youth, and families. Yet, professionals struggle with involving everyone in the process. This workshop will examine how professionals can engage and build productive collaboration. Participants will examine some of the challenges, the benefits and examine some of the core principles. Participants will hear how a community based organization is successful in engaging families and community partners.
Presenter(s): Sharon McKinley, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Fairfax, VA and Debbie Rock, LIGHT Health & Wellness Comprehensive Program, Inc., Baltimore, MD

B8 – Health Care Issues: Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act
This session will focus on proposed and potential changes and legislation that affects health care and child welfare. This workshop will discuss the expanded support and use of Therapeutic Foster Care through Medicaid and possible changes in the Affordable Care Act and other potential changes to Medicaid.
Presenter(s): Laura Boyd, Foster Family-based Treatment Association, Norman, OK and John Sciamanna, CWLA, Washington, DC

B9 – Collaborating Across Systems and Generations: Project Genesis and the Generations of Hope Community Model
Scheduled to open in Fall 2015, Project Genesis is an innovative housing initiative for young mothers transitioning from foster care in Washington, DC. The initiative is based on the Generations of Hope Community model that brings together service-minded older adults with vulnerable children, youth and families in need of social support. The workshop will showcase the collaboration of public-private partners developing Project Genesis, the first of two intergenerational community initiatives planned for the nation’s capital. Presenters will detail the collaborative planning process employed in DC and share information about similar intergenerational initiatives underway nationwide.
Presenter(s): Brenda Krause Eheart and Mark Dunham, Generations of Hope Development Corporation, Washington, DC; Brenda Donald, District of Columbia Health and Human Services, Washington, DC; Elin Zurbrigg, Mi Casa, Washington, DC; and Lori Kaplan, Latin American Youth Center, Washington, DC

B10 – Leadership through Culture Change and Strategic Plan Implementation
Every organization experiences the need for change, most often from external forces. Child welfare service delivery and funding models have changed dramatically over the past few years. The organizations that are able to adjust will both survive and thrive in this environment. This session will share one organization’s journey to develop and implement a strategic plan to ensure the organization’s future. It will be presented by both Board Members and leadership of the organization. Participants will be able to engage in conversation and will be given tools for developing their own plans and transformation.
Presenter(s): Ed Kelley, RFK Children’s Action Corps, Boston, MA

B11 – Trauma Informed Care: The Right Fit, One Agency’s Journey
This workshop is one Child Welfare Agency’s exploration, identification, orientation and implementation of the identified tool selected for Trauma Informed Care practice and framework used agency wide. The workshop will look at the journey, selection and tool used agency wide.
Presenter(s): Monte Ephraim, Board of Child Care, Baltimore, MD

B12 – Steps for Developing and Implementing Real World Fidelity Assessment Systems in Child Welfare
Child welfare agencies must build practical quality improvement systems to track meaningful indicators of quality. Using real world examples, participants will be guided through the steps for designing and implementing practical fidelity assessments to measure the degree to which new child welfare policies, programs, or practices are implemented as intended. Co-presenters will demonstrate methods to develop practice profiles or intervention manuals, develop fidelity criteria and indicators, and consider options for assessing fidelity over time. Participants will use their own examples to practice key elements of these steps and discuss how to use fidelity assessment results to guide improvement cycles.
Presenter(s): Diane DePanfilis, Pamela Clarkson Freeman, and Leah Bartley, University of Maryland School of Social Work, Baltimore, MD; James Durand and Dena Negron, Washoe County Department of Social Services, Reno, NV

B13 – Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) in Los Angeles: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach
This workshop will provide an overview of the current, multi-disciplinary collaborations and programs in place in Los Angeles County to support and serve CSEC. This presentation will discuss the newly developed Law Enforcement First Responder Protocol for CSEC, which is a collaboration among child welfare, probation, law enforcement, health services, and a specialized CSEC advocate to make placement decisions, complete a safety plan, conduct a medical evaluation, and stabilize the child within the first 72 hours. Additionally presenters will discuss the specialized juvenile delinquency, STAR Court, and the other statewide efforts in California related to CSEC.
Presenter(s): Kate Walker, National Center for Youth Law, Oakland, CA; Michelle Guymon, Los Angeles County Probation Department, Downey, CA; Diane Iglesias, Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services, Los Angeles, CA; Kim Biddle and Kristina Fitz, Saving Innocence, Los Angeles, CA

B14 – Creating System Change: Collaborative Practice among Child Welfare, Substance Use Treatment and the Courts
Drawing upon the In-depth Technical National from the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW), substance abuse treatment, and the court systems, this session identifies the key components in developing the cross-system partnerships and practice changes needed to address the issues of substance use disorders among families in the child welfare system. This session will highlight system changes, data sharing, innovative services, outcomes and improved collaboration resulting from the framework and support provided by the NCSACW.
Presenter(s): Michele Rosenberg and Leslie Gross, District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency, Washington, DC

B15 – Building Bridges between Child Welfare and Family Advocacy Programs to serve Military Families: Communication and Coordination Across Systems
Staff from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) and Family Advocacy Program (FAP) will describe the military and civilian responses to concerns for child abuse and neglect. The DoD’s FAP response, and their coordination with civilian child welfare system and child advocacy centers, will be described. Presenters will discuss the framework of a trauma-informed systems of care utilizing evidence-based interventions (such as TF-CBT, and Child Parent Psychotherapy), as well as focus on developmental models of treatment delivery (e.g., screening/assessment/interventions for very young children), as well as those that incorporate a strengths and resilience perspective. Finally, an ecological perspective will be presented that illustrates the military child victim in the contexts of several interdependent systems, and that highlights the importance of coordination across these systems (including FAP and CW). Military speakers will provide their perspectives on ways that military and community providers may improve their communication around incidence of abuse and referrals between and across systems. Learning Objectives – Attendees will be able to: describe opportunities for civilian child welfare agencies to coordinate with the military’s FAP; describe a trauma-informed approach to providing evidence based treatment for military families at-risk for child maltreatment; and list important military and community-based resources that provide technical assistance and training resources for military and community providers to connect and support each other in their states.
Presenters: Dr. Gregory Leskin, NCTSN Military and Veteran Families and UCLA/Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, Los Angeles, CA; Dr. Carole Campbell Swiecicki, The Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center, Inc. and MUSC Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Charleston, SC; Dr. Phillip T. Stepka, Department of Psychiatry, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA; and Mary E. Campise, Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Military Community & Family Policy, Washington, DC

Monday, April 27, 2015
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

C1 – Enriching the Soil: Creating Trauma Informed Environments That Grow Resilience
Promoting resilience and recovery for children who have experienced multiple types of trauma requires a trauma-informed approach across multiple child- and family-serving systems. During this presentation, elements of trauma-informed care for children in out-of-home settings will be described. Two unique programs for training caregivers/service providers will be described: a trauma-informed parenting workshop for foster, adoptive, and kinship caregivers and a staff training curriculum that focuses on creating therapeutic environments of care. The first program described will be the “Caring for Children Who Have Experienced Trauma” (also known as the Resource Parent Curriculum; RPC), which was developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) as an in-service training for resource parents to help them see the child through the lens of trauma’s effects and offer a trauma-informed approach to help them heal. The second program described will be the “Building Communities of Care” training review, which is a training curriculum for staff and caregivers that teaches ways to create therapeutic trauma informed environments to best support the success of the clients we serve.
Presenter(s): Kari Beserra, Stacey Forrest and Robert Gervais, Justice Resource Institute, Needham, MA; and Kate Murray and Kelly Sullivan, Center for Child and Family Health, Duke University,
Durham, NC

C2 – Protecting Our Children: Conducting Comprehensive Program Assessments with Tribal Child Welfare Agencies
The Capacity Building Center for Tribes, a federally funded child welfare technical assistance provider, has developed a culturally responsive program assessment framework to help tribes identify the strengths and needs of their child welfare systems. This framework fills a void in the child welfare field, and by using a connected and systemic approach, this process allows tribal child welfare programs to be purposeful when focusing resources on program improvement initiatives. This workshop will present the assessment protocol, discuss how it has been used with tribes across the US, and invite participants to share their own experiences conducting culturally-responsive assessments and evaluations in tribal and indigenous contexts.
Presenter(s): Stacie Hanson and Nancy Lucero, Butler Institute, University of Denver, Denver, CO; and Joe Walker, Tribal Law and Policy Institute, Helena, MT

C3 – What Are We Missing? Why Do Kids Keep Dying from Abuse and Neglect? (Two-Part Continued from Workshop Session B3)
Come hear about themes and lessons learned through CWLA’s fatality review work in several states since 2005. Join presenters for a Town Hall forum to discuss why we have not been more successful in reducing child fatalities from abuse and neglect, and what we should do differently.
Presenter(s): Frances P. Allegra, President, Seed School of Miami, Inc., Miami Gardens, FL; Hon. Gail Garinger (ret.), The Child Advocate, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, MA; Etta Lappen Davis, Etsky Consulting, Bolton, MA; and Andrea Bartolo, CWLA, Acton, MA

C4 – Church Stewardship and Community Ownership in Collaboration with Child Welfare Conservatorship for Healthier Families
When Child Protective Services, the church, and the community partner together and combine resources creatively, meaningful relationships are developed for children and families that result in additional services and improved outcomes. Texas child welfare has collaborated with faith communities to create an empowerment model for interested churches to develop their unique community-based “Orphan Care Ministries”. In this session, participants will learn how to replicate and sustain the Texas model of collaboration with faith communities, hear about ministries that are currently offering services to children, youth, and families, and examine the larger impact this model could have in other systems to use public/ private partnerships for leveraging the previously underutilized resource of faith communities for clients
Presenter(s): Jackie Hubbard and Gail Gonzalez, Texas Department of Family and Protecitve Services (TX DFPS), Austin, TX; and Bishop Aaron Blake, TX DFPS Advisory Committee on Promoting Adoption of Minority Children, Brownwood, TX

C5 – Connecting the Dots: Collective Impact for Families
The Family Services Initiative (FSI) connects Pinellas County agencies and resources together to help struggling families. Not a handout, but a partnership with families to provide the right service, at the right time, and in the right amount. In this workshop, participants will gain insight into how the Juvenile Welfare Board’s community think tank uses a shared information system to analyze key data and trends and provide for system evaluation to help coordinate services for families throughout Pinellas County, Florida.
Presenter(s): Marcie A. Biddleman and Jeanine Evoli, Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, Clearwater, FL

C6 – Improving Educational Outcomes for Children in Foster Care
This session will highlight innovative ways to infuse education priorities into child welfare practice. DC CFSA, in collaboration with the ABA’s Legal Center on Education and Foster care, did an organizational analysis of education related policies and practices guided by the Legal Center’s education framework, the Blueprint for Change. The framework outlines 8 goals for education success for foster children. A comprehensive strategy – including identifying improvements to policy, practice, training, internal staffing and coordination, collaboration with external partners, and data collection, sharing and analysis was developed. Information will be shared about the Blueprint for Change, national education trends, and the innovative work going on in DC regarding how to use the Blueprint to guide child welfare practice and collaboration.
Presenter(s): Leslie Gross and Megan Dho, District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency, Washington, DC; and Kathleen McNaught, American Bar Association, Center on Children and the Law, Washington, DC

C7 – Leading Adaptively in Child Welfare – The New Mexico Experience
New Mexico’s Children, Youth and Families Division spent the last four years operationalizing the Adaptive Leadership Framework across all levels of the agency. The activities have included large summit sessions, executive team coaching, small team meetings, and local experimentation efforts, all designed to teach and hone adaptive leadership skills and develop scalable system changes that will improve outcomes. NM leaders will share their experiences, successes and challenges. They will offer specific tools, strategies and interventions that worked, as well as unique insight into both the power and difficulty in creating and maintaining a culture that encourages and embeds adaptive leadership.
Presenter(s): Peter Watson, Children, Youth and Families, USM/Muskie School, Portland, ME; Jared Rounsville and Annamarie Luna, New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, Protective Services, Santa Fe, NM

C8 – Testing What Works to Strengthen Family Relationships for LGBTQ Children and Youth in the Child Welfare System, Using the Integration of Fidelity Assessment, Coaching and Supervision
The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s RISE Project, a Children’s Bureau Permanency Innovations Initiative grantee, will describe a new care coordination service model for LGBTQ and gender non-conforming children and youth involved in the child welfare system. RISE managers, fidelity reviewers and coaches will focus on their experiences using Implementation Science principles to apply the core improvement drivers of fidelity assessment, coaching and supervision to testing and improving intervention activities to strengthen family relationships for LGBTQ children and youth, with a focus on decreasing family rejection, increasing support for LGBTQ identity, and nurturing emotional permanency as a path toward legal permanency.
Presenter(s): Lisa Parrish and Danielle Altman, Los Angeles LGBT Center, Los Angeles, CA; Robert Friend, Seneca Family of Agencies, Oakland, CA; and Vida Khavar, Child Welfare Consultant, Los Angeles, CA

C9 – Building an Integrated Practice Model for Child Welfare and Mental Health
This workshop will explore the development and implementation of an integrated practice model for child welfare and mental health currently under way in California. We will provide a brief overview of the history and background of the Katie A lawsuit settlement agreement and then move on to a discussion of the Core Practice Model Guide, its foundational values and principles, and the basic elements of the new model: universal screening, comprehensive assessment, trauma-informed practices, and a child-and-family team approach. Participants will also be introduced to the training and technical assistance model that is supporting this transformation.
Presenter(s): Richard Weisgal, American Institutes for Research, Walnut Creek, CA and Lisa Molinar, Shared Vision Consultants, Dublin, CA

C10 – Parent Support Providers: A Nontraditional Peer Workforce Initiative
Family peer support, as an emerging work force, is an essential component in the effective provision of services and supports for youth and families across child-serving systems. While there is variability in structure and funding mechanisms, the key elements of family peer support include advocacy, education, training and peer-to-peer support. Through the incorporation of peers with the lived experience of parenting a child who has experienced behavioral health challenges, families and caregivers receive an essential enhancement to the formal services that promote the health and well being of children. Though evidence of the effectiveness is still emerging, the existing research suggests positive outcomes for families receiving peer support. Families report overall satisfaction along with a heightened sense of self-efficacy and empowerment.
Presenter(s): Lynda Gargan and Sandra Spencer, National Federation of Families For Children’s Mental Health, Rockville, MD

C11 – Now and Ahead: What’s in Store from Congress for Child Welfare and Financing of Needed Services?
With the new Congress in place, decisions are sure to be made on the budget and child welfare policy. This workshop will provide participants with an overview of the latest actions taking place on the Hill and possible action in the near future. In addition to child welfare, this session may touch on other vital areas such as Home Visiting, Immigration Policy, Pre-K, Social Services Block Grant and TANF. Session participants will come away with an idea of what their next steps should be to provide advocacy for child welfare and financing of needed services.
Presenter(s): Tim Briceland-Betts and John Sciamanna, CWLA Washington, DC; and Shadi Houshyar, First Focus, Washington, DC (invited)

C12 – Resiliency: Nurturing Youth, Families and Staff
What does it mean to be resilient and why are some more resilient that others? What if there was a way to increase the level of resiliency in the individuals you work with?After all, we are wired to connect, and we have the opportunity and ability to influence one another. Throughout life, the brain has the ability to change as new information and learning is introduced. Through the exploration of the power of the mind, our effects on one another through language and behavior, the use of empathy and positive psychology participants will leave with a reframe and tools to use to nurture resiliency in their clients, their staff and even themselves.
Presenter(s): Beth A. Enser, The Children’s Village, Dobbs Ferry, NY

C13 – A Toolbox for Supervisors and Managers: Working with Staff to Develop and Support Resource Parents as Team Members in Child Protection
This workshop shares strategies to help ensure best practice consistency in the implementation of a model of practice to develop and support resource parents (foster and adoptive) as team members for child safety, well-being and permanency. The focus is on administrators and supervisors of staff who conduct family assessments (home studies) and work with families post child placement to minimize trauma for children and maximize teamwork among families and staff.
Presenter(s): Donna Petras, CWLA, Lincolnshire, IL and Eileen Mayers Pasztor, CWLA, Manhattan Beach, CA

C14 – Supporting Healthy Attachments and Healing Trauma: Supporting Successful Child Welfare Reunification through Family-Centered Practice
Children who enter the child welfare system often become additionally traumatized through the practice intended to heal them. Healthy development occurs within the context of a healthy family. This presentation outlines Youth Advocate Programs’ partnership with the St. Lawrence County (NY) Department of Social Services to provide family-centered interventions that support successful family reunification of children ages 0-5. This approach includes intensive coaching and education of parents, frequent supervised parent/child visitation, engaging parents in planning, linkage to concrete supports, 24/7 crisis intervention, and case conferencing. This program has seen a 100% successful completion rate over a 2-year period.
Presenter(s): Bob Swanson, Youth Advocate Programs, Lebanon, PA; Dana LaCoss and Cindy Allen, Youth Advocate Programs, Canton, NY; and Diane Wilby, St. Lawrence Couty Department of Social Services, Canton, NY

C15 – The Human Equity Advantage: Beyond Diversity to Talent Optimization
In North America, the diversity of the child welfare service recipients and providers continues to expand. It is a trend that will continue long into the future. Leaders and managers need new ways to tap into the unique talents and strengths of each employee in order to respond to a work environment with evolving competencies, advancements in technological requirements, and changing demographics. The workshop will present a new management model through using eight core competencies that focuses on individual differentiation, talent differentiation and maximizing human equity.
Presenter(s): Trevor Wilson, TWI, Inc., Toronto, ON and David Rivard, Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, Toronto, ON