22^nd NCCAN Virtual Conference Agenda

In this session, James S. Gordon, the world's leading expert in healing population-wide trauma, will present a comprehensive approach to trauma healing that emphasizes our capacity to transform a sometimes overwhelming crisis into an opportunity for profound psychological and spiritual growth. Dr. Gordon has extensive experience working directly with children and adults who have experienced primary or secondary trauma. He and his colleagues have used this model with children in war-torn areas such as Gaza and Kosovo, Indigenous communities in the United States who have struggled with youth suicide, teenagers who survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and more. Dr. Gordon will share two mind-body techniques that create the psychological and biological foundation for this process of transformation to reverse the damage done by psychological trauma. Peer-reviewed studies have repeatedly shown that the Center for Mind-Body Medicine's comprehensive program of self-care and small group support can reduce the numbers of those qualifying for the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder by 80% or more.

• James Gordon, Founder and Director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, Clinical Professor at Georgetown Medical School
• Moderator: Julie Fliss, Child Welfare Program Specialist, Children's Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

This session will provide an opportunity for participants to hear from jurisdictions about their process and experience developing and implementing their Title IV-E Prevention Services plans. We will be talking with implementors from around the country about what is working, what they are struggling with, what they have learned, and where they think they are going. Come with your ideas, questions, and experiences and get ready to learn and share.

• Rena Z. Mohamed, Director, Outcomes Improvement, Social Services Administration, Maryland Department of Human Services
• Sherril Kuhns, Federal Policy and Resources Manager, Office of Child Welfare Program, Oregon Department of Human Services
• Dionne Bronson, Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon
• Kathryn Roose, Deputy Administrator of Quality and Oversight, Division of Child and Family Services, Nevada Department of Health and Human Services
• Elliott Hinkle, Young Adult Consultant and Coach, Capacity Building Center for States, Youth Development Subject Matter Expert
• Alicia Luckie, Training and Technical Assistance Supervisor, FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention

Hear a panel of birth parents, foster parents, and agency staff discuss policies and practices to support birth parents and foster parents in working together to promote the well-being and stability of children and youth who enter care. Research and experience demonstrate the value of staff, birth parents, and foster parents working in partnership to achieve better outcomes for families and children. Panelists will share their experiences in building and supporting meaningful partnerships and discuss how children and youth are more likely to thrive when the important adults in their lives collaborate with each other and share responsibilities and decision making. All of the panelists are members of the Birth and Foster Parent Partnership (BFPP). The BFPP is working to promote lasting relationships between and among birth parents, foster parents, and kinship caregivers to support families and to help child welfare systems improve their practices around supporting these relationships. During this session, you will have the opportunity to learn about two new complementary tools created by the BFPP to support building these relationships.

• Katie Biron, Foster and Adoptive Parent and Program Director of the Family Connections Program^TM, Washington
• Timothy Phipps, Birth Parent and Parent Mentor, Morrison Child and Family Services, Oregon
• Jody Rodgers, Birth Parent and Parent Mentor, Child Parent Institute, California
• Paula Bibbs-Samuels, Birth Parent and Commissioner, Supreme Court of Texas Children's Commission, Texas
• Marquetta King, Birth Parent and Foster Parent, The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region, Maryland
• Meryl Levine, Senior Associate, Children's Trust Fund Alliance

On behalf of the Children's Bureau, the Capacity Building Center for States (the Center) provides support to states and jurisdictions to strengthen, implement, and sustain effective child welfare practice to achieve better outcomes for children, youth, and families. The Center recognizes youth and family engagement as an integral part of successful and sustained organizational and systems change in child welfare and, to this end, incorporates parent, caregiver, and youth voices in every aspect of its service delivery. The Center recruits, trains, and supports pools of highly skilled family and young adults. The Center utilizes family and young adult consultants to help build the capacity of states and jurisdictions to meaningfully engage youth and families. Join this session to hear from some of the Center’s pool of family and young adult consultants on the opportunities to reshape foster care and advance race equity, in partnership with those with lived experience and expertise.

• Tony Parsons, Young Adult Consultant, Capacity Building Center for States, Federal Policy Specialist, Youth Villages
• Maddy Langan, Young Adult Consultant, Capacity Building Center for States
• Jasmine A. Snell, Young Adult Consultant, Capacity Building Center for States
• Arlene Jones, Family Consultant, Capacity Building Center for States
• Angela Braxton, Family Consultant, Capacity Building Center for States
• Athena Garcia-Gunn, Young Adult Consultant Coordinator, Capacity Building Center for States

In 2018 and 2019 the Administration on Children, Youth and Families funded a series of five-year, community-based projects designed to bolster family-integrated services; build strategic community-based partnerships with philanthropic, business, and nonprofit organizations; and streamline coordinated efforts with education, government, public health, law enforcement, public housing, legal, and judicial organizations to meet the needs of families before a crisis occurs. Each of these efforts was unique and focused on primary prevention. During this session, learn more about these sites and their work.

• Edi Winkle, Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator, FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention
• Athena Cote, Community Collaborations Program Administrator, Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems, Bureau of Population Health and Community Services, New Hampshire
• Aimee Zeitz, Regional Director of Quality Family Engagement, YMCA of San Diego
• Susana Mariscal, Associate Professor, Indiana University School of Social Work, Project Director, Strengthening Indiana Families
• Bryan Victor, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) is dedicated to using evidence to improve the child welfare workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the stress and trauma already faced by the workforce and forced leaders to rapidly change systems to enable work-from-home strategies, support workers, and continue to ensure children's safety and well-being. This panel will share the experiences of the QIC-WD's work with select jurisdictions as they used evidence to pivot during the pandemic. Examples include remote work and supervision, building resilience among workers, enabling worker voices to inform agency decisions, and virtual hiring practices. QIC-WD leadership will present on the challenges faced by sites during the pandemic and share how data was used to inform decision making. Site representatives will be invited to share their perspectives.

• Penny Putnam-Collins, Implementation Specialist, Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development
• Michelle Graef, Project Director, Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development
• Lisa Merkel-Holguin, Implementation Lead, Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development
• Megan Paul, Workforce Lead, Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development