Child Welfare Virtual Expo 2023
Recruit, Retain, and Support: Strategies for Strengthening the Child Welfare Workforce
Thursday, September 21, 2023
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. EDT
9 a.m. – 4 p.m. CDT
8 a.m. – 3 p.m. MDT
7 a.m. – 2 p.m. PDT
Join us on Thursday, September 21, 2023, from your computer, tablet, or smartphone to learn and strategize ways to recruit, retain, and support your child welfare workforce.
With a stable, supported, and diverse workforce, child welfare agencies can provide the services children, young people, families, and communities need. The 2023 Child Welfare Virtual Expo (CWVE) focuses on how child welfare agencies are addressing today’s unique workforce challenges and adapting to recruit and retain child welfare professionals. Join us to hear directly from jurisdictions, learn concrete strategies, and explore innovative practices to strengthen your child welfare workforce and design equitable workplaces.
About

The Child Welfare Virtual Expo (CWVE) is an annual one-day event sponsored by the Children’s Bureau and the Capacity Building Center for States.
Agenda

Take a look at the CWVE 2023 Agenda and plan your day at the CWVE!
Stay Informed

Sign up for the Center’s email list to keep up with all things CWVE. You’ll also receive information about new Center publications and events on current child welfare topics.
The Child Welfare Virtual Expo (CWVE) is an annual 1-day event sponsored by the Children’s Bureau and the Capacity Building Center for States (Center).
On Thursday, September 21, 2023, the CWVE will bring together child welfare professionals from federal, state, tribal, and local organizations across the country together with experts with lived experience, young people, families, and other partners to engage in online activities, discussions, and skill-building activities that provide information and jurisdictional examples, explore strategies, and offer innovative ideas and action steps to support a diverse child welfare workforce.
The 2023 CWVE will take place on Thursday, September 21, 2023, during the times listed below.
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. EDT
9 a.m. – 4 p.m. CDT
8 a.m. – 3 p.m. MDT
7 a.m. – 2 p.m. PDT
Attending the CWVE is free of charge.
This year’s CWVE focuses on jurisdictional strategies to recruit and retain child welfare professionals and will explore programs and emerging practices to strengthen and support a diverse workforce.
At CWVE 2023, you and your fellow child welfare colleagues will be able to:
- Explore the root causes and discuss the crucial problems and challenges associated with child welfare recruitment and retention
- Learn strategies that states and agencies have used to address these challenges in their jurisdictions, including recruitment campaigns, legislative action, and activities to attract and support a diverse workforce
- Access resources and practical tools that you can use to support worker recruitment and retention efforts
- Connect with peers and subject matter experts around specific challenges related to child welfare workforce recruitment and retention
At the 2023 CWVE, you’ll be able to choose from a variety of interactive sessions and workshops that offer:
- Best practices and lessons learned in attracting and maintaining diverse talent and leadership in child welfare
- Innovative strategies to recruit and integrate people with lived experience and expertise in child welfare systems into the workforce
- Information on how to use data to understand and address worker turnover
- Improved understanding of the critical roles of onboarding and training in staff retention
- Practical examples from jurisdictions and innovation roundtables to connect with presenters, ask questions, and connect with peers
Registration is open! Please visit the registration page for more information.
Attendees will be able to register for and log into the CWVE using their computer, tablet, phone, or other mobile device. More information is available on the 2023 CWVE webpage.
More information on technical requirements and a system check are available on the CWVE webpage at the bottom of the page.
Child welfare leaders, administrators, and managers from jurisdictions and tribes can attend CWVE 2023 to learn about innovative strategies in child welfare recruitment and retention, network with peers and experts, and plan local action steps in real time.
The 2023 CWVE can benefit a wide variety of federal, state, tribal, community, and family partners, including:
- Child welfare administrators, directors, and deputies
- Child welfare program and mid-level managers
- Child welfare frontline supervisors
- Child welfare screening and intake managers
- Child welfare continuous quality improvement and evaluation staff
- Child welfare agency human resources staff
- Child welfare training leaders
- Child welfare information technology and information systems staff
- Child maltreatment and prevention partners
- Legislative and policy partners
- University partners
- Child welfare agency caseworkers and direct practice staff working with children, young people, and families
- Young people and families with lived experience in child welfare
The CWVE is open to anyone who would like to attend, and we encourage you to share this event with your colleagues and networks. If you’re attending as part of a group, you can note that during registration. This option is best for teams that will be participating onsite in the same room. If you’d like for everyone to have individual access to the platform so they can chat and download resources on their own, then we recommend individuals register themselves directly.
A CWVE learning experience and discussion guide will be made available on the Center’s website several weeks after the event. If you register for the CWVE, you will receive an announcement once materials are available.
All sessions recordings and CWVE materials will be available on the event platform for up to a year. After the event, you can log back into the platform to add more documents to your virtual briefcase. You can download items from your virtual briefcase by clicking on the My Profile tab on the top navigation bar, and then clicking on My Briefcase. This will take you to your virtual briefcase where you can download resources to your computer.
We do not provide certificates for attending the CWVE. However, please feel free to use the confirmation and thank you emails to verify your participation in this event.
CEUs will not be made available for the 2023 CWVE.
CWVE participants will have many opportunities to forge new connections, learn from each other, and meet up with colleagues through innovative virtual networking opportunities, including:
- Virtual networking spaces: Designated social areas that facilitate engagement with other participants, presenters, and leading national experts
- Exhibit Hall and Resource Gallery: User-friendly, easy-to-locate spaces that feature downloadable resources and tools to add to your virtual briefcase
- 1:1 video chat: An innovative CWVE feature that enables participants to chat with other participants and presenters face to face in real time
During the CWVE, attendees will be able to access a Help Desk that is staffed by technical support staff throughout the day.
At the Help Desk, participants will also be able to access the CWVE Navigation Guide, which will describe the technical details of participating in the CWVE, including setting up your profile, communicating with participants and presenters, planning your day and attending sessions, accessing resources, visiting exhibit booths, and accessing additional assistance.
The confirmation email for your CWVE registration should have come from icf@theonlineexpo.com but you may want to check your spam or junk folder in case your email server sent it there. No worries if you don’t receive the confirmation email though, as you can join via this login link: Login.
You can log into the CWVE using the email address you provided during registration. No password is required.
If you’ve registered to attend the CWVE but are not able to attend, we understand. Although you couldn’t attend on the day of the event, you’ll still be able to access all of the session videos and materials at a later date. Once session recordings are posted on the CWVE website several weeks after the live event, you’ll receive an email with a link to the archived event.
If you’re only available for a small portion of the day to attend the CWVE, that is totally fine! The CWVE is designed for you to drop in and out of sessions as your schedule allows. Just log in whenever you are available and you’re all set.
Exhibitor participation is by invitation only. There is limited space for exhibitors, and booths are generally reserved for federally funded organizations that provide technical assistance directly to public child welfare agencies. Information about future events, including plans for exhibitors, will be available on the CWVE website.
Have more questions? Contact capacityinfo@icfi.com

Technical Requirements and System Check
Take a few minutes now to test your computer system before attending the CWVE and make sure that your computer is ready for the event.
When accessing the CWVE platform on the day of the event, please note that pop-up blockers are standard on most browsers. Following the system check, please allow for pop-ups on the site or click the button on the bottom of the screen to continue.
Interested in Learning More About Past CWVE Topics?
Explore the archived CWVE session videos and associated resources from previous Child Welfare Virtual Expos are available on the CWVE Learning Experiences webpage.