Child Welfare Virtual Expo 2022
Power in Partnerships: Prioritizing Lived Expertise in Child Welfare
Recorded sessions and related resources are now available.
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.
On Wednesday, September 28, the CWVE brought together lived experts in child welfare with child welfare and other professionals from federal, state, Tribal, and local organizations across the country to engage in online learning, dynamic discussions, and skill-building activities that explored intentionally partnering with people with lived experience and expertise throughout all levels of child welfare.
All sessions at the 2022 CWVE featured people with lived experience and expertise, child welfare agency and federal staff, and national experts. Throughout the day, attendees had opportunities to discover new information, explore strategies, and consider innovative ideas and action steps to authentically engage youth, families, and organizational partners and integrate lived expertise into individual and team practice.
Session topics included:
- Methods and Emerging Strategies to Engage People With Lived Experience
- Listen, Engage, and Reflect: How to Authentically and Respectfully Engage Individuals With Lived Experience in Storytelling Practices
- Authentic Youth and Family Engagement: Deploying Individuals With Lived Experience as Advisors
- Productive Partnerships With Youth and Families: Commitment to Lived Expertise
- Setting the Stage: Creating the Space for People With Lived Expertise to Thrive
- The Power of Lived Expertise in Research and Evaluation: Child Welfare Edition
- Living Leadership: Valuing Our Lived Expertise
The organizational partners for this year's CWVE were:
- Capacity Building Center for Tribes
- Capacity Building Center for Courts
- Division X Technical Assistance
Continuing education units (CEUs) are available for those who attended the 2022 CWVE on September 28.

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Connect With #CWVE #LivedExpertise #LivedExperience #YouthAndFamilyPartnerships #ChildWelfare
Interested in Learning More About Past CWVE Topics?
Archived sessions and additional learning materials from previous Child Welfare Virtual Expos are available on through the Center for States website:
- Advancing Racial Equity in Child Welfare (2021)
- Strengthening Families Through Prevention and Collaboration (2020)
- Effectiveness in Child Welfare: Our Role in Improving the Lives of Children and Families (2019)
- Fostering a Healthy Workforce (2018)
- Strengthening Assessment and Decision-Making for Improved Outcomes (2017)
- Building Capacity to Address Sex Trafficking and Normalcy (2016) (Access on CapLEARN; free registration required)
Continuing Education Units
You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for participating in the 2022 CWVE. For more information on how to purchase CEUs for specific sessions, please visit the CWVE 2022 Continuing Education Units webpage.