Child Welfare Virtual Expo 2024: Leading From Where You Are
Wednesday and Thursday, May 22–23, 2024
10 a.m.–2 p.m. EDT
9 a.m.–1 p.m. CDT
8 a.m.–12 p.m. MDT
7 a.m.–11 a.m. PDT
Join us over the course of 2 half-days on Wednesday and Thursday, May 22–23, 2024, to learn more about transformational leadership and how everyone can inspire positive change in child welfare.
Child welfare professionals respond positively to leaders who are transformational and inspire them to find purpose and meaning in their work so that they feel connected to a team and collective efforts. The 2024 Child Welfare Virtual Expo (CWVE) will raise awareness of successful and equitable leadership, share leadership journeys, and facilitate connections. Join us to learn more about child welfare leadership and the critical role it plays in workforce resilience, well-being, and dedication and systems change in child welfare.
Stay Informed About CWVE 2024
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
About the CWVE
The Child Welfare Virtual Expo (CWVE) is an annual event sponsored by the Children’s Bureau and the Capacity Building Center for States (Center).
Over the course of 2 half-days on Wednesday and Thursday, May 22–23, 2024, the CWVE will bring together child welfare leaders and professionals from federal organizations, states, tribes, territories, and local organizations to engage in online discussions and real-time learning opportunities about key components of transformational and inspirational leadership in child welfare. Participants will get the chance to apply new knowledge, establish peer-to-peer connections, and foster actionable insights and a deeper understanding about leaders as well as their impact on workforce resilience, well-being, and dedication and systems change in child welfare.
The 2024 CWVE will take place over the course of 2 half-days on Wednesday and Thursday, May 22–23, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. It is free to attend the CWVE!
Recognizing the challenge of full-day commitments, the Center transitioned the 2024 CWVE to a schedule of 2 half-days to provide flexibility for jurisdictions and address workforce challenges. Attendees can choose afternoon workshop sessions based on their interests and availability.
We hope that this flexible live-streamed event over 2 half-days will better accommodate diverse schedules and time zones while ensuring a balanced and engaging experience through networking opportunities, talks, and sessions.
Each CWVE day will feature unique opening remarks and morning sessions to give attendees an opportunity to expand their knowledge of transformational leadership and hear diverse perspectives on leadership in child welfare. The following four topics will be available concurrently during the afternoon worship sessions on both days of the CWVE:
- Psychological safety and belonging
- Transformational leadership
- Leading across systems
- Leadership roles and opportunities in the Child and Family Services Review
This setup offers attendees the chance to participate in a different afternoon workshop session each day. These workshop sessions will highlight tangible actions and skills participants can take into their work while also providing peer-to-peer connections and learning opportunities.
Attendees are encouraged to attend different afternoon workshop sessions on both days.
This year's CWVE will raise awareness of successful key leadership components and effective leadership practices and activities, share inspirational leadership journeys, and facilitate connections. Participants will learn more about transformational leadership and how everyone can inspire positive change in child welfare.
At CWVE 2024, you and your fellow child welfare colleagues will be able to:
- Build awareness of key components of effective leadership and its impact on systems change in child welfare
- Discover how ensuring diversity at all levels of child welfare leadership contributes to workforce resilience, improved community relations, child welfare professional resilience, and better outcomes for children, young people, and families in child welfare
- Learn how to create psychologically safe and resilient cultures and climates at child welfare agencies that prioritize the well-being and safety of all child welfare professionals
- Access resources and practical tools that can be used to improve effective leadership practices and activities related to inspirational leadership
- Connect with peers and subject matter experts in the areas of leadership and workforce resilience and well-being in child welfare
At the 2024 CWVE, you’ll be able to choose from a variety of workshop sessions developed by child welfare leaders that will focus on:
- Strategies to improve organizational culture and climate through leadership
- Psychological safety and belonging
- Transformational leadership qualities
- The importance of leading across child welfare and aligned systems
- Leadership roles and opportunities in the Child and Family Services Review
CEUs will not be made available for the 2024 CWVE.
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.
- Learn more about the 2024 CWVE on the about page.
- Have more questions? Contact capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Child welfare leaders, administrators, and managers from jurisdictions and tribes can attend CWVE 2024 to learn more about transformational and inspirational leadership and its impact on workforce resilience, well-being, and dedication and systems change in child welfare.
The 2024 CWVE can benefit a wide variety of federal organizations, states, tribes, territories, and local organizations, including (but not limited to):
- Child welfare administrators, directors, and deputies
- Child welfare program managers, mid-level managers, and supervisors
- Child welfare continuous quality improvement and evaluation professionals
- Child welfare agency human resources professionals
- Child welfare training directors
- Child welfare agency caseworkers and other direct practice professionals
- Child welfare information technology and information systems professionals
- Child maltreatment and prevention partners
- Legislative and policy partners
- University partners
Engaging During the 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: Dedicated spaces across various settings allowing participants to interact directly with presenters and subject matter experts on various topics
- Exhibit Hall and Resource Gallery: User-friendly, easy-to-find spaces that feature downloadable resources and tools to add to your virtual briefcase
- One-to-one video chat: An innovative CWVE feature that enables participants to chat with other participants and presenters face to face in real time, to be complemented by visible attendee lists for direct connection among online participants
The Center and Children’s Bureau seek to create an inclusive environment for this event. We expect all participants to communicate respectfully, practice empathy, use active listening skills, and contribute constructive and relevant comments. We will remove any participants who break these guidelines from the conference platform.
Registering for the CWVE
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.
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 on technical requirements and a system check are available on the CWVE webpage at the bottom of the page.
The 2024 CWVE learning experience will be made available on the Center’s website later this summer. If you register for the CWVE, you will receive an announcement once materials are available.
Only prerecorded sessions and CWVE materials will be available on the event platform for up to a year. (Live sessions will not be available. However, some version of the live sessions may be part of the learning experience.) 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.
Technical Requirements and Support
Throughout both days of the CWVE, attendees will have full access to a Help Desk that is staffed by technical support staff.
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, 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 unable to attend, we understand. 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.
Historically, the CWVE doesn’t offer signups for exhibitors. Exhibitor participation is and has always been by invitation only, and booths generally are 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.
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.
Recent Child Welfare Virtual Expo (CWVE) Learning Experiences
- Recruit, Retain, and Support: Strategies for Strengthening the Child Welfare Workforce: Child Welfare Virtual Expo (CWVE) 2023
- Power in Partnerships: Prioritizing Lived Expertise in Child Welfare: Child Welfare Virtual Expo (CWVE) 2022
- Advancing Racial Equity in Child Welfare: Child Welfare Virtual Expo (CWVE) 2021
- Strengthening Families Through Prevention and Collaboration: Child Welfare Virtual Expo (CWVE) 2020