CWVE 2023 Agenda
Recruit, Retain, and Support: Strategies for Strengthening the Child Welfare Workforce
Agenda for Thursday, September 21, 2023
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. EDT
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.
Leaning Into the Wind: What We Know About the State of Child Welfare
In this session, participants will learn about and reflect on the current state of child welfare and, more specifically, the child welfare workforce. Recent years have brought new challenges in child welfare and have highlighted the urgent need to be brave in addressing existing challenges. As we strive to create a system that values racial equity, power sharing and intentional community engagement with families and youth, and prevention, a strong workforce is an integral part of achieving this vision. Participants will hear from a jurisdiction that is implementing an array of services and supports, learn about concrete ways to adapt these strategies to the needs of their own jurisdictions, and start this event feeling empowered and inspired to address the challenges ahead.
Presenters
- Jasmine Hayes, Capacity Building Center for States
- Tony Parsons, Capacity Building Center for States
- Aysha E. Schomburg, Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families
- Rebecca Jones Gaston, Administration on Children, Youth and Families
- Leslie Calloway, Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, Division of Child Welfare
- Miki Egan, Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, Division of Child Welfare
- Ellen Hammons, Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, Division of Child Welfare
- Charlotte Williams, Capacity Building Center for States
Understanding Employee Performance, Turnover, and Well-Being Data
This session will share ways audiences can learn how to use data to understand and address worker turnover, beginning with an understanding of evidence-based human resources management and the important types of organizational workforce process and outcome data. Using a hypothetical case study, the presenters will illustrate the use of workforce needs assessment and data segmentation approaches to drill down and explore an agency’s workforce turnover data. The presentation will highlight and provide downloadable guides, resources, and videos from the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development to further enhance participant learning.
Presenters
- Michelle Graef, Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development
- Megan Paul, Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development
The Impact of Lived Expertise in Evidence-Based Practice Work
In this session, participants will identify strategies to recruit and integrate people with lived expertise into the workforce. They will learn the benefits of incorporating evidence-based practices and people with lived expertise into their child welfare agencies by hearing firsthand from successful programs and practitioners (e.g., Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams model).
Presenters
- Dawnia Flonnoy, National Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) Training and Technical Assistance Program, Children and Family Futures
- Robby Hall, Richmond County, North Carolina Health & Human Services
- Heather Hendley, Capacity Building Center for States
- Kelly Kirk, Richmond County, North Carolina Health & Human Services
- Tina Willauer, National Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) Training and Technical Assistance Program, Children and Family Futures
Dynamics in the Recruitment, Development, and Retention of Legal Professionals in Child Welfare
This engaging panel discussion will explore what attracts and retains legal professionals within child welfare law.
Presenters
- Salih Alexander, Capacity Building Center for Courts
- Tara Grigg Green, Foster Care Advocacy Center
- Diana Rugh Johnson, Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts
- Jey Rajaraman, Capacity Building Center for Courts
- Sameen Sabir, Law Office of Sameena Sabir
Work With Purpose: A Recruitment Campaign for Child Welfare
Struggling with recruitment? Join Sharon Kollar and Michelle Clinch from the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute to learn how to customize free recruitment ads for your tribe or jurisdiction. This workshop will include a demonstration of the various ads and tips on how to improve your web and social media presence to engage new recruits in learning about a career in child welfare and applying to fill your vacancies.
Presenters
- Michelle Clinch, National Child Welfare Workforce Institute
- Sharon Kollar, National Child Welfare Workforce Institute
Implementation Roundtables are concurrent, facilitated discussion sessions that will explore implementation topics related to recruitment and retention. CWVE attendees will select which of several concurrent sessions to attend based on their learning needs and interests.
Fostering Successful Opportunities for L.C.S.W. Supervision
According to the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute, agencies face between 15 and 20 percent turnover rates annually. The challenge of recruiting and retaining quality professional has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Guided by recommendations in the 2018 Annie E. Casey Foundation report Five Steps to A Stronger Child Welfare Workforce, Fairfax County conducts annual surveys to better understand the needs of employees and enhance its commitment to them. Results of the survey indicated clinical supervision being a key area of importance for staff. This workshop will share the Fairfax County Department of Family Services’ journey from development to implementation of its Clinical Supervision program. Presenters will discuss the program benefits, such as mitigating the risk of burnout, facilitating staff retention, and improving the work environment, and will also share lessons learned and ideas on how this program can be replicated in other child welfare agencies.
Presenters
- Michelle Cover, Fairfax County Department of Family Services
Organizational Readiness and Retention for People With Lived Expertise
This session is focused on organizational capacity to assess readiness and discuss strategies to retain those with lived expertise in the workforce. In this discussion, attendees will learn about five main considerations when thinking about organizational readiness within their agency: culture and climate, engagement and partnership, knowledge and skills, infrastructure, and resources. The conversation will then dive into strategies on how to support the retention of those with lived expertise within an organization. This session will close out by highlighting organizational success stories, giving participants an opportunity to share and hear success from others, and providing a chance to celebrate the work and growth that has been achieved.
Presenters
- Tiffany Haynes, Capacity Building Center for States
- Kelly Kirk, Capacity Building Center for States
From Disparity to Unity: Transforming Child Welfare Through Racial Equity
The panel discussion will revolve around the initiatives taken by the presenters to drive systemic changes within Michigan's child welfare system. With a focus on fostering racial equity, the presenters will delve into their strategies, initiatives, and frameworks that have been precisely designed to infuse racial equity into the everyday operations of child welfare in the state.
By sharing strategies, addressing challenges, highlighting data's role, and spotlighting collaboration, the presenters craft a holistic portrait of a systemic transformation aimed at fostering a more just, inclusive, and equitable child welfare system.
Presenters
- Regina Branch, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
- Kenisha Coon, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
- Carolyne Jones, Capacity Building Center for States
Attracting and Maintaining a Diverse Workforce: Addressing Moral Injury, Barriers to Advancement, and Becoming a Leader
In this session, participants will learn about the benefits and potential challenges of attracting and maintaining a diverse workforce within child welfare systems and programs at all levels. The Capacity Building Center for Tribes will discuss lessons learned and approaches implemented throughout their workforce development programs, including the Tribal Child Welfare Leadership Academy and Tribal Child Welfare Practice Path. Representatives from the Minority Professional Leadership Program (housed under AdoptUSKids) will discuss their approach for engaging and supporting program participants to become leaders of color within child welfare systems. Participants will also learn innovative ideas for improving and enhancing the child welfare worker experience for people of color through a deeper dive into addressing moral injury and its effect on the workforce, preparing for instantaneous leadership changes that occur within child welfare systems, supporting the advancement of workers of color into leadership roles.
Presenters
- Louis Gasper, Capacity Building Center for States
- Deborah Germany, Minority Professional Leadership Development Program
- Kendra Lowden, Capacity Building Center for Tribes
- Michelle Seymore, Minority Professional Leadership Development Program
A Tale of 2 Counties: Development and Implementation of Coaching
In this session, attendees will hear from two teams from different states who have recognized coaching skills as critical to supporting their workforce. Participants will learn more about Michigan’s and Nevada’s unique journeys in developing and implementing coaching practices within their supervision and management teams. Participants will also learn how these two counties identified what they needed to change, why they choose coaching, what coaching ultimately asked their leaders to do differently, how they sustain change in times of crisis, and what early indications of impact the counties have observed.
Presenters
- Kamisha Brady, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
- Lynette Wright, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
- Matthew Gyger, Nevada Partnership for Training, University of Nevada Las Vegas
- Lisa Martinez, Clark County, Nevada Department of Family Services
- Lisa Shaw, Clark County, Nevada Department of Family Services
- Karen Tyler, Nevada Partnership for Training, University of Nevada Las Vegas
- Jeremy Harvey, Capacity Building Center for States
- Tamara Jones, Capacity Building Center for States
Building Onboarding and Training Programs for Success: Experiences in Tribal and County-Administered Agencies
Participants will hear two teams discuss the decisions that went into building new onboarding and training curricula. The teams will speak to the challenges they faced in determining the volume of content and deciding to focus on job-specific skills versus more a universal culture of best practices. The teams will also discuss the challenge of onboarding and training staff in an increasingly virtual environment and the process for integrating cultural sensitivity and racial equity values across all areas of training.
These teams faced similar challenges in areas related to building a process that sets staff up for success, eases them into a challenging role, and supports their growth over time. The teams differ in the size of the workforce they support and the approach to cross-training.
Presenters
- Meghan Fine, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, North Carolina
- Julie R. Brown, Wisconsin Child Welfare Professional Development System
- Jennifer Heil, Wisconsin Child Welfare Professional Development System
- Tamara Jackson, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, North Carolina
- Alex Paquet, Capacity Building Center for States
- Darin Smith, Wisconsin Child Welfare Professional Development System
Closing Remarks
Presenters
- Tiffany Haynes, Capacity Building Center for States
- Tamara Vest, Capacity Building Center for States
Questions?
Learn how we can help your agency build the capacity to thrive.
Email: capacityinfo@icf.com
Phone: 1.844.222.0272
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.