CWLA the Networker

CWLA Celebrates Kinship Care Month
CWLA
September is Kinship Care Month. Please join CWLA as we celebrate three decades of dedication to kinship caregiving families and recognize all of the relatives, members of the extended family, and tribes and clans who provide round-the-clock protecting and nurturing for children, either through informal family arrangements or child protective services. Nearly three million kinship caregivers across the country provide safety, support, cultural ties, and affection for the children in their care. Unique family circumstances cause stress for relatives, parents, and children including health and mental health challenges, financial and other burdens. Yet kinship caregivers – grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings who are older, and members of the extended family who are not related – prevail. Let’s use Kinship Care Month to recognize their dedication! CWLA resources to support kinship caregivers include:

IN THE NEWS

Infants with history of reported maltreatment at greater risk of death from medical causes
Pediatrics
A study finds a heightened risk of death from medical causes for infants with histories of reported maltreatment, suggesting a need for ongoing care coordination between the child protection system and pediatric health providers.

Apple walks back plans for new child safety tools after privacy backlash
CNN
Apple made headlines — and not the good kind — last month when it announced a test of a new tool aimed at combating child exploitation. Critics quickly decried the feature’s potential privacy implications, and now Apple is taking a long pit stop before moving forward with its plans. On Friday, the company said it will pause testing the tool in order to gather more feedback and make improvements.
 

Governor signs bipartisan child welfare overhaul bill
Carolina Public Press
Children in North Carolina’s foster care system may be placed in permanent homes faster after Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill with several changes to the state’s child welfare processes on Wednesday.

The 4 F’s for proactive online child protection
EIN Presswire
As parents, caregivers, and allied professionals, have you ever wondered how to proactively supervise what is happening with children online? Have your children been on gaming devices, cellphones, and other digital devices and you have no knowledge as to what they are doing online?

Couple who fostered 620 kids in 56 years reveal golden rules of parenting including how to deal with jealousy & time-out
The Sun
The pair have tended to newborns, toddlers and teens – all while raising five children of their own. And Pauline, now 81, says they never forgot a youngster’s name or birthday, and always believed every foster child was as important as their own.

Juvenile cases in 2019 dropped to the lowest level in 14 years, federal data show
Youth Today
Juvenile offenses involving property, drug and public order offenses, combined, declined in 2019 to their lowest levels since 2005, according to recently released National Center on Juvenile Justice data also showing that probation, rather than detention, increasingly was assigned in five categories of juvenile crime.

Prevention education: More important than ever
Social Work Today
With trauma at unprecedented levels, it’s time everyone—from school administrators to government officials—steps up efforts to dismantle the child sexual abuse and exploitation epidemic. One of the highest forms of love is service. A form of service is protection. Without feelings of safety and security, a child cannot thrive.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

 

TRAINING – Fostering School Success: How Caregivers and Social Workers Can Support the Educational Needs of Children 

September 21 & 28 and October 5 & 12, 2021 

12:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET

This skill-building training opportunity will share how to improve school experiences and long-term outcomes for children who have experienced trauma. Participants in this training will 1) develop an understanding of common barriers to educational access and engagement for youth who have experienced trauma; 2) learn practical strategies for cultivating resilience at home that will lead to improved school performance; 3) advance their knowledge of the education system and supports available to children with special needs and circumstances who have also experienced trauma; and 4) expand their collaboration and advocacy toolkits to ensure children and youth have access to high quality schooling. To learn more and for online registration, click here.

TRAINING – Crisis Assessment and Intervention When Trauma Strikes: A Five-Step Approach to Foster Hope, Collaboration, and Change 

October 13, 20, 27 and November 3, 2021

1:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET

CWLA is hosting Michael J. Schultz, Ed.D. licensed psychologist, family therapist, systems consultant and CWLA Fellow for this four-part, skill-building training, which is based on his upcoming CWLA Press publication titled, Systems Consultation When Trauma Strikes: Stories of Hope, Collaboration, and Change. The soaring pressure and lofty expectations confronting educational and human services professionals are having an impact on all levels of the workforce. As such, it is increasingly apparent that the COVID-19 pandemic, racial unrest, political strife, and economic disparities leave many well-meaning professionals feeling overwhelmed, under-supervised, and highly susceptible to symptoms of primary and secondary traumatic stress. Facilitated conversations using a five-step approach is one way to foster the hope, collaboration, and change needed to assess and intervene when trauma and tragedy strike. These facilitated conversations seek to cultivate environments of safety and trust, significant supervisory support, increased tolerance for ambiguity and stress, and a well-formulated team orientation. Registration information to come soon. Save the dates!

CWLA 2022 NATIONAL CONFERENCE

The Fierce Urgency of Now: Collective Action to Ensure Children and Families Flourish 

April 27-29, 2022 – Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington, DC

Join us for our 2022 national conference that will feature successful strategies, research, practices, advocacy, and actions that individuals, families, organizations, and communities are using to improve supports and services for the health and well-being of children, youth, and families. For more information, click here.
 

 

CWLA SPOTLIGHT

 

CWLA is pleased to announce the publication of Volume 99, Number 2 of Child Welfare journal. This new issue features articles on African American MSW students’ attitudes toward transracial adoption; a safety assessment and family evaluation model; the efficacy of parenting resources that combat physical punishment; youth with foster care experience who are navigating college; and much more. Order your copy today!

 

 

 

Help CWLA become a GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Charity for 2021! Post brief comments of your experience with us to help raise visibility for our important work. All reviews will be visible to potential donors and volunteers on GreatNonprofits, an important source of nonprofit stories and feedback. Please take a few minutes to share your comments and help CWLA help children, youth, and families who are vulnerable. Get started now!

The CWLA Emerging Leaders Committee and the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) will be offering the webinar, Empowering the Child Welfare Workforce and its Emerging Leaders, on September 28 at 4:00 pm ET. Opportunities for leadership exist at all levels – regardless of job title or years of experience. The field of child welfare continues to face challenges related to recruitment and retention of qualified and diverse staff that reflect the families served. These challenges have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the significant impact of recent and historical social and racial justice issues. While there are many reasons for challenges in the child welfare workforce, one of the more significant challenges impacting emerging leaders is lack of opportunity, support, and coaching for career advancement. This webinar will present helpful steps that emerging leaders can take to promote their own growth and development of critical leadership skills in their existing position or agency and share concrete ways that agencies can support emerging leaders. In addition to a panel discussion, there will be interactive ways to provide input on future opportunities for emerging leaders, and helpful resources that participants can use now to continue building their leadership skills. To register, click here.

Julie Collins, CWLA Vice President, Practice Excellence and Marcus Stallworth, CWLA Director, Training and Implementation will be presenting the workshop, COVID-19 and Its Impact on Mental Health for Populations Who are Vulnerable at Relias’ Impact Nation 2021 conference on September 21. They will discuss the many ways the COVID-19 pandemic impacted children’s social and emotional well-being, explore some of the challenges contributing to the breakdown of individual mental health, access to resources, and service delivery. They also will share observations and lessons learned which can be transferred into best practice moving forward


CWLA member organization, Parents Anonymous® recently received the rating of Supportive from the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse on all 3 program areas: Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Parenting. They are one of five programs that effectively improved child safety and prevents child abuse and neglect. They were excited to share the Clearinghouse results, “The studies reviewed by the Clearinghouse found that Parents Anonymous® reduced subsequent child maltreatment substantiations by more than half as compared to parents who did not use the program, even after leaving the Parents Anonymous® program a year later. Additionally, the study found that Parents Anonymous® predominately served communities of color, one of the communities in highest need of services.”

 


RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES

The Office of Early Childhood Development, a part of the Administration for Children and Families, is hosting a free 60-minute training on the Child Tax Credit new application tool for non-filers on September 9 at 4:30 pm ET or September 10 at 1:00 pm ET. The session will provide an overview of the Child Tax Credit and walk through the Non-Filer Portal to demonstrate how everyone can help members of their community enroll in the Child Tax Credit. For more information on the Child Tax Credit, click here.

National Child Welfare Workforce Institute and the Children’s Bureau will be hosting a virtual Child Welfare Worker Recognition Event on September 14 at 3:00 pm. Speakers will talk about your ability to positively influence a life’s trajectory through the heart, the head, and the hands. This event is all about celebrating the people who do so much to empower children, youth, and families facing a variety of life challenges and obstacles. To learn more and register, click here.

The Capacity Building Center for States is hosting the upcoming Child Welfare Virtual Expo (CWVE) on September 23, a free annual event. This year’s focus of the CWVE is advancing racial equity in child welfare. This topic will address the racism and bias that continue to create disproportional representation in the child welfare system and disparities in outcomes for Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and other children, youth, and families of color. To learn more, click here.

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has released a new brief series, Beyond the Mask: Promoting Transformation and Healing in School Reopening, which focus on three key components of school-based mental health:

Each brief highlights the states using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund dollars to invest in the components and offers key recommendations.

Did you know that your organization could be eligible for thousands of dollars in pandemic assistance via the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC)? Non-profit organizations are eligible to claim ERTC funds. Even if your organization does not pay taxes, you can get the credits in the form of a cash credit. You could get these funds in the form of a refundable, advanceable tax credit and you can still qualify for the ERTC, even if you claimed Payroll Protection Program (PPP) funds. For more information, visit Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

OFA Peer TA Monthly Alert September 2021

Supporting Children and Families in the New School Year: What TANF Staff Need to Know

OFA’s Peer TA Monthly Alerts highlight trending topics of interest to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies and partners. Get timely resources, research, tools, strategies, and tips on innovative TANF policies and programs in this monthly digital source.

Children and families are adjusting to returning to in-person learning for the first time in many months since the COVID-19 pandemic began. This issue highlights guidance, resources, and tips that TANF agency staff can use to assist families with children transitioning back to classrooms and to enhance workforce development programs that provide job training and placement in education settings.

See select articles on helping young children and parents transition back to school, COVID-19 resources for schools, supporting early child development and learning amid the pandemic, and supporting the childcare and early education workforce. 

Resource Spotlight

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed structural problems encountered by Black, Latina, and Native American child care and early education providers. This report draws upon interviews with 20 experts to highlight 19 state and local policy strategies that could be implemented to address the structural inequality in this workforce. These four strategies reflect the need for a rapid crisis response; how to inform key policy responses to maximize impact; how to drive equity-based systems changes for supporting the child care and early care education workforce; and how to lay the foundation for increasing diversity in leadership roles.

This Month's Resources

This set of recordings are from a three-day workshop convened on May 20, May 25, and May 27, 2021 which explored COVID-19’s effect on students’ learning and mental health. The workshop focused on the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on children of color, children who have special health needs and learning difficulties, and children who are living in poverty. Presentations included lived experience perspectives and experts who discussed learning loss, mental health, and social-emotional learning.

Educare schools provide full-day, year-round early care and education for young children living in families from underserved communities. This brief illustrates the experiences and responses of Educare’s early childhood care and education (ECCE) staff during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as systemic inequities that Educare schools encountered. Interviews with staff from 18 Educare schools revealed three common themes: the importance of supporting the ECCE workforce’s physical and mental health and overall well-being; the redefinition of expectations and mechanisms for accountability; and the ECCE workforce’s ongoing commitment to professional development. The brief describes a set of identified challenges for each theme that the ECCE workforce encountered and overcame.

The third of a three-part series, this April 27, 2021 webinar from the Center for Health Care Strategies examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reducing young children’s access to in-person early childhood and learning programs. Presentations covered approaches that states and communities might use to address development and learning needs as the children reenter early childhood and learning settings. Speakers included representatives from the Ohio Department of Education, the North Carolina Department of Health Benefits (Medicaid), and the Office of Head Start.

The second of a three-part series, this April 20, 2021 webinar from the Center for Health Care Strategies reviews challenges faced by families with young children in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic aftermath. Presentations covered opportunities to support families and connect them with community resources; strategies to increase parents’ knowledge of child development and communications skills while reducing their social isolation; mindfulness practices among staff at a supportive services agency; and the development of a virtual maternal-infant home visiting program. Speakers included representatives from the American Academy of Pediatrics, Families First of Boston, La Cocina of Colorado, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and ZERO TO THREE.

This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) webpage includes CDC and partner resources and offers guidance in reducing stress children might encounter when transitioning back to in-person learning. Also included is the link to a CDC podcast entitled Transitioning Back to School or Early Child Education.

Contact us at PeerTA| peerta@blhtech.com

Essential Knowledge for Addressing the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) in Georgia

Amerigroup Community Care, along with Justice U and Street Grace, invite you to attend a unique training opportunity to become certified as a CSEC (Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children) informed provider while earning CEUs.

Training participants will be guided through a three-part blended learning program, with online self-paced training on Justice U, and a live, synchronous component provided by Street Grace. This training program establishes basic awareness about human trafficking, providing specific understanding about CSEC as a form of human trafficking, its impact in Georgia, and how your specific profession or role can have a direct impact on preventing and effectively addressing CSEC.

These courses are intended for the following roles and professions:

  • Educators and School Counselors
  • Behaviors Health Providers
  • Healthcare/Medical professionals
  • Group Home Professionals
  • Foster Care and Adoptive Families and Associations
  • Juvenile Justice Professionals
  • CASA and Community Outreach Organizations
  • Case Managers

Interested in how you and your network can participate in this opportunity? Visit learnwithjusticeu.com/csecseries-georgia to sign up! *Enter code: “Amerigroup” to register for FREE.