Link to the Webinar recording: Watch Here
Webinar Description:
This webinar will highlight a methodology (Intensive Permanence Services--IPS) used by Santa Clara County and other counties and agencies across the country and in Canada to help youth with pain-based behaviors find their way back to people who love them. IPS was developed through a 10-year partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, is research-based, and has been effectively used in more than 30 jurisdictions to achieve permanency rates of 70%-84% for hard-to-place youth.
This unique approach creates an entirely new mindset and way of practicing that, once learned, transforms child welfare practice from a treatment and placement approach to a healing and belonging approach. IPS teaches and embodies the mindset and practice approach necessary to engage in prevention and Family First-type practice, and once learned, can be applied at any point in a child’s involvement with the system, including preventing separation. IPS can be effectively used no matter where the youth is placed and follows them throughout placements until permanency is achieved. It can also be used with parents who have experienced trauma, youth at-risk of disruption, and youth for whom no family is known or available. Therefore, integrating the IPS healing and belonging approach will help to transform all aspects of child welfare practice, from family engagement to courtroom outcomes and experiences.
When we help youth heal from their relational trauma, use exhaustive family search and engagement to reengage already-trusted adults, and support caregivers in healing their own grief, loss, and trauma, hope returns. Making a steadfast and intensive commitment to our youth and their parents—to do what love would do(what you would do for someone YOU loved)—is where we begin.
Presenter Bios:
Dr. Amelia Franck Meyer is a social entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Alia: innovations for people and systems impacted by childhood trauma. Before Alia, Amelia was the CEO of a treatment foster care agency located in 90 counties in Wisconsin and Minnesota. During her 16-year tenure, Amelia and her team produced nationally recognized child permanence and placement stability outcomes for children in out-of-home care and were recognized as being on the leading edge of wellbeing for youth and the child welfare workforce; including receiving six local, regional, and national innovation awards. Amelia has served on national and statewide boards and strategic committees in both private and public agencies that address her passion of improving the lives of children and families so that all can belong and thrive.
Temera Carson is a Social Services Program Manager with the Santa Clara County Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS) overseeing Placement, Family Finding, and Permanency programs, which includes the implementation of the Intensive Permanence Services (IPS) program in collaboration with Alia. Temera has worked for DFCS for 20 years, in all areas of core child welfare including supervising Post Adoptions and Recruitment of Resource Homes unit for 8 years.
Temera is adoption clinically trained and co-facilitated the Kinship Pathways to Permanence; parenting children who have experienced trauma for 5 years. Temera has participated in the Alia Trauma program as well as completed a Trauma Informed certificate program. Temera is currently a member of the DFCS Wellbeing champions, the REAL (Race and Equity Agency Leadership) Team, and co-facilitates the DFCS Steering Committee.
Prior to working at DFCS, Temera oversaw two Intensive Home visitation programs and served many diverse populations with a focus on mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence, and school-related issues.