2025 SOP Conference Full Program Agenda

Creating Space for Connection Through Use of Validation Techniques

Presenter: Lisa Maaca Bartlette, MSSA

Validation helps individuals feel seen, heard and accepted. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore how to use validation to create emotional safety, strengthen rapport and improve engagement—especially when working with children, youth and families in care. Learn the six levels of validation, the difference between validation and agreement and the role of nonjudgmental listening. Practical exercises and case studies will support application in clinical, therapeutic and community-based settings. This workshop is ideal for social workers, caregivers and leaders looking to reduce emotional dysregulation and enhance interprofessional collaboration.

Engaging Families in Safety Organized Practice: Why It Matters and How Parent Partners Lead the Way

Presenter: Dawne' Lynch

Safety Organized Practice (SOP) is most effective when families and youth fully understand its purpose and actively engage in the process–and yet, jargon, complex systems and emotional barriers often leave families feeling excluded from critical safety planning conversations. This interactive workshop will equip frontline child welfare workers with strategies to ensure families understand SOP modalities, feel empowered to participate and recognize the essential role of parent partners in fostering collaboration and trust. Through real-life scenarios, role-playing and actionable tools, participants will leave with the skills and confidence to engage families in meaningful and lasting ways, ultimately making their work more efficient, reducing misunderstandings and lightening their workload by fostering stronger partnerships and clearer communication with families. 

Healthy Organizations: How To Engage Your Multigenerational Workforce Using Safety Organized Practice (SOP) Strategies

Presenters: Brenda S. Guzman  and Janine Blackmur

Navigating a multigenerational workforce in social work means more than bridging age gaps—it’s about fostering empathy, adaptability and inclusion. This interactive workshop explores evolving generational worldviews and how they influence supervision, communication and organizational culture. Participants will engage with SOP strategies like Solution Focused Questions and Appreciative Inquiry while integrating principles of Cultural Humility. Learn to identify your own generational lens, reflect on workplace dynamics and apply practical tools to build trust and motivation across teams.

Keeping SOP in the Hearts and Minds of Social Workers: Effective Promotion and Communication of SOP Approaches and Principles

Presenter: Mary Bergman, LCSW

Discover innovative ways to keep Safety Organized Practice (SOP) front and center in child welfare. Led by Mary Bergman, this dynamic panel will highlight real-world successes from across the state, showcasing creative strategies for promoting SOP principles and ensuring tools are accessible in both office and field settings. You’ll walk away with a stronger understanding of how to effectively communicate SOP, inspire consistent practice, and support caseworkers with the resources they need—anywhere they are. This workshop is ideal for anyone looking to deepen SOP integration and empower their teams to improve child welfare outcomes.

Transition Aged Youth and Safety Organized Practice

More details coming soon!

SOP – Bringing the Practice to Fruition– The ‘how’ of How We Use the Tools

Presenter: Hadar Hartshorn, LCSW

Move beyond theory and dive into the practical application of SOP tools. This hands-on session features dynamic learning circles, where participants will exchange strategies, generate solutions and walk away with concrete actions tailored to their jurisdictions. Explore how SOP tools reveal systemic strengths and barriers in child welfare, especially when supporting families and communities impacted by trauma. You’ll sharpen your approach to culturally responsive practice while reinforcing the importance of trauma-informed care and cultural humility.

Moving from SOP Implementation to Integration

Presenters: Daniel McKinnis and Mark Boyce

Designed for child welfare supervisors and quality assurance reviewers, this hands-on workshop explores how to assess and strengthen the integration of Structured Decision Making and SOP in daily practice. Participants will engage in real-world case examples, practice group rating exercises and review criteria that distinguish developing, proficient and advanced levels of SOP use. You'll leave with practical tools, feeback, strategies and a deeper understanding of how to support frontline staff in embedding SOP into their casework.

Connecting to Our Own Hearts: Utilizing SOP to Enhance Social Worker Resiliency

Presenter: Peggi Cooney

Explore the intersection of Safety Organized Practice and social worker well-being in this restorative workshop. Designed for professionals at every level, the session addresses secondary traumatic stress, system trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)—common challenges in child welfare case management. Through reflective tools like the Social Worker Well-being Map and SOP’s guiding questions, participants will identify personal stressors, strengths and next steps toward resilience. The workshop also integrates mindfulness practices to support sustainable self-care, combat burnout and improve outcomes for families. Join us to build a healthier, more empowered approach to this vital work.

Engaging the Lopez-Vega Family – A Real Time SOP Practice Lab

Presenters: Veronica Rodriguez, Melanie Johnson and Rigoberto Rico

Explore Ventura County’s dynamic Safety Organized Practice (SOP) Lab Series in this interactive session led by its original development team. Learn how the series evolved to complement—not replace—formal training by creating space for staff at all levels to collaborate, reflect and sharpen their use of SOP and Structured Decision Making (SDM). Participants will engage in a live practice lab focused on the fictitious Lopez-Vega family, gaining hands-on experience in applying SOP and SDM tools. This immersive approach supports child welfare case management services by fostering peer learning and strengthening real-world skills that participants can take back to their own agencies.

Empowering Parents through Partnership

Presenters: Kristi Varnum, De Anna Martin and Shari Crow

Join Kristi Varnum, De Anna Martin and Shari Crow as they share the success of the Parent Empowerment Group (PEG), a peer-led initiative by Child Advocates of Placer County. Created to support parents working toward reunification, PEG helps families across Placer, Yuba, Sutter and neighboring counties strengthen their natural support systems, set goals through solution-focused inquiry and achieve lasting, positive change. This session highlights PEG’s journey, the power of cross-agency collaboration and how you can bring similar supports to your region using SOP-based strategies.

Participants will learn how collaboration improves reunification outcomes, what sustains PEG’s impact and how to build meaningful partnerships that improve child welfare case management services.

County Panel

More details coming soon!

Laying the Groundwork: Embedding SOP into New Worker Training

Presenter: Ariana Martinez, LCSW

SOP isn’t just a framework—it becomes the heart of a worker’s practice. Discover how Contra Costa County is transforming new worker training by embedding SOP from day one. This session explores the impact of introducing SOP early in induction and using simulations to reinforce concepts across the life of a case. Learn how structured labs create a safe space for practicing engagement, assessing safety risks and strengthening decision-making skills. Gain tools for coaching new staff and building a strong learning culture that improves child welfare case management from the ground up.

The Role of Solution Focused Inquiry in Supporting a Rigorous Balanced Assessment

Presenter: Christian DeVito

Explore how Solution Focused Inquiry (SFI) strengthens rigorous, balanced assessments in child welfare. Christian DeVito, Protective Services Supervisor, guides participants through key SFI techniques within the safety mapping process. You'll learn how to craft effective questions, sort information into “wells” and “worries,” and develop clear danger statements and safety goals. This hands-on session empowers professionals to communicate the agency’s assessment process more effectively while partnering with families and support networks to drive meaningful, safety-centered outcomes.

What's New With SOP?

Presenters: Monica Montury and Dawn Carini

Get the latest scoop on the evolving work of the Safety Organized Practice (SOP) Backbone Committee. This collaborative team leads statewide efforts to ensure strong, consistent SOP implementation across California. In this workshop, you'll hear what the committee has tackled this fiscal year—from rolling out new tools and strategies to boosting communication across counties. Discover a refreshed approach to Safety Goals, the launch of the new two-day SOP Foundations course, and how shifts like transitioning to Intake Harm and Danger Statements aim to sharpen your practice. This is a great opportunity to learn about what’s next for SOP and how it may impact your work to improve outcomes for children and families.