June 15, 2021
Scale Your Way to Safety: How to Utilize SOP Tools to Develop Effective Safety Plans
Track: General
This workshop identifies how specific Safety Organized Practice (SOP) tools can be utilized to strengthen formal Safety Plans, with a focus on scaling activity guides, such as the Relapse Scale, as well as Safety Circles. Examples will be provided as to how social workers in San Luis Obispo County have utilized SOP tools in conjunction with Safety Plans to identify behaviorally specific action steps that can be taken to address immediate safety concerns. The workshop will also include discussion on the importance of incorporating the natural support network in the safety planning process, including how to identify their specific role and responsibility in the Safety Plan. This workshop is intended to provide practical examples and suggestions surrounding how to enhance safety plans by utilizing SOP tools to engage with families and their support network in a manner that surfaces behaviorally specific action steps that can be taken to mitigate safety threats. It is geared toward supporting social workers in their direct practice, as well as social work supervisors and program managers who support and oversee safety planning practices.
Presenters
Monica Montury, LCSW, is a social work supervisor for San Luis Obispo County Child Welfare Services, where she has worked for eleven years.
Elizabeth (Lizzy) Dembosz, MAS, and Alison Haggerty, BS, are social workers for San Luis Obispo County Child Welfare Services in the Voluntary Family Maintenance Program. Montury, Dembosz and Haggerty have a vast amount of experience utilizing SOP in direct practice within various Child Welfare Services programs, as well as training and coaching SOP.
Engaging and Working with the Hard-to-Reach Client: The Interactional Model – Part I
Track: General
This is Part 1 of a 2-part workshop. In this workshop, participants will consider the dynamics and skills of engaging and working with hard-to-reach individuals, families, and groups. The client will be described as facing a "first decision" - whether or not to accept the need for help and to accept the worker. Discussion will include: dealing with denial in the beginning phase of work; confronting authority issues with mandatory clients (or semi-voluntary clients); creating conditions of trust and safety which allow clients to lower their defenses; challenging the "illusion of work"; understanding resistance and responding to it constructively; dealing with taboo subjects such as physical and substance abuse, sex, death and violence. Attention will be paid to issues involved in working inter-culturally (differences of race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexual orientation, etc.), intraculturally (working with persons who are like us), working effectively with other professionals and integrating elements of evidenced-based practice without becoming overly prescriptive and losing individual artistry.
Presenter
Lawrence Shulman, Dean and Professor Emeritus at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, received The Council on Social Work Education’s Significant Lifetime Contribution to Social Work Education award. He is the author of numerous articles and eight books including The Skills of Helping Individuals, Families, Groups and Communities.
Working with Trauma and Shame - Barriers to Change
Track: General
This workshop is targeted at frontline practitioners and their supervisors. A worker once said to me that she knows the principles of trauma-informed practice but doesn't know what that looks like in action with families. This great question sparked the creation of some content in many of the foundational child protection training I write, train and coach. It is not just down to therapists to address these common dynamics and barriers to change in families in our sector. There is much we can do within the case management process to help families address these common barriers to change. Trauma and shame have a complex and intersectional relationship with each other that is often ignored in our case planning and change process with families. This workshop draws on research about the impact of trauma and shame and will leave workers with some practical interventions and strategies to use with families. It is based on the work of several SMEs in safety-organized practice in our sector.
Presenter
Catherine Santoro is an independent consultant and has been a passionate child protection practitioner for over 20 years. As a consultant and child protection educator, she provides services to government and non-government agencies as a trainer and coach, curriculum writer, family group conference facilitator and implementation consultant in solution-focused, safety-centered practice in many regions of Australia, Singapore and a small footprint in Taiwan. Santoro is one of two approved trainers for Structured Decision Making assessments in Australia. She believes that child protection practitioners need both evidence-based assessment tools and communication skills that enable them to work collaboratively with families to facilitate change and build stronger families.
Rethinking Solution-Focused Questions and Safety Networks through a Cultural Lens
Track: General
This workshop will primarily focus on the "how" of having culturally holistic conversations while utilizing Safety Organized Practice (SOP) tools. It is intended to enhance workers and agencies' understanding of family needs and will provide enhanced opportunities to support families in an authentic way and is appropriate for attendees who have at least an intermediate understanding of SOP. Although being culturally humble is one of the primary tenets of SOP, it is often not clearly operationalized in the same way that other elements of SOP are. In fact, although many of SOP’s enthusiastic practitioners particularly value its ability to provide us with multiple concrete tools for our use, there is no such structured tool focusing primarily on cultural humility. Further, there is some question regarding how to most effectively harness two of the key elements of SOP, creating safety networks and Solution Focused Questions (SFQs) with different cultural groups. For example, although the United States is primarily an individual culture, many of the families we serve are members of more communal cultures which can impact both their response to SFQs and how the safety network is both created and functions. In addition, there are many cultures that place a high premium on humility. How can we frame questions about what is working well while still upholding this cultural norm and obtaining accurate information? How do SFQs land when working through translators? These are just a few examples of the dynamic relationship and need for alignment between family culture and SOP. This workshop seeks to have an open, constructive dialogue with regard to how culture can complicate the effectiveness of these two key practices (SFQs and Safety Networks) and propose several alternatives within the existing framework that may further enhance engagement, assessment and ultimately child safety.
Presenters
Jolie Clark, MA, MSW, LCSW works as a trainer and coach for Northern and Bay Area Training Academies specializing in Safety Organized Practice. She has 15 years of experience in child welfare, both as a child welfare worker and as a supervisor and program manager.
Dionne Puckett is a trainer and coach with UC Davis Northern Training Academy. With over 10 years of service in the human services field, Puckett combines her professional experience with theory, adult learning model throughout her trainings. She holds a Masters in Social Work and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
Ventura Children and Family Services: Real-Time Lab Series on Solution Focused Inquiry (A Virtual Way to Sustain Safety Organized Practice within an Agency)
Track: Leadership
The workshop will begin with introducing the Safety Organized Practice (SOP) Implementation Team in Ventura County, which is child welfare social worker-led. The Implementation Team will discuss the history of SOP in Ventura County and the creation, purpose and function of the Lab Series. The workshop will distinguish how a Lab Series differs from a formal training, and how it is an experience that allows staff at all levels to work together, learn from each other and pick up new tools or ideas that will aid and support everyday social work practice centralized by SOP. Real-Time Lab Series focused on Solution Focused Inquiry will be explored in order to provide an opportunity for participants to experience how Lab Series are designed and facilitate. The workshop with end with the Implementation Team discussing how the Lab Series has grown and expanded in Ventura County to include teaming with other implementation teams or initiatives that support the Core Practice Model and how it also transformed from an in-person setting to a virtual setting, and the approaches that are used to promote ongoing engagement and participation for all levels.
Presenters
Jenni Naia is a child welfare social worker with Ventura County. She has a master’s degree in social work from California State University, Northridge. Naia has been employed by Ventura since May 2016 as an ongoing and emergency response social worker.
Melanie Johnson is a child welfare social worker with Ventura County. She has a master’s degree in counseling from California State University Northridge. Johnson has been employed by Ventura since November 2014 as an emergency response, child and family ream and family preservation social worker.
Marie Patterson is a child welfare social worker with Ventura County. She has master’s degree in psychology in marriage and family therapy from Phillips Graduate University. Patterson has been employed by Ventura since July 2016 as an emergency response and youth services division social worker.
Next Steps in Fulfilling the Promise of SOP: Putting Equity and Inclusion Training into Practice
Track: Leadership
Alameda County tried a number of strategies to address the over-representation of BIPOC families in child welfare with some success. However, our results were still not where we needed them to be. It was hoped that the Implementation of Safety Organized Practice (SOP) would build on the progress we saw after implementing Structured Decision Making. However, we found our implementation of SOP tools to be hampered by the lack of awareness of the way structural racism impacted our day-to-day work with families. A diverse team of managers, supervisors, child welfare workers, Regional Training Academy members, a parent advocate and a youth advocate came together to develop an 8-module Fellowship that compels participants to examine the ways white supremacy culture manifests in child welfare, and discover how to implement the antidotes in order to engage the community in more just and inclusive ways. Come hear testimonials about the impact of implementation. We will share our lessons learned in our implementation process, and provide a proposed roadmap to how other jurisdictions can try to implement a similar fellowship to enhance your own justice, diversity, equity and inclusion work.
Presenters
Brittany Walker Pettigrew is program manager with Alameda County Department of Child and Family Services, where she has worked for over 25 years. She is the lead of the Equity and Inclusion Task Team, which developed the Equity and Inclusion Fellowship. Walker Pettigrew is an experienced coach who is passionate about disrupting oppressive cycles in child welfare.
Marya Wright, MSW is a child welfare worker II with Alameda County in Dependency Investigation. She conducts investigations and assessments based on the Welfare & Institutions Code §300 regarding child abuse, neglect and exploitation. Wright is co-chair of SOP Implementation Team and member of Equity and Inclusion Fellowship task team.
Greyson Coyopa Wright is a youth advocate, working alongside Alameda County Department of Child and Family Services advocating for foster youth. Wright's experience as a trans person of color in care has inspired Wright to become a CWW. Ultimately, Greyson would like to work with children and families on reservations, and would love to work with foster youth, because it's important to give back to your community.
Lamont Thomas is a parent advocate for A Better Way, ACSS. His journey began by successfully navigating the CPS system. He is now honored to be a part of the Equity & Inclusion Supervisor’s Cohort, Independent Living Program, Bay Area Collaboration of American Indian Resources, Fatherhood Corps committees and Co-facilitator of Father’s Corps, respectively.
Speaking your mind is not the same as knowing it: Exploring and Unlearning Implicit Bias
Track: General
This workshop examines the creation, presence and perpetuation of explicit bias when providing services to at-risk you and their families. Attendees will examine foundational and intermediate concepts related to the topic of implicit bias and learn essential concepts of the behavioral sciences and neuroscience that contribute to the forming and perpetuation of such biases. Participants will also examine how implicit biases manifest themselves in our work with clients, and how clients may also apply their own biases to practitioners during their work. Practitioners and supervisors will also learn strategies to identify and unlearn their own implicit biases through inspirational strategies related to connectedness, empathy and kindness.
Presenter
Dr. Antonio Mejico is an assistant professor of social work, and serves as the director of the Center for Community Engagement and Social Innovation at California Baptist University. He has served in the fields of child welfare, juvenile justice, education and mental health for the past 17 years. Mejico specializes in matters related to diversity and inclusion, anti-racist practices, program development, data-informed policy review, and outcome analysis. He currently participates on state work groups advocating for at-risk youth, policy reform and statewide Wraparound Implementation, and is particularly focused on services geared towards addressing the needs of marginalized children and their families.
Engaging and Working with the Hard-to-Reach Client: The Interactional Model – Part II
Track: General
This is Part 2 of a 2-part workshop. In this workshop, participants will consider the dynamics and skills of engaging and working with hard-to-reach individuals, families, and groups. The client will be described as facing a "first decision" - whether or not to accept the need for help and to accept the worker. Discussion will include: dealing with denial in the beginning phase of work; confronting authority issues with mandatory clients (or semi-voluntary clients); creating conditions of trust and safety which allow clients to lower their defenses; challenging the "illusion of work"; understanding resistance and responding to it constructively; dealing with taboo subjects such as physical and substance abuse, sex, death and violence. Attention will be paid to issues involved in working inter-culturally (differences of race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexual orientation, etc.), intraculturally (working with persons who are like us), working effectively with other professionals and integrating elements of evidenced-based practice without becoming overly prescriptive and losing individual artistry.
Presenter
Lawrence Shulman, Dean and Professor Emeritus at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, received The Council on Social Work Education’s Significant Lifetime Contribution to Social Work Education award. He is the author of numerous articles and eight books including The Skills of Helping Individuals, Families, Groups and Communities.
Beyond the Tools: Connecting Practice to the Three Core Objectives and the Integrated Core Practice Model
Track: General
As a practice coach, I often get feedback from social workers that they are doing or not doing Safety Organized Practice based on how often they complete the Safety House with children or ask the Three Questions when working with families. Safety Organized Practice is not the use of tools, but the continuous demonstration of the three core objectives:
- Development of good working relationships
- Use of critical thinking and decision-support tools
- The creation of detailed plans for enhancing daily safety of children
True teaming with families happens when we create a partnership with families. The tools are only a vehicle to help us get there. This workshop will focus on deepening Safety Organized Practice application and move towards working alongside families. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the three core objectives and learn through discussion, examples, demonstration and activities, how the Integrated Core Practice Model behaviors are demonstrated through the use of the Three Core Objectives of SOP. Participants will engage in self-assessment discussions that will allow each person to explore the barriers that stand in the way of practicing Safety Organized Practice to fidelity and will leave the workshop with an action plan to move towards greater implementation of the Three Core Objectives.
Presenter
Nicole Heesen has played an active role in the Statewide Safety Organized Backbone committee since 2016. As a Practice Coach Supervisor with Child Welfare Development Services a program of the Academy for Professional Excellence, she works with Child Welfare staff in their application of best practices to ensure positive outcomes for families and children. Nicole holds her Bachelors in Psychology from United States International University.
Integrating SOP into the Federal Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR) Process
Track: Leadership
This workshop will present an overview of work being done by the statewide SOP Backbone Committee, a collaborative, guiding workgroup that takes a statewide collective impact approach to implementation and fidelity of Safety Organized Practice (SOP) in California. In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to learn about a project specific to integration of SOP into the CFSR case review process through the creation of optional tools and guidelines to assist case reviewers in assessing SOP use in their agencies. We will explore key considerations for effective integration of SOP into the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR) Process and how this can help participants assess SOP use and fidelity in their agencies. Further, participants will have the opportunity to explore strategies to assess how SOP tools and strategies can help access strength ratings for the Onsite Review Instrument (OSRI) items and improve outcomes for children, youth and families served in child welfare.
Presenters
Tami McCalip, M.S.W., is an academic coordinator for the Northern California Training Academy at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education, Human Services, where she provides training, consultation and technical assistance to county child welfare agencies. She specializes in Safety Organized Practice (SOP) and has served as co-chair of the statewide SOP Backbone Committee for over three years. She currently facilitates the statewide SOP Backbone Ad hoc subcommittee and SOP/CFSR Integration workgroup. She has more than 20 years of experience working in social services, including 7 years in the CalWORKs program and 7 years in child welfare services as a social worker, resource family educator, intern coordinator and administrative analyst.
Maryanne Rehberg, LCSW, has been a Safety Organized Practice (SOP) trainer and coach since 2010 and has helped several counties throughout CA implement and support SOP practice. Since 2016, she has been part of Santa Cruz County’s Child Welfare Case Review Team in the Planning and Evaluation Division. Rehberg has more than 25 years of experience in child welfare services, including 11 years in direct practice as a senior social worker, emergency response supervisor and senior staff development trainer. She later worked as the assistant director at California State University, San Francisco, School of Social Work's Bay Area Academy. She has been a statewide child welfare trainer and consultant for the past 15 years and has authored and trained numerous curricula.
Use of Coaching to support SOP Integration with Safety Planning Best Practices
Track: Leadership
This workshop is designed to give Child Welfare leaders an in-depth look at how group coaching can be utilized strategically to strengthen the integration of Safety Organized Practice (SOP) with safety planning best practices. All child welfare jurisdictions are faced with the importance of ensuring and co-creating child safety with parents and their network. In this workshop, participants will be provided with specific coaching curriculum that enables CWS counties, RTAs, and others to have a clearer understanding of how group coaching and learning circles can increase child safety outcomes. Workshop presenters will highlight how safety planning and SOP best practices can be integrated and strengthened using a four session Safety Planning learning circle model to enhance critical thinking and skill refinement for child welfare professionals of all levels.
Presenters
L. Joanna Alcaraz, MSW has been working with San Diego Child Welfare Services for eight years, with experience in Emergency Response, Case Carrying, and the Indian Specialty Unit. Alcaraz is a practice coach who develops curriculum, learning circles and staff in the use of Structured Decisions Making, Safety Organized Practice, and rigorous balanced assessments.
Javi Perez, LCSW has worked in child welfare for the past 20 years, with specialized expertise in coaching, safety-organized practice, family centered practices, implementation science and workforce development. For the breath of his career, Perez worked in Child Welfare Services San Diego County and joined UC Davis, Northern Academy in 2021.
County of San Diego Child Welfare Services Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Action
Track: Leadership
The County of San Diego launched the implementation of a Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, created via a multi-pronged approach with full support of our leadership team. The team focused on multiple areas, including leadership, workforce development, human resources and recruitment, social work practice, investigations/placement and meeting the needs of youth in facilities. The Child Welfare Services (CWS) leadership team committed an entire quarterly training to issues of communication, supporting staff and having difficult but critical conversations respectfully. We know if we can communicate openly and from a place of humble inquiry, it will increase our ability to understand the context of the families we serve and better meet their needs. We will discuss how to implement effective changes in CWS to allow staff to engage respectfully in difficult conversations with their peers and clients and explore how to create a culture in CWS that allows every staff member to bring their authentic self to work. Our goal is to help you build a leadership team that can comfortably and respectfully discuss issues of diversity and inclusion including race, ethnicity, nationality, cultural and religious beliefs, sexuality, gender, identity and differing abilities.
Presenters
Shelly Paule, MSW, has worked with the County of San Diego Child Welfare Services since 1998 and currently works as a health planning and program specialist. Paule holds a LCSW and enjoys using her clinical skills and knowledge as a field instructor, as well as providing group and individual supervision for LCSW and LMFT candidates. She trains for the Academy for Professional Excellence in the areas of Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS), engagement and trauma-informed practice. Paule has been part of the County of San Diego Diversity and Inclusion initiative since 2017, helping to ensure every employee can bring their authentic self to work.
Lillian Asoera, MA, MFT, has worked with the County of San Diego Child Welfare Services since 1997. She has held positions in child welfare including protective services worker, protective services supervisor, Continuous Quality Improvement, protective services manager and chief of practice. Asoera has been part of the County of San Diego Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiative since 2018 and has also participated in culturally responsive programs of the Academy for Professional Excellence, which explored relationships with Native American and African American communities. She also seats in advisory role for African American leadership in child welfare.
Margo Fudge, MSW, is currently the deputy director for Child Welfare Services (CWS) with the County of San Diego and has worked in the field of child welfare for over 21 years in a variety of programs and settings. Fudge has worked and supervised emergency response, court intervention, continuing services, training unit and development of quality assurance supervision. She developed and implemented the Camp Connect program and previously served as the executive assistant and media specialist to the Child Welfare Services director and oversaw San Pasqual Academy, a residential and educational facility for youth in the foster care system.
June 16th, 2021
Integrating SOP into Wraparound
Track: General
This workshop will cover the ten principles of the wraparound model in the context of Safety Organized Practice (SOP). Understanding how many common values and strategies there are between the two models helps to move best practices forward. Participants will have a chance to reflect on how they can integrate these principles into their work. Giving shared language to those professionals involved in both SOP through child welfare and on wraparound teams will help to deepen alignment and collaboration. For example, the concept of a safety network from SOP is very similar to the idea of including natural supports and extended family on the wraparound team in order to create sustainable solutions that will work for each individual and family. The presenters will share what they have learned about the benefits of training staff on both SOP and wraparound principles.
Presenters
Lauren Crutsinger, MSW is the regional executive director of Seneca Family of Agencies’ North Bay Programs, where she oversees and administers all program, contract and service delivery operations in Sonoma and Marin counties. As the co-chair of the Northern California Wraparound Hub and an active member of the California Wraparound Advisory Committee, Crutsinger has dedicated the past 15 years of her career serving vulnerable youth and families. A California native, she graduated with her master’s degree in social work from Humboldt State University in 2007.
Amy K. Love, MFT is currently a clinical director for Seneca Family of Agencies. She started in the field as a residential counselor at Burt Children’s Center in San Francisco, then obtained her masters in integral counseling psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in order to continue serving youth and families as a therapist. Throughout her time in the field, Amy has developed a passion for not only serving foster and probation youth in a way that respects them and their ability to heal but also with the families and natural supports of the youth.
SOP: Partnering with Tribal Communities
Track: General
This workshop will connect Safety Organized Practice (SOP) values with Indian Child Welfare Act alignment and will provide background on history and data regarding successes of partnering with Tribes. SOP values and best practices in collaborating with tribes including, but not limited to collaborating with Tribal Social Workers, communities, and services, respecting tribal sovereignty, partnering from the beginning, transparency, Tribal social workers in Core and co-creating policy through the Seventh-Generation meeting. We’ll discuss the impact and benefits to families when tribes and child welfare services work together to create safety, preserve families and provide interventions and services from a trauma informed lens. Benefits include addressing bias, building trust and addressing historical trauma to build better working relationships.
Presenters
Angie Heredia has worked for the Indian Health Council, Tribal Family Services for four years. She represents seven reservations in the County of San Diego, with experience in investigations, voluntary cases, preventative case management and court intervention. Heredia co-facilitates as tribal representation for county and community trainings.
Jaclyn Cantago worked for the County of San Diego, Child Welfare Services for five years and currently works at the Indian Specialty Unit’s Continuing Senior Protective Services. Her experience includes investigations, adoptions, the Critical Assessment Release Early program and the Institutions Evaluation Unit. She values Tribal collaboration.
Tracy Newell has worked for County of San Diego, Child Welfare Services in investigations, continuing services and court intervention since 2015. For the past two years, she has been the Investigations Senior Protective Services worker in the Indian Specialty Unit working collaboratively with tribal social workers to preserve families and ensure children’s safety.
L. Joanna Alcaraz, MSW, worked for County of San Diego, Child Welfare Services for eight years in emergency response, continuing services, and the Indian Specialty Unit. Alcaraz is a practice coach developing curriculum, learning circles and staff in the use of structured decisions making, Safety Organized Practice and rigorous balanced assessments.
Engaging Youth with Challenging Behaviors: How to Support the Transition from Youth to Young Adult (Offered at 11:15 and 1:00)
Track: General
This workshop is targeted at frontline practitioners and their supervisors. Based on the work of Stephen Krashen, McCormick will share the importance of lowering a youth’s affective filter to decrease their anxiety, increase their motivation and deepen their “buy-in” to their own transition outcome. Drawing from serving as a wraparound support provider, four years of teaching in a counseling enriched classroom where all students had the disability classification of emotionally disturbed (ED) and starting a successful business which works with challenging youth, McCormick will share the key strategies that include motivational interviewing, Family Team Meetings and solution-focused questioning, to support the transition from youth to young adult, all with the goal of improving safety, independence and resource-based thinking.
Presenter
Sean McCormick, MS Ed. is a credential education specialist, educational therapist and consultant who has worked in the education field for over 12 years. He founded Executive Function Specialists, an education business that helps students and families navigate the special education process, after designing and implementing a successful Counseling Enriched Classroom (CEC) in the public-school system of Marin County, California, which was estimated to save the school district over $500,000 per year in expenses. McCormick has designed the Master Executive Function process to support students with challenging behaviors to enhance their organization and decision-making skills, while also supporting their families in strengthening their executive function skills.
The Golden Thread: How Key Elements of SOP Work Together
Track: General
Participants will review the definitions and use of: safety threats as defined by SDM, harm statements vs. petition writing, risk/danger statements, safety goals, case plan objectives, case plan action steps, and recognizing behavior change. The goal of this workshop is to understand how these measures work together to build a story consistent with the family’s experiences and journey toward behavioral change and ensuring safety of children. Participants will be provided examples of work product and given an opportunity to evaluate the strengths and challenges of components of the work flow within Child Welfare Services cases. The goal of evaluating the work is to make connections of how the components must fit together to provide a complete picture of the family strengths and needs throughout the life of a case.
Presenter
Rebekah Sandlin has been teaching with the Northern Academy at UC Davis Human Services since 2015. She served as a social worker for Tuolumne County’s Adult, Child and Family Services for more than 12 years, including five years as the supervisor of the Emergency Response unit. She left social work in 2017 to pursue teaching. As a Foster and Kinship Care Education program specialist, she wrote curriculum for the Resource Family Approval (RFA) caregivers, taught RFA training workshops and continues to be a guest speaker for RFA caregiver trainings. Rebekah also serves as a coach for social workers and supervisors in Child Welfare Services.
The Key to Successful Safety Organized Practice: Supervisors - Part I
Track: Leadership
This is Part 1 of a 2-part workshop. This workshop addresses the critical role of supervisors in social workers' use of Safety Organized Practice (SOP) in child welfare and adult protective services across the continuum. More than training, policies or procedures, supervisors are the key to ensuring high-quality SOP practice and the success of implementation and sustainability of SOP in the day-to-day social work practice. This workshop will discuss the neuroscience of supervision, including the importance of the parallel process and why it is critical for supervisors to model the values and strategies of SOP in their work with staff. Additionally, we will touch on the fundamentals of implementation science and the role of the supervisor in implementing and sustaining SOP.
Presenter
Peggi Cooney, MSW, has been an instructor/coach for the UC Davis Northern Academy for seven years. She has coached and trained Safety Organized Practice in Child Welfare and Adult Protective Services focusing on CORE Training for social workers and supervisors. She brings with her 16 years of experience in Child Welfare and Adult Protective Services and supports SOP because practicing this way has better outcomes for children, families and vulnerable adults.
Using SOP for Resiliency Building in CWS Staff
Track: General
It has been well documented that Child Welfare Services (CWS) staff are at risk for developing PTSD symptomology due to repeated exposure to primary and secondary trauma (STS) in their work with traumatized children and families. When not addressed, STS compromises CWS’s goal of providing safety, well-being and permanency to children because it impacts worker’s decision making, problem solving and risk assessment abilities. Likewise, increased worker turnover/absence disrupts continuity of services, timeliness of investigations and permanency planning for children. Many counties have implemented and embraced SOP as their practice framework for working with children and families. This workshop demonstrates how SOP principals and tools can also be utilized with staff to help build sustainability and resiliency, thus creating a successful parallel process in which improved outcomes for staff and clients alike can be attained.
Presenter
Laurie Fortin, LCSW has worked in the child abuse field for 30 years, specializing in child sexual abuse. She has worked as a forensic interviewer for 18 years, interviewing children about alleged abuse, as well as providing assessment and treatment to sexual offenders. Laurie has trained at the local, state and national level and is recognized as an expert in the area of child sexual abuse in criminal and civil court proceedings. Her roots began as a CWS worker, and she has continued to work with CWS her entire career, often in collaboration as a multi-disciplinary team member, trainer and SOP coach.
A Former Foster Youth and Caseworker’s Perspective on Supporting Foster Youth and Nonminor Dependents during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
Track: General
Participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to hear a former foster youth and caseworker’s perspective about how to support youth and young adults during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The presenters will discuss and define “authentic youth engagement” and how that differs from “performative engagement”. Strategies for authentic engagement will be shared and explored, with a focus on tools for virtual casework. Data from the national “Think of Us Impact of Covid-19” survey will be dissected to help identify concrete needs for youth in participants’ county or region. The Safety Circles tool will be explored as a way to help identify and build a safety network for youth with a focus on specific questions and strategies to make it a more youth-friendly engagement tool.
Presenters
Makayla James, BSW, is a former foster youth who is dedicated to elevating youth voice. In her professional career, she has experience working for grassroots organizations, state departments and the legislature to creating change within the foster care system. Makayla graduated from Chico State with her BSW and is currently an MSW student.
Emma Black, MSW, is a public education specialist with the Northern Training Academy. Black has worked in public child welfare for nearly a decade in the areas of emergency response, family reunification, family maintenance, post-permanency and NMD casework, CFT facilitation, court unit supervision, SOP implementation and program development for Glenn County.
“Going Slow to Go Fast” – Napa County Child Welfare Services SOP Implementation Success
Track: Leadership
This workshop will share tools and strategies for executing a purposeful Implementation planning effort for SOP and other practice initiatives. Strategies for effective implementation include the development of an Implementation Team Charter and its important elements, establishing Work Groups with action plans and timelines, the development of policy and protocols for line staff, supervisors and quality improvement efforts that continually ask “how will we know”. The presenters will also provide concrete examples (i.e. SOP charter, workgroup plans) and handouts (i.e. Napa County’s Practice Guide and field tools) to support practice integration and can be easily replicated in other jurisdictions. Lastly, the presenters will individually speak to how to keep staff motivated and maintain momentum of implementation efforts despite workload and competing priorities. We named our Implementation Team the SOP Stars and that we are! Come hear from this team of committed and resilient practice leaders!
Presenters
Shana Rousseau is a social worker supervisor in Napa County Child Welfare Services. She has worked in Napa County for almost 16 years. Rousseau has worked in multiple programs within the division as both a supervisor and line worker. She currently supervises Emergency Response and the Family Preservation Program. Shana is impassioned about deepening engagement strategies for partnering with families for better outcomes.
Rachel Varville is a social worker supervisor in Napa County Child Welfare Services. She is the staff development supervisor in Napa County CWS. She has supervised Dependency Investigations and Emergency Response. In addition to being the staff development supervisor, she also supervises and coordinates the agency visitation program. Varville is a practice leader in the agency who fosters a learning culture by way of coaching and mentoring.
Grace Lee is a social worker supervisor in Napa County Child Welfare Services. She has worked in Napa County for almost 10 years. Prior to supervising, she has worked as a line worker in multiple programs within the division including DI, Ongoing, EFC, and ILP coordinator. Lee currently supervises Dependency Investigation and Child and Family Team Meeting facilitators. She is the co-leader of the SOP Practice and Policy Workgroup. Grace demonstrates a strong commitment to practice improvements and building policies for increased sustainability.
Brenda Parra is a Child Protective Services worker. She has worked in Napa County Child Welfare Services for five years, initially in Ongoing Services and now as a Child and Family Team Meetings facilitator. Parra is the co-leader of the SOP Resource and Publicity Workgroup.
Adriana Fuentes is a Child Protective Services worker. She has worked in Napa County Child Welfare Services for three years in Ongoing Services. Fuentes is the co-leader of the SOP Practice and Policy Workgroup.
Fatima Gutierrez is a Child Protective Services worker. She has worked in Napa County Child Welfare Services for one year in Ongoing Services. She has also launched a practice group in the agency, which focuses on addressing disproportionality and disparate outcomes for Latinx children and youth in care.
The Key to Successful Safety Organized Practice: Supervisors - Part II
Track: Leadership
This is Part 2 of a 2-part workshop. This workshop addresses the critical role of supervisors in social workers' use of Safety Organized Practice (SOP) in child welfare and adult protective services across the continuum. More than training, policies or procedures, supervisors are the key to ensuring high-quality SOP practice and the success of implementation and sustainability of SOP in the day-to-day social work practice. This workshop will discuss the neuroscience of supervision, including the importance of the parallel process and why it is critical for supervisors to model the values and strategies of SOP in their work with staff. Additionally, we will touch on the fundamentals of implementation science and the role of the supervisor in implementing and sustaining SOP.
Presenter
Peggi Cooney, MSW, has been an instructor and coach for the UC Davis Northern Academy for seven years. She has coached and trained Safety Organized Practice in Child Welfare and Adult Protective Services focusing on CORE Training for social workers and supervisors. Cooney has 16 years of experience in Child Welfare and APS and supports SOP because practicing this way has better outcomes for children, families and vulnerable adults.
Kings County Guide to Family-Centered Investigation and Intervention (ER Framework)
Track: Leadership
This workshop presentation will provide an overview of the Kings County Integrated Supervisory Framework for Emergency Response: The Kings County Human Services Agency Emergency Response program developed an Integrated Supervisory Framework in 2018 for the Emergency Response program. The framework was created under Core Practice Model principles that incorporates Welfare and Institution Code 300, penal codes, county policy and procedures, Structured Decision Making and Safety Organized Practice tools. The Framework was developed to build a consistent approach in taking incoming hotline calls, conducting investigations and providing family centered intervention. The framework aligns with the California Core Practice Model and facilitates deeper engagement with youth and families, promotes critical thinking among staff when making decisions and increasing safety. Safety Organized Practice, including Structured Decision Making, is incorporated into the framework, thus enhancing current practice. The framework is built around Division 31 regulatory timeframes in order to promote and support timely referral closures within 30 days.
Presenters
Kimberli Smith holds a master’s degree in education with more than 20-years of experience working with families and at-risk youth. Kimberli currently is a Program Manager over Emergency Response, Hotline, Court and the Social Service clerical team. Smith is a recipient of the Safety Organized Practice Supervisor award.
Patricia Shubert holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Masters of Business Administration. Patricia is currently a program manager over the RFA, AB12/ILP, PP programs and the SSA unit. Shubert's focus is on ensuring best practice approaches and engagement efforts are offered to the families of Kings County.