November 7, 2023, UC Davis Activities & Recreation Center
8:15 AM
Registration and check in
9:00 AM
Welcome and Opening Remarks
A warm welcome and some opening remarks from Kim Johnson and Angie Schwartz from the California Department of Social Services
Kim Johnson is the director of the California Department of Social Services (CDSS). In this role, she leads a team of more than 5,000 employees serving more than six million Californians in the largest Department in the California Health and Human Services Agency. Before being appointed to the director position by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019, she had worked with CDSS as deputy director of the CDSS Family Engagement and Empowerment Division, and as branch chief for CalWORKs and Child Care and Refugee programs.
Angie Schwartz, J.D., is deputy director of the Children and Family Services Division of the California Department of Social Services, where she designs and oversees an array of programs and services for California's at-risk children and families. Her focus is on creating a child and family well-being system to ensure that engagement with a family in crisis: proactively supports the parent and child; values the child’s family and community; and promotes all aspects of well-being so that the child and family can heal and thrive while addressing disparities and inequities within the system. Schwartz joined CDSS with nearly two decades of experience in child welfare reform.
9:30 AM
Opening Keynote: “Family-Centered Equity by Adopting a Kin-First Culture”
This keynote touches on many of the most pressing issues of our child welfare system. In a world where establishing an equitable child welfare system may seem both exhilarating and overwhelming, Dr. Pryce offers unique insights and practical steps for child welfare professionals to utilize in their work. With the understanding that child welfare professionals operate in an often unpredictable environment, and are expected to navigate policies and procedures with competing priorities, Dr. Pryce still implores us to engage families with dignity, empathy and honesty. At the heart of this message lies the critical shift in mindset and culture required to tackle the persistence of family separation. Audiences are empowered to establish stronger and more meaningful relationships with families, particularly kinship families. Dr. Pryce underscores the need for cultural humility and an awareness of intersectionality and how our system can inadvertently erase the unique needs of families and relatives. Through insightful discussions and strategies, she will shed light on the best practices for leaders to effect profound revolutionary change within child and family serving organizations.
Jessica Pryce, Ph.D., is a research professor at Florida State University's College of Social Work. Over the past 15 years, she has worked on the frontlines of child welfare in direct services, conducted primary research, been a policy advisor to Florida’s legislature and taught graduate level courses in child welfare. She has published on child welfare topics, including training and education, racial disparity, and anti-poverty practices and has presented her research nationally and internationally. Her TED Talk on Implicit Racial Bias in Decision Making has since been viewed over 1.3 million times. In 2019, Pryce received a 5-year appointment to the Advisory Board of the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute. She also currently sits on the Florida Dependency Court Improvement Panel, alongside judges and advocates who are working towards a more trauma-informed approach within the judicial system. To learn more about her work please visit: www.jessicaprycephd.com.
11:00 AM
County Panel Presentation and Discussion
This panel discussion will focus on the key takeaways from the Kinship Research Sprint the Think of Us organization, in partnership with Casey Family Programs, conducted in four California counties and three states over the past six months. Sixto Cancel will lead the discussion, along with the following county representatives:
- Alameda: Michelle Love
- Santa Cruz: Melissa Delgadillo
Sixto Cancel is the founder and CEO of Think of Us, a nationally recognized leader driving systems change in child welfare, working across tech, service delivery, research and data, and state and federal policy to improve outcomes for youth and families. He has a proven track record of mobilizing cross-sector partnerships and lived-expertise to drive effective innovation at the local, state and federal levels to solve both entrenched and emergent challenges. As CEO, Cancel is responsible for creating and leading organizational strategy to drive fundamental systems change in child welfare systems across the country.
12:00 PM
Lunch
Lunch will be provided
1:00 PM
Afternoon Panel Presentation and Discussion
Join us for an exciting panel discussion dedicated to diving into the world of promising models that champion the Kin-First culture. We've got a fantastic lineup of panelists from four outstanding programs: Cultural Brokers Inc., Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Family Seeing, and Kinnect. These programs are trailblazers, reshaping the child welfare landscape to ensure every child's journey begins with kinship connections.
Kevin Campbell is an American innovator in child protection, children's mental health and healthcare. He is the co-founder and CEO of Pale Blue, a collaboration that fosters equity, economics and environmental connections for human well-being and justice. He also developed Family Finding and Family Seeing, a set of strategies that resulted in changes to family engagement practices, reaching millions of families in various countries. Family Finding is in the federal bill, Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, the Children and Family Services Improvement and Innovations Act and the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act.
Shannon Deinhart, M.S., is the executive director and co-founder of Kinnect, an Ohio-based nonprofit dedicated to ensuring permanent families for all children in the shortest time possible and connecting those families with individualized support to meet their unique needs. Deinhart has over 25 years of experience advancing kinship care, foster care and adoption. She led the Family Search and Engagement efforts in Ohio by implementing best kin-first practices in counties, one of which includes Kinnect to Family. Deinhart played a key role in Kinnect’s partnership with the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services to develop and launch the Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator Program.
Margaret Jackson, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., with 30+ years of experience in child welfare services, serves as the executive director of Cultural Brokers, Inc. She has developed curriculum and programs, including the recognized Cultural Broker Family Advocate Program, to support child welfare. She has also served as a trainer and adjunct faculty member for CSU Fresno. Apart from child welfare, Jackson has worked as a facilitator for programs that address racial challenges faced by African American parents to help support their children.
Jennifer Justice has over 26 years of child welfare experience and serves as the senior vice-president of Strategic Program Development for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (DFTA). She is a member of DTFA’s senior management team, which oversees the organization’s Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program through program planning, development and national implementation. Ms. Justice previously served as Ohio’s child welfare director for five years.
2:30 PM
Presentation of Center for Excellence Supports
3:30 PM
Closing Remarks
Judge Bill Thorne is a Pomo/Coast Miwok Indian, graduate of Stanford Law School who served as a judge in 30 tribal courts in 12 states, 14 years as a state trial court judge and 13 years on a state court of appeals. He has been recognized with lifetime achievement awards by the National American Indian Courts Judges Association, the National Center for State Courts and others.