True Touchpoints: CQI Conference Highlights the People Behind the Data
The ninth annual Continuous Quality Improvement Conference for Child Welfare and Probation brought a capacity crowd of 350 attendees together from across the state—and beyond—to share insights, resources and inspiration. But beyond the numbers, the 2026 conference highlighted something more meaningful: the people driving continuous quality improvement in child welfare services.
Event Highlights
Sponsored by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and hosted by UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education Human Services’ Northern Academy, the event welcomed:
- Social workers, probation officers, Tribal partners, case reviewers, CQI staff, analysts, agency leadership and others supporting county CQI systems
- Representatives from 46 California counties, nine Tribal organizations and 23 additional groups
- Out-of-state attendees from Oregon and Washington
- 90 speakers for three keynotes and 34 workshops
Attendees Speak on the Keynote Speakers
“It is apparent that Vannessa leads from a place of innovation, courage and from a family-centered perspective.”
“I could hear Anita present all day and have a great time and learn tons!”
“Kevin Simmons is amazing: Sharing his family’s story is a powerful way to encourage everyone to ensure they focus on outcomes for families and don’t just get lost in the numbers.”
In addition, nationally renowned speakers Vannessa Dorantes, Anita Barbee, Kevin Simmons and more offered interpretations of the event’s theme—Breaking Barriers and Building Brave Leaders: Partnership Through CQI—through their personal experiences and professional expertise:
- Dorantes shared how disciplined use of data, equity-centered analysis and an unwavering focus on families transformed Connecticut's court-monitored system into one accountable to its communities.
- Barbee led a distinguished panel in a lively discussion of the child welfare job redesign pilot currently underway in four counties—San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Sonoma and Mendocino.
- Simmons demonstrated how culturally grounded training and community-driven CQI can strengthen workforce wellness, elevate practice and improve outcomes across child- and family-serving systems.
The People Behind the Numbers
Recognizing that CQI is about much more than data, we asked several attendees why they came, what motivated them and how CQI makes a difference for California’s kids, families and communities.
First-Time Attendee Sara Daniels
An El Dorado County Juvenile Unit probation assistant and CFT facilitator, Sara Daniels was drawn to the conference for its workshops.
“I'm always looking to better my knowledge and better my skills in [the areas of IP-CANS and Child and Family Teams],” she shared. “It's a very high demand job with our kids, and so any tools that I can have that can help—and just a better understanding of it overall—is why I wanted to come.”
Daniels noted how CQI—like the workshops she attended—serves as a skill-builder in itself.
“[CQI] helps us better communicate with our kids, it helps us build better bonds with our kids, and just gives us those skills to really give the families and kids the tools they need to improve their relationships and their overall life, which has a beautiful butterfly effect.”
Returning Attendees Kimberly Baker and Tasha Mizel
Kimberly Baker and Tasha Mizel both work with Contra Costa County’s Health Quality Improvement and Quality Assurance (QI/QA) Department, with Kimberly as QI human services manager and Tasha as a case reviewer. While they’ve both attended multiple CQI Conferences, they keep coming back to learn new ways to move programs—and people—forward.
“I return for the innovation and to hear about the ongoing improvement we can do both within child welfare and probation,” said Baker, an eight-time attendee. “It’s really just to continue enhancing our programs we provide to our families. And this is part of their story: They are their own best experts, and we are here to support and nurture and encourage them to be their best selves.”
“For me, the biggest thing has been the ability to network with so many other people, with so many different titles: That has been very useful for me,” shared four-time attendee Mizel. “I'm able to learn from other case reviewers and other counties about things that they do well and that have worked for them."
CDSS Representative April Dunbar
April Dunbar works with the CDSS Case Review Unit and was among more than 20 attendees from the department.
“I’m excited to take what I’ve learned back, not just to my team, but also to my assigned counties, like being able to show them other ways to use their data to make better-informed decisions,” she said.
Dunbar emphasized a central idea in CQI:
“You could be great, but there's always going to be room for improvement—just because I feel like the system is always going to be changing and evolving.”
Armand King and Demetrius Harrison—Uplifting and Learning From Lived Experience
Presenting on behalf of Walk With Me Impact—a nonprofit supporting reentry populations and youth—Armand King and Demetrius Harrison reminded attendees to prioritize what should be our true touchpoints: the people-centered connections that tell the stories behind the data.
“If that connection is not there to get the genuine stories—to get the genuine feedback that you need to create the data—you're just box-checking,” said King. “The particular data we're collecting has a life attached to every number, and is attached to a human being that's in distress. It’s connection before the data that we want.”
While King and other workshop participants spoke, Demetrius Harrison made his voice heard in a different way: As a longtime artist, he shared his own lived experience through his paintings featured at an impactful event art show.
“If art was an outlet for me,” he said, “you can make it an outlet for others as well, and allow them to express themselves in a different form. Listen to them, see what they like to do, and tap into that … then you'll be able to reach them a little bit easier.”
Join Us Next Year
The Northern Academy at UC Davis Human Services would like to thank everyone who sponsored, attended, presented and inspired us at this year’s CQI Conference.
“Everyone here has the same goal: to improve the lives of the families that we work with,” summed up Contra Costa County’s Kimberly Baker. “And I think this is a great place to get everyone together to work together.”
We hope you will join us for the 10th annual CQI Statewide Conference for Child Welfare and Probation next year. To stay up to date on upcoming events, CQI resources and other news from the Northern Academy, please subscribe to our email list.
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Review CQI Conference posts and photos on Facebook: Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3.