Rewarding and cherishing Northern California’s outstanding child welfare social workers
2024 Winner Announced
Congratulations to Sacramento County's Laveenya Young!
In memory of one of California's outstanding social workers, Sarah Duncan, Human Services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education is seeking your assistance in recognizing and honoring Northern California child welfare social workers who reflect passion, skill and tireless commitment to working to improve outcomes for children and families. This is an excellent opportunity to focus on and to celebrate the hard work that goes into this vital profession, and to cherish those who have made it their life's work to improve the lives of others.
Please take a few minutes to make someone's week, year or even career
Sarah Duncan was a passionate advocate for children, youth and families who made significant, lasting contributions to Child and Family Teaming in California. Sarah embodied and championed authentic engagement and teaming in child welfare social work.
- Think about a social worker you have known or worked with, and identify who you think reflects Sarah Duncan's passion, commitment and skill for engagement and teaming with children, youth and families in child welfare.
- Submit a nomination form. Describe why this social worker is a strong representative of child welfare practice related to engaging and teaming with children, youth and families (e.g., share a success story about their work with a particularly challenging situation or client, share specific examples of how they are an example of best practice in family engagement, etc.).
Nomination Deadlines and Qualifications
Our nomination window has passed for the 2024 Sarah Duncan Champion for Children and Families Award, but we are already accepting nominations for the 2025 Award. The deadline for submitting a nomination for the 2025 award is March 1, 2025. Winners will be announced throughout March and April, 2025.
Just as this important work has no true end, we will gladly accept nominations for the following award cycle beyond the deadline, but we recommend you act now. If the loss of Sarah Duncan has taught us anything, it's that we should not wait too long to share our gratitude. Nominate someone today!
Once a nomination is received, we’ll reach out to you if we need additional information, including a photo of the nominated social worker, if selected. Selected social workers will be recognized through featured profiles on our website, social media and email communications.
Nominations are open for nominees in the following counties who are part of the Northern Academy service area: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo, Yuba, and the Karuk and Yurok Tribes.
