Qualified Individual

The Qualified Individual Learning Collaborative (QILC) is a dedicated space for clinicians serving as Qualified Individuals under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). It is designed to create a supportive place for Qualified Individuals to:

• Foster cross-county collaboration
• Strengthen and share best practices
• Promote youth voice and address complex needs
• Drive systemic change by identifying barriers and co-creating solutions for system-involved youth

Each session will feature a focused presentation on a topic identified through feedback from the Qualified Individual Fundamentals course. Participants will join small-group discussions, then come together to share ideas and learn from one another.

Who Should Join: Qualified Individuals, Supervisors, Program Managers

Upcoming Sessions

Register for one or more upcoming sessions

From Assessment to Renewal: Preventing Burnout for Qualified Individuals Serving Youth in Care

August 20, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 

Description: As helping professionals, we’re navigating secondary traumatic stress which can lead to feeling drained, stuck, or hovering on the edge of burnout. If you’ve felt this way, you’re not alone. Burnout isn’t a personal failure; it’s often a signal that something in your system needs attention and care. With the right tools and perspective, it’s possible to move beyond survival mode and reconnect with what makes life feel meaningful and alive. In this workshop, we invite you to pause, reset and learn practical ways to restore your energy and sense of purpose. 

Presenter:

• Avni Panchal, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker with over 10 years of child welfare and behavioral health experience. She has her own private practice where she offers individual, couples’ therapy and services for organizations like dialogue circles, coaching and consulting. She offers a wide range of trainings for professionals in the field, including trauma-informed practice, mindfulness, assessing for safety and risk, fairness and equity, SOGIE, engagement and interviewing, sexual harassment, workplace violence, introduction to social services and more. As a person of color, Panchal works to decolonize social work and mental health so that there can be more than one approach for a thriving life. Panchal also teaches part-time with San Francisco State University's Social Work Department.

Previous Sessions

• September 25, 2025 | 10:00am – 12:00pm

• Topic: Wraparound: Family-based Aftercare Planning and Transition Support
  Learn how high-fidelity wraparound principles guide effective aftercare and transition planning, empowering families and youth voice through collaborative, strength-based approaches.

  Presenters:

  Dawne’ Lynch, leader and strategist in human services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education, longtime advocate and statewide Wraparound contributor.

  Rebekah Cox, Wraparound trainer and consultant, active member of the California Wraparound Community and statewide leadership groups.

• November 18, 2025 | 9:00am – 11:00am
• Topic: Using IP-CANS to Drive Meaningful Goals and Treatment Planning
  Apply IP-CANS to create individualized, strength-based QI Assessment Reports. Learn how to translate ratings into actionable goals through collaborative, family-centered planning.
  
  Presenter: Shelly Paule, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., child welfare leader, trainer and lecturer at San Diego State University, with 24 years of experience in frontline practice, supervision and policy.
• January 15, 2026 | 10:00am – 12:00pm

• Topic: Writing Effective Qualified Individual Assessment Reports
  Safety Organized Practice (SOP) is a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, collaborative best practice in child, youth and family serving agencies emphasizing engagement and partnership with families and their natural support networks in all practice areas to facilitate change. Rooted in a central belief that all families have strengths and guided by various evidence-based practices (including Solution-Focused Therapy, Signs of Safety, Structured Decision Making, Appreciative Inquiry and Motivational Interviewing), SOP aims to identify and build on protective capacity.

  Presenters:

  Dionne Puckett, MSW, is a well-respected workforce development strategist, organizational change consultant, and executive coach with more than two decades of experience driving systemic transformation across public agencies, nonprofits and academic institutions. Puckett blends analytical rigor with human-centered design to cultivate inclusive cultures, elevate leadership and embed equity into the core of organizational operations.

  Jerelyn Bourdage, MSW, LCSW, is a specialist with the Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice at UC Davis Human Services. She has more than 22 years of experience in child welfare dedicated to supporting children, youth and families through direct practice, leadership guidance and policy development. 

• March 19, 2026 | 10:00am – 12:00pm

• Topic: NMT Made Simple
  The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) is a brain‑based way of understanding how trauma and life experiences shape a young person’s development and behavior. It helps identify what kinds of support or interventions might actually work best. Even if you’re not NMT‑trained, learning the basics can spark great ideas for how to approach services, especially when working with youth in foster care or probation. It gives teams a clearer lens for understanding what children and youth need and how to respond in ways that actually help them grow and regulate.

  Presenter:
  Toni DeMarco has worked for over 35 years in both the public and nonprofit sectors as a clinician, supervisor, manager and educator, with a specific focus on trauma, transgenerational family systems issues, youth suicide, self-harm, trauma recovery, horticultural therapy and social justice. DeMarco previously worked as the deputy director for the Youth Division at Behavioral Health and Recovery Services in San Mateo and designed the implementation and training program at San Mateo County’s Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) for over a decade. She also created the Phoenix Permaculture Garden Project, a horticultural therapy community garden in San Mateo.

• May 21, 2026 | 10:00am – 12:00pm

• Topic: Centering Relationships: Culturally Grounded Care for Native Youth and Families 
  This learning collab equips Qualified Individual (QI) clinicians with practical strategies for practicing cultural humility when working with Native youth and families. Hear from Native and non-Native providers as they share relationship based, culturally grounded mental health approaches—from prevention to clinical care—tailored to support Tribal youth and families.
  Event Materials: Presentation Resources, QI Assessment Report (external link), Presentation (PDF)
  
  Presenters:
  Joelene Epling-Card, AMFT, MA, is dedicated to community and connection centered work, focusing on the innate strengths of Native youth. Joelene works alongside youth to foster resilience against historical trauma. She believes that we heal in connection and that each individual possesses the internal resources they need to heal and grow. Joelene strives to be an ally to Native youth and the Native American community by honoring their knowledge and ways of healing.

  Shanley Masten, MSW, LCSW is a Yurok Tribal member and Hoopa descendant who is deeply committed to the health and well-being of her community. As a mother of three, Shanley knows the importance of connection, support, and community. After completing her education, she returned home to give back to the people and place that helped shape who she is. Her work is grounded in gratitude, cultural identity, and service, supporting families and individuals while strengthening generational healing.  Shanley believes in meeting our youth where they are. She provides care that is trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and rooted in respect, helping community members access support and services up and down the river.

  Trinity Heaven Mace is a Senior Youth Ambassador with Two Feathers and has been with the organization for two years. She is a proud Yurok Tribal member and a descendant of the Hoopa Tribe. Born and raised on the Yurok and Hoopa Reservations, Trinity now resides in Hoopa, California. Trinity brings a deep understanding of her community’s strengths and challenges, making her a passionate and effective advocate for local youth. Her firsthand experiences growing up in the community allow her to mentor and support the next generation with empathy, insight, and commitment.