P&P August 2016

association news

By Christina Crayton

NAPCWA Hosts 2016 Symposium, Health Children, Empowered Families,Thriving Communities The National Association of

Public Child Welfare Administrators (NAPCWA) 2016 Symposium was part of APHSA’s 2016 National Health and Human Services, Inspire, Innovate, Impact! Summit. The meeting opened on Saturday, May 21 with a presentation and discussion on the University of Tennessee’s (Knoxville) longitudinal study on the correla- tion of organizational culture and climate on outcomes. This opening dialogue on the core components of an organization’s patterns and norms provided the right context for the remaining sessions. Sunday, May 22 began with an informative discus- sion of the National Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities’ (the Commission) report, “Within Our Reach.” The session was led by Dr. David Sanders, chair of the Commission; Susan Dreyfus, com- missioner; and Amy Templeman, former acting executive director to the Commission. Dreyfus and Sanders reviewed the national data on child fatalities, presented the report’s recom- mendations, highlighting next steps for Congress and the Administration to address this issue. Templeman facilitated a conversation on the newly established Within Our Reach office (a division of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities) and the near term and longer term objectives to advance the Commission’s push for a 21st Century Child Welfare System. Following their presentation, Jenny Wood, chief deputy at the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, provided an overview of the Administration’s latest actions, including finalizing a set of regulations critical to child welfare

Cindy Walcott, second from left, Deputy Commissioner, Vermont Department of Children and Families, receives the 2016 Betsey R. Rosenbaum Award for Excellence in Public ChildWelfare Administration.

service programs, the current political climate, and election highlights. NAPCWA Honors Child Welfare Champions with the Rosenbaum and Forsythe National Awards NAPCWA honored three outstanding champions in child welfare during APHSA’s 2016 National Health and Human Services Summit. Cindy Walcott, deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Children and Families (Rtd.) was honored with the Betsey R. Rosenbaum Award for Leadership in Public Child Welfare. Walcott was honored for her courage and tenacity in supporting her employees and continuing her agency’s mission after Lara Sobel, a Vermont social worker, was murdered by an individual involved in one of her cases. Walcott’s leadership and resilience during this tragedy was felt across our community. APHSA and NAPCWA thank her for her dedica- tion and years of support, serving as secretary on the NAPCWA Executive Advisory Committee. NAPCWA

(including the Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System). Wood also identi- fied priorities for working on LGBTQ issues, partnering with the Housing and Urban Development agency on youth homelessness, and promoting implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. The symposium’s luncheon panel focused on worker safety and resilience. Cindy Walcott, deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department for Children and Families, discussed how her agency handled the murder of Lara Sobel, a Vermont social worker, including addressing secondary and tertiary trauma for those connected to Lara and imple- menting protocols for caseworkers. Terri Howard, senior director at FEI Workforce Resilience, discussed work- place safety, with a focus on exterior enhancements and employee training. The symposium concluded with a session led by Neil Bomberg, APHSA director of Policy and Government Affairs, who provided a policy update on child welfare and other human

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