June 28–30, 2017 | Nashville, TN
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) hosted a second meeting to help states participating in an ongoing policy academy implement an integrated and comprehensive approach for improving the safety of children known to the child welfare system or at risk of child welfare involvement by aligning the work of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of state government. States continued to refine and update action plans during the meeting and identified benchmarks for improving child safety.
Agenda
Presentations
June 28, 2017
B-12 Shot!!
Moderator:
- Meghan McCann, senior policy specialist, National Conference of State Legislatures
Reflections from the Past Year
Moderator:
- Meghan McCann, senior policy specialist, National Conference of State Legislatures
Plenary 1: Within Our Reach
Speaker:
- Zeinab Chahine, managing director for Strategic Consulting, Casey Family Programs ·
- Amy Templeman, director of Within Our Reach, Alliance for Strong Families and Communities
Moderator:
- Alexandra Cawthorne, program director, Economic Opportunity Division, NGA Center
Plenary 2: Substance Abuse and Child Safety
Speakers:
- Senator Barbara Favola, Virginia State Senate, District 31
- Nancy Young, executive director, National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare
- Magistrate Melinda Rigsby, Infant Court Magistrate, Davidson County Juvenile Court
Moderator:
- Meghan McCann, senior policy specialist, National Conference of State Legislatures
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Cross-Branch Collaboration Workshop
Moderator:
- Curtis Smith, policy analyst, Economic Opportunity Division, NGA Center
Plenary 3: Kinship Care
Speaker:
- Heidi Redlich Epstein, director, Kinship Policy and Assistant Director, State Projects, American Bar Association
Moderator:
- Nina Williams-Mbengue, program director, National Conference of State Legislatures
Plenary 4: Innovative Approaches to Intake and Assessment
Speakers:
- Lisa Ruiz-Lee, principal, Mosaic Partners
- Susan Morley, Senior Advisor, Investigations, New York City Administration for Children’s Services
Moderator:
- Curtis Smith, policy analyst, Economic Opportunity Division, NGA Center
Deep Dive Concurrent Workshops
- Workshop #1: Kinship Care
- Workshop #2: Substance Abuse: Three Branch Responses
- Workshop #3: Intake, Screening and Assessment: Engaging Other Stakeholders
- Workshop #4: Fatality and Near Fatality Reviews
Friday, June 30, 2017
Plenary 5: Child Welfare Workforce Capacity
Speakers:
- Dr. Nancy Dickinson, project director, National Child Welfare Workforce Institute
- Representative Jonathan Singer, Colorado House of Representatives, District 11
Moderator:
- Rochelle Finzel, group director, National Conference of State Legislatures
