Title IV-E Child Welfare Training Conference

Overview

Title IV-E 4th Annual Child Welfare Training Conference, Huge Success!

November 3, 2023

The Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend Program and the Social Work Department hosted the Annual Title IV-E Child Welfare Training Conference at Texas A&M University-Central Texas in the Bill Yowell Conference Room on Friday, November 3, 2023.

Guest speakers presented on topics of interest to the Department of Family Protective Services, CPS, and representatives from agencies in the central Texas area, including adoption workers, case workers, foster child advocates, in the area who support the child welfare system.

The speakers gave engaging training sessions on current topics such as, “Empowering the Youth Voice in Case Planning.” By Ronda Jackson, M.S., MFS from the Texas Youth Action Network. Eden Klein, Atorney at Law, CASA, from Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, El Paso, provided extensive information about the rights and services available to youth aging out of the foster care system in her talk, “Preparing Foster Youth for Post Foster Care Life.”

It was our honor to host Brody Burks, Atorney at Law, and the Assistant Atorney General of Texas, who spoke on the rising emergency of Human Trafficking, and it’s impact during his session, “Human Trafficking, Interagency Collaboration to Address Human Trafficking.”

The training sessions rounded out the afternoon with information from Carrie Ward, Atorney at Law, who spoke about “Jurisdictions and Venues in Adoption: Court Jurisdiction and Venues in Adoption Petitions.”

The final guest of the day was Ms. Tamara P. Fields, LCSW, MSW. CCST-AC-T, owner of Crystal Clear Behavioral Health Services, Crystal Clear Youth Services, and the Center for Sandtray and Clinical Training, who gave an energetic and informative presentation on “Working Together to Address Child Mistreatment, and Collaborative Responses to Child Abuse.”

Dr. Claudia Rappaport, Vene Baggett, Lauren Musson, and Kathryn Crittenden attending the Title IV-E Child Welfare Training Conference