University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Program

8:00am :: REGISTRATION & COFFEE
Campus Center Auditorium Level 1

8:30am :: POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Campus Center Level 1 Auditorium

9:00am :: WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS - Remarks from Dr. Hal Grotevant, Judy Cockerton, Dr. Ruth McRoy, Commissioner Linda Spears & MA. Department of Children & Families
Campus Center Auditorium Level 1

9:00-10:15am :: KEYNOTE SPEAKER - " Implementing Evidence-based Practice with Mothers of Infants and Toddlers in the Child Welfare System”
Presenters: Mary Dozier, University of Delaware & Vicky Kelly, DCF Delaware
Campus Center Auditorium Level 1

10:30-11:45am :: MORNING CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Racial Identity at the Intersection of Artist, Academic, and Advocate
Susan Harris O’Connor, MSW
Ruth McRoy, Donahue and DiFelice Professor of Social Work, Children, Youth & Families
Kim Stevens, Director, Advocates for Families First
Campus Center Auditorium

Dan Hughes' Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) for Children with Trauma and Attachment Histories: an Introduction for Caretakers and Therapists
Robert Spottswood, M.A., Certified DDP Consultant in private practice, Norwich, Vermont
Room 163C

The Secure Base Model:  A Framework for Therapeutic Caregiving in Foster Care and Adoption
Mary Beek, Research Fellow, School of Social Work, University of East Anglia (UEA), UK  
Room 165-69

Improving the Outcomes for Success: Building a National Adoption Competent Child Welfare and Mental Health Workforce
Debbie B. Riley, LCMFT, CEO, The Center for Adoption Support and Education, Inc. (C.A.S.E.)
Dr. Anne J. Atkinson, Founder and President of PolicyWorks, Ltd.
Room 168C

Fostering Futures: A Successful Community Volunteer Team Model for Supporting Foster Families
Bill McLaughlin, Director of Development, Fostering Futures New York
Darlene Ward, Volunteer
Lay Leader, St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church, Assistant Coordinator, Child Welfare Court Improvement Project (CWCIP) within the NYS Unified Court System (UCS)
Room 174-76

Mapping Needs, Costs and Outcomes: The English Adoption Journey
Lisa Holmes, Director, Centre for Child and Family Research (CCFR), Loughborough University, England
Samantha McDermid, Research Fellow, Centre for Child and Family Research, Loughborough University, UK
Room 804-08

Think of Us:  Leveraging Technology, Data, & Multimedia to improve policy, practice, and outcomes for youth and families.
Sixto Cancel, Founder, Think of Us
Room 805-09

Advocacy 101: Advocacy for Self (Youth-Only Workshop)
Chris Langelier, Director, HEROES Youth Leadership Project
Amina Jordan-Mendez
Gabriel Peeples
Room 904-08

Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools
Anne Eisner, Deputy Director, Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative
Room 917

12:00-1:00pm :: LUNCH, POSTER SESSION & AWARDS CEREMONY
Please be seated in the Campus Center Auditorium and wait for staff to call your table to the concourse.
Awards to be presented: 2016 Rudd Lifetime Achievement Award, 2016 REFCA Champions Award, 2016 Outstanding Poster Award

1:15-2:30pm :: AFTERNOON KEYNOTE
Case Study and Panel Presentation – “Turning up the Volume on Older Youth Permanence”
Facilitators:
Ruth McRoy, Donahue and DiFelice Professor of Social Work, Children, Youth & Families
Mary LeBeau, MSW, LICSW, 3P Consulting LLC
Panelists:
Rodney Walker: REFCA Champion and graduate of Yale University. Author of A New Day One, an autobiography about his time in foster care.
Cedric Riley: a young man adopted as an older youth.
Kim Stevens:  Adoptive parent/Youth Advocate.
Pat O’Brien:   Youth Permanency advocate.
Karen Zilberstein:  Mental Health/Trauma expert.
Jamie Caron:  MA DCF Administrator.
Campus Center Auditorium Level 1

2:45-4:00pm :: AFTERNOON CONCURRENT SESSIONS – 10 Sessions

The Legacy of Foster Care: An Intergenerational Panel of Foster Care Alumni
Grace Hilliard-Koshinsky, Program Manager, New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors (NEACWCD)
Charles Lerner, Boston CASA Executive Director
Campus Center Auditorium

Technology on the Frontline: Changing Practice, Changing Lives
Adam Pertman, President and CEO, National Center on Adoption and Permanency
Room 162-75

Improving College Graduation Outcomes for Foster Youth: The Wily Network
Judi Alperin King Ph.D.
Katherine Castañeda MacDonald, LICSW
Room 163C

Getting Practice Right:  Using the Strengths and Limits of Research Findings to “Bridge the Gap” Between Practice and Research
Dr. Elsbeth Neil, Professor of Social Work and Director of Research, School of Social Work, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England
Sally Popper, Treehouse Community & Re-Envisioning Foster Care in America of Western Massachusetts
Karen Zilberstein, Psychotherapist and Clinical Director, A Home Within, Northampton, MA
Room 165-69

Finding Adoptive Families for Children in Care: Perspectives from the US and England
Cherilyn Dance, Researcher, Department of Social Care and Social Work, Manchester Metropolitan University, England
Kathy Ledesma, National Project Director, AdoptUSKids
Room 168C

Facilitating Peer Support between Foster Carers in the UK
Samantha McDermid, Research Fellow, Centre for Child and Family Research, Loughborough University, UK
Room 174-76

Part of the Family: Achieving Permanence in Long-term Family Foster Care
Mary Beek, Research Fellow, School of Social Work, University of East Anglia (UEA), UK  
Joyce Maguire Pavao, Founder & CEO, Center For Family Connections, Inc.
Room 804-08

Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Parents Adopting Through the Child Welfare System: Challenges and Surprises During the Transition to Parenthood and Beyond
Dr. Abbie Goldberg, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts
April Moyer, Doctoral Candidate, Clinical Psychology Department at Clark University
Dr. David Brodzinsky, Professor Emeritus of Clinical and Developmental Psychology, Rutgers University and Research Director, National Center on Adoption and Permanency
Room 805-09

Transaction to Transformation: A Modern Understanding of Adoption to Strengthen All Families
April Dinwoodie, Chief Executive, The Donaldson Adoption Institute, Inc.
Room 811-15

Expanding the Village: How “One Simple Wish” is Encouraging EVERYONE To Support Youth in Foster Care
Danielle Gletow, Founder & Executive Director of One Simple Wish
Room 917

4:00pm :: POSTERS, MUSIC & NETWORKING
Campus Center Auditorium Level 1

5:00pm :: END