Public Child Welfare 101-An Overview of a Complicated System

Marcy Hara

Training Description

This virtual course will review the history of child welfare in the United States and the significant laws and policies that guide child welfare practice in California. Public child welfare programs are complicated and this training will assist the participant gain a better understanding of the complexities and nuances of this public system. Additionally, participants will learn what contributes to child abuse and neglect and how they can support vulnerable families prior to and after becoming involved in the system.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

· Explain the history of child welfare policy in the United States

· Identify at least 2 primary laws and policies that guide child welfare practice and juvenile dependency in California.

· Identify at least 2 populations served by public child welfare agencies

· Explain what contributes to child abuse and neglect and identify at least 2 ways that the community can support families.

Agenda 

10:00-10:10am  Welcome, Introductions, and Overview of the training

10:10-10:30am  History and facts about child abuse in the United States

10:30-11:30am  How the child welfare system is organized

                               · Public child welfare programs

                               · Juvenile dependency court

11:30-11:45am  Break (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

11:45am-12:00pm  Child welfare terminology

12:00-12:50pm  What contributes to child abuse and neglect

                                 How communities can support healthy families

12:50-1:00pm  Wrap-up

Meet Our Trainer

Marcy Hara has a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) and has worked in Public Child Welfare since 2000. She has provided case management and support to children and families dealing with child abuse and neglect as a direct services Social Worker in Continuing Services and Dependency Investigations/Court units. Ms. Hara was promoted to a Supervisor in 2014 and supervised a unit of Emergency Response Social Workers and later supervised newly hired Social Workers in the Staff Development department. She currently supervises in the Resource Family Approval program in Contra Costa County, providing supervision to social workers who certify resource families to become foster parents. Ms. Hara has trained on many different child welfare topics, including mandated reporting of child abuse and neglect since 2008, in addition to creating child welfare curriculum over the past ten years.

This course meets the qualifications for (2.75) BBS CE Hours for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.