Naomi Reddish, Amanda Long presenting at national conference on systems transformation
The VCU School of Social Work’s Naomi Reddish, M.S.W. , and Amanda Long, M.S.W., are presenting at the 2024 National Title IV-E Roundtable (conference) in Burlington, Vermont.
The National IV-E Roundtable for Child Welfare Training and Education is an annual gathering of representatives from public and tribal child welfare agencies and their university partners.
Reddish (M.S.W.’09) is an alum and the school’s administrator for Community Engaged Child and Family Well-Being Initiatives, as well as assistant professor. Long (B.S.W.’10; M.S.W.’11) is a two-time alum and coordinator of Community Engaged Child and Family Well-Being Initiatives.
Systems transformation: Supporting each other, students, new workers, and agencies in our everyday work while inspiring change!
10:15 a.m. ET Thursday, May 23
Description
Through discussion focused on what we know about student and alumni support, including current practices and aspirations, this workshop aims to explore what we are trying to accomplish with our IV-E programs and to what extent the system is responsible in supporting workforce transformation.
This workshop will benefit participants by providing them the opportunity to hear from one state’s Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend Programs’ collaborative work on supporting students and alumni throughout their journey from passionate applicants to systems leaders. We all struggle to define what child welfare workforce retention looks like in our current cultural context. A question that often comes up is who are we trying to retain and why? Through discussion focused on what we know about student and alumni support, including current practices and aspirations, this workshop aims to explore what we are trying to accomplish with our IV-E programs and to what extent the system is responsible in supporting workforce transformation.
We will discuss the ways in which we currently support IV-E students and alumni and how we work with agencies to build consistency in field placements and transition to employment. We will also discuss peer support, support for students and alumni with lived experiences in the child welfare system, relationship building and mentoring, as well as initiatives to increase continuing professional development opportunities for our students and alumni. We will also facilitate a roundtable dialogue around the ways in which workshop participants are conceptualizing and facilitating workforce development, retention, and support.
Objectives
1) Identify and describe components of successful peer support infrastructure within the context of LDSS agencies and Title IV-E programming
2) Recognize the role that agencies and Title IV-E administrators can and do play in cultivating a culture of shared responsibility in systems change
3) Articulate an understanding of what characterizes successful workforce development, specifically within the areas of education, retention, workplace culture and supports
Presenters
Naomi Reddish, M.S.W.
Administrator of Community Engaged Child and Family Well-Being Initiative and Title IV-E CWSP coordinator, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Social Work
Amanda Long, M.S.W.
Coordinator of Community Engaged Child and Family Well-Being Initiatives and Title IV-E CWSP team member, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Social Work
Rosalyn Durham, M.S.W.
Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend coordinator, Norfolk State University, Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work
Collaborators
Erica Thornton, LCSW
Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend coordinator, Radford University, School of Social Work
Kathy Cornejo, LICSW, LCSW
Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend coordinator, George Mason University, Department of Social Work
Camie A. Tomlinson, Ph.D.’23
Assistant Professor, University of Louisville, Kent School of Social Work; and an alum of the VCU School of Social Work doctoral program