VCU Alumni的动态

Upcoming Webinar: The Critical Role of STRTPs – Services, Challenges, and Pathways Forward Date: Wednesday, January 29 Time: 10AM-12PM PST We’re proud to co-host this essential webinar with the Alliance for Children's Rights to explore the pivotal role Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs (STRTPs) play in California's child welfare and juvenile justice systems. What You’ll Learn: - The unique services STRTPs provide to foster youth, justice-involved youth, and unaccompanied minors. - The challenges STRTPs face, including California’s new tiered rate structure, presumptive transfer, and regulatory barriers. - Actionable strategies for advocacy and strengthening these critical programs. Don’t miss this opportunity to deepen your understanding, engage with stakeholders, and drive meaningful change. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gxXnU6Kx

Did you know that connection meetings around a cup of coffee has great potential to strengthen collaboration between child protection role-players? At Ezrah, we are so proud of our dedicated child protection stakeholders who participate in our quarterly child protection meetings. At these empowering events, mandates are shared and best practice models are built for serving vulnerable children. We want to give special thanks to Col. Jonkers and Col. Dampies from the Western Cape FCS, Forensic Social Work Department, who shared the FCS Forensic Social Work mandate with our group on the 10th?of April. Here is the value of these working group meetings in the words of Lee-Anne Jones (Social Worker): “The fact that we can share with one another in clarifying our roles within the sector to find best practices in helping the child, allows us to strengthen relationships and understanding among stakeholders.” A huge shoutout to the delegates from the following organisations for their enthusiastic participation in this event: Stellcare Stellenbosch, Dept. of Social Development Paarl, Khula Development Group, Dept. of Education Cape Winelands, FCS (SAPS) Paarl and Stellenbosch, Childline WC, Kin Culture NPC, Dept. of Health Cape Winelands, RealDeal Trust, Thuthuzela Care Centre (Paarl and Stellenbosch) and Spieel Collective. Together we can create resilient spaces where children matter ?? #ezrah #ezrahctd #community #traininganddevelopment #childprotection #childrenmatter #communitydevelopment #leadershipdevelopment #empowerthenextgeneration #together

The?Family Matters 2024 Report, released yesterday, highlights the urgent need for change to address the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in child protection systems. “Since 2016, these reports have highlighted that Aboriginal children have a right to be raised in community, in culture, and safely within their own families,” said Deirdre CHEERS, CEO of Barnardos Australia. Featuring Aboriginal-led case studies and key recommendations, the report calls for increased support for Aboriginal-Community Controlled Organisations (ACCCO's), community-led decision-making, and national standards for the Child Placement Principle. Barnardos stands with SNAICC - National Voice for our Children in advocating for these vital changes. In NSW, Barnardos is?working strongly in successfully transferring Indigenous children in care to?ACCO'S.

Reflecting on last week being National Child Protection Week and this year's NAIDOC theme, we need to address the overrepresentation of First Nations children in the child protection system and improving cultural safety is one of the first steps we can take forward. Last month, Steph White and I published an article with the Australian Institute of Family Studies and the help of Dr Mandy Truong, PhD. This article describes several recommendations to improve cultural safety for those working in and with the children protection system. Share this with someone who works in this space and together, we can start to do better for our children. https://lnkd.in/gSe5M6kG

Sound familiar? Lived Experience Leadership cutting across sectors… ‘By reconceptualising parents and family as leaders and bringing this to our policy, management, system structures and service development, we can create accountability and enact change. This means that parents and family are paid and supported to bring their lived experience to leadership. It will mean parents and family with lived experience are appointed to leadership roles in government and non-government settings. It will mean exposing organisations and decision-makers to direct accountability to people with lived experience. It will mean lived experience is integrated into sector agencies’ governance mechanisms. It will see meaningful complaints and review processes that give families advocacy and support to genuinely influence the care of their children and ensure they are safe and connected.’

Big announcements today on care and child protection reforms, and at NYAS (National Youth Advocacy Service) we'll be delving into the detail and really looking at whether it meets the needs, hopes and challenges facing the children and young people we advocate for every day Lots of talk and plans about reforming 'the placements marketplace' (and perhaps we could all reflect on how that term really feels for the children whose actual home life it is meant to refer to?!)..... not least of new measures regulating 'the market' and profit-making within it. And that's sent me back to the paper I wrote just over a decade ago (in my last job!), raising the *urgent* need for market regulation and oversight in the care system back then. I'm sharing it here, now Children England's website is closed. Ten years later, and I still don't think the deep structural problems with the marketisation of care commissioning (not just the presence of and questions about private sector providers) have really been fully grasped.... but at least there's finally some proper government action in prospect, and we'll be saying more about those as we digest the plans #CareMarkets #HumanLearningSystems #CareCommissioning

?? Investing in Higher Professional Development ?? ?? Did you know? I took a course at Harvard focused on Child Protection to further my expertise and commitment to supporting children and families. This advanced training has equipped me with the tools and strategies needed to better assist families involved with DHS, CYF (Child and Youth Services), and other child welfare organizations. ?? Why does this matter? Enhancing my professional development through one of the world’s leading institutions allows me to provide more effective resources, advocacy, and guidance. It strengthens our ability to partner with child protection services and ensures that families and children receive the highest quality support during challenging times. ?? The goal is simple: To advocate for and empower families while prioritizing the safety and well-being of our children. #ProfessionalDevelopment #ChildProtection #HarvardEducation #Advocacy #CYFSupport #FamiliesFirst #StrongerTogether

7th National Child Protection Forum ???Panel Discussion Recap: Deepening Cross-Sector Partnerships for Child Safety and Wellbeing??? I had the honor of moderating an insightful panel discussion with Dr Karen McLean, Paediatrician Vulnerable Child Health Lead, CCCH, The Royal Children’s Hospital, ?Zo? Robinson for Children and Young People, Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People, Dr Deirdre Thompson, Director of Therapeutic and Support Services, Bravehearts, and Rachael McCall, Child Protection Liaison Office at the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane. We discussed the critical importance of cross-sector partnerships in ensuring the safety, healing, and prevention of child abuse across our legal, medical, corporate, educational, law enforcement, and family services. Problems Identified - Despite our efforts to address childhood maltreatment, there remains a disconnect between the services designed to protect and support our children. - Children often find it difficult to disclose abuse due to systemic barriers, not being believed, and lack of trauma-informed training, resulting in re-traumatization and children remaining unsafe. Recommendations Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) Approach: It was recommended that Australia adopt the MDT approach of Child Advocacy Centres to develop more effective cross-agency collaborations in abuse investigations. This approach fosters a cohesive response to child abuse, encourages case collaboration, information sharing, and improves the management and prosecution of child sexual abuse. It also increases the likelihood of child involvement throughout the investigative and prosecution processes, reducing barriers to disclosure. If children continue to face barriers to disclosure and support, they internalise their trauma, leading to further harm to themselves and others. Intergenerational silencing and suppression from this disconnect must be addressed. Healing occurs in connection, and it is time to bridge the gap in our child abuse response efforts. Let’s continue to collaborate and make a difference in the lives of children. ???? #ChildSafety #CrossSectorPartnerships #ChildWelfare #CommunitySupport #HealingThroughConnection#ChildAdvocacy #Teamwork #Collaboration

It’s Child Protection Week, with the theme ‘Every Conversation Matters,’ as highlighted in NAPCAN’s official launch, 'Let's Talk: A National Approach to Prioritising Children' child protection isn’t just an individual responsibility; it requires collaboration. In our sector, many of our services are safe spaces for children and in some situations unfortunately not so safe. As OSHC and Early Years educators, how can we further promote and ensure this safety? If you haven't already signed up for any of NAPCAN's free webinars, it's not too late to do so. https://lnkd.in/gfCnn_Gu #EveryConversationMatters #ChildProtectionWeek2024 #NAPCAN

Some food for thought for the incoming NT Government. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s new report on child justice has been released and calls for transformational change to put child wellbeing first and address the root causes of why these kids find themselves in trouble in the first place. The evidence tells us that prevention - not punishment – is the key to keeping our kids and the community safe. What we need is a nationally coordinated, child rights-based approach to reform. This is the key to safer communities for us all. You can read the full report and its recommendations ‘Help way earlier!’ How Australia can transform child justice to improve safety and wellbeing: https://lnkd.in/gCxzEWgE DDHS CEO Rob McPhee was one of a number of experts to urge the incoming NT Government to work with Aboriginal organisations to address the issues behind why our kids end up before the courts. You can read more here: https://lnkd.in/gffEszRS #AusHumanRights #NTGovernment #northernterritory