Conferences

Register Now!  

The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network is hosting a 1-day, in-person conference at The Nittany Lion Inn in State College, PA, located on the Penn State University Park campus on Friday, October 23 from 8:30-4:30 PM.  We hope you can attend in person!  A Zoom option is available for those unable to attend in person.

Each year, roughly 20,000 youth age out of foster care and about 2-3 times as many experience foster care placement during adolescence. These young people face elevated risks in housing and employment stability, as well as postsecondary, educational, and vocational access and completion, as they transition to adulthood. 

This conference will bring together researchers, youth-serving system partners, and youth with lived experience to highlight what we know and identify actionable strategies to better support successful transitions into adulthood through independent living services, postsecondary support programs, and related policies to highlight these important themes:

• Transition-Age Outcomes: Evidence, Gaps, and System Constraints
• Beyond Life Skills: Independent Living and Foundational Supports for Postsecondary Success
• Postsecondary Pathways: What Actually Moves the Needle?
• Panel on Lived Experience Navigating Systems and College

Registration is required.  A minimal, tiered conference fee highlights the Network's desire to support and equip those working in Child Advocacy, learning, and research related to this topic:

• general registration - $50
• county and state welfare workers - $25
  (please contact us for complimentary registration if your agency is unable to cover this fee)
• students - free 

Breakfast, lunch, and refreshments will be provided throughout the day. 

Conference questions?  Reach out to solutionsnetwork@psu.edu

The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network hosted a 1-day in-person conference on the top floor of the Eric J Barron Innovation in State College, PA, a block from the University Park, Penn State Campus on Friday, October. This was held in person with a Zoom option for those who are unable to be in State College, PA and need to attend remotely. 

Registration is closed.  A tiered conference fee was minimal to highlight the Network's desire to equip those working in Child Advocacy, learning and research related to this topic:

• General Registration - $45.00 
• MDT (Multidisciplinary Team members) - $25.00
  (please contact us for complimentary registration if your agency is unable to cover this fee)
• Students - free 

Nationally renowned presenters shared information on best practices in child welfare, with a focus on: 

• Quality Forensic Investigations – Enhancing access to interviews and medical evaluations
• Caring for Children and Families – Improving systems of care for children and families to improve recovery

Breakfast, lunch and refreshments were provided throughout the day. 
A Networking Reception closed the event.

Conference questions?  Reach out to solutionsnetwork@psu.edu

Webinar Recordings 

Speaker Presentations

Webinar Agenda 

A half-day event that explored the risks that might be present within a child welfare investigation, providing intervention solutions for agencies and professionals to address and prevent child maltreatment fatalities.

The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network hosted a 1-day in-person conference in 129 HUB (HUB-Robeson Center) on the University Park, Penn State Campus on Friday, November 15!  

Internationally renowned speakers presented their research related to the Biological Embedding of Caregiving Adversity to a diverse audience, including researchers, practitioners, and caseworkers, to facilitate the fastest uptake of these innovative methods. 

A poster session ran in parallel with a Networking Reception at the end of the afternoon. 

Breakfast, lunch refreshments, were provided.  

Conference questions?  Reach out to solutionsnetwork@psu.edu

Webinar Agenda

Webinar Recordings and Resources  

Speaker Presentations 

A Plan of Safe Care serves as a guiding document that directs services and supports to ensure the safety and well-being of substance-affected infants and their caregivers. This event will equip professionals across child welfare, healthcare, behavioral health, and early intervention sectors with valuable insights into the research findings and practical challenges inherent in implementing Plans of Safe Care. Presentations will offer a deeper understanding of state approaches and opportunities for innovation, highlighting the critical intersection of child welfare, healthcare, and public health in protecting vulnerable populations. Given the significant number of young children entering foster care due to parental substance misuse, the event will address the pivotal role of Plans of Safe Care in prevention and intervention efforts.

The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network is hosting a 1-day in-person conference at The Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park, Penn State Campus on Thursday, October 5!  

Nationally renowned speakers will share research and discuss policy response for "Crossover Youth," offering strategies and solutions to support youth at the intersection of child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Presentations will be geared toward a diverse audience, including researchers, practitioners, and caseworkers, to facilitate the fastest uptake of these innovative methods.  Breakfast, lunch refreshments, will be provided.  

REGISTRATION CLOSED

A virtual attendance option is available for those who are unable to attend the conference in-person.

Conference questions?  Reach out to solutionsnetwork@psu.edu

The Innovative Methods in Child Maltreatment Research conference will be offered in-person for 2021!  Internationally renowned speakers will present pragmatic solutions to the biggest challenges in our field by reviewing the latest in innovative methods for child maltreatment over two full days at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.  Presentations will be geared toward a diverse audience, including researchers, practitioners, and caseworkers, to facilitate the fastest uptake of these innovative methods.  Continuing Education Units (CEUs), as well as food and refreshments, will be available to those attending in-person.  A virtual attendance option will also be provided for those who are unable or unwilling to attend the conference in-person.

The Future of Foster Care conference will focus on identifying and addressing the barriers to meaningful change and innovative policy and practice solutions to the foster care system’s most pressing challenges. Leaders from government, academia, and the non-profit sector will meet for a two day event during which speakers will elucidate key challenges and detail solutions that are currently being tested in real-world settings.

Over the past decade, the landscape for using data to inform child welfare system efforts has seen tremendous growth. Technological innovations have allowed for the accumulation and centralization of large datasets critical to identifying risks of child maltreatment and its negative consequences and to better target community and system response to these challenges. How can these data be leveraged to promote more effectives efforts to detect, prevent, and respond to child maltreatment? The purpose of this conference is to showcase emerging and innovative approaches in the acquisition and use of administrative data to inform the societal and governmental response to child maltreatment. This conference will highlight the use of multi-system data (or Integrative Data Systems) to conduct predictive analytics, risk monitoring, or policy and program-focused research and evaluation to inform child welfare system solutions.

An often under-recognized aspect of the United State Military is its leadership efforts to enhance child and family well-being. Indeed, the military supports a large portfolio of programs and practices to enhance overall family health and resilience.  For instance, the military’s child development centers have been widely regarded as some of the highest quality centers in the world. In addition, the military has a large system of family advocacy efforts, including family support, new parent education, resiliency and readiness, and sexual assault prevention.