Conferences

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.

More than ever before, schools and teachers are called upon to identify and respond to the unique challenges of childhood trauma. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) estimates that one out of every four students in U.S. schools has been exposed to a traumatic event that can affect learning and/or behavior. In particular, children who experience the trauma of maltreatment often have difficulties inside and outside of the classroom. These challenges can negatively affect educational well-being and often persist over the long-term, creating unnecessary barriers to learning and independence.

Novel research in the science of stress biology has opened exciting new avenues for understanding how stress ‘gets under the skin’ providing real opportunities for translation. The fields of endocrinology/immunology, neuroscience and genomics are, independently and together, advancing knowledge that will change the way we think about how early-life stressors such as how child maltreatment and other forms of traumatic experiences become biologically embedded and can impact subsequent health, development and well-being.

This year’s conference featured presentations by experts from around the country, including Sherry Hamby, Laura Ann McCloskey, Judith Cohen, and John Lutzker and a host of internationally known discussants. Focusing on family dynamics, speakers addressed four topics: family processes underlying child maltreatment, intergenerational transmission of maltreatment, evidence-based interventions with maltreated children and their families, and future directions in child maltreatment prevention.