children’s home society’s 20th annual...

Children’s Home Society’s 20th Annual Conference

November 12 -13, 2015

Charleston Marriott Charleston, West Virginia

Crisis To

Confidence

WorkshopsThursday - Morning Sessions

(TH-2) DSM - V Training

(TH-1) Crisis to Confidence

Dr. Devaraj, Director of Medical Services for Highland Hospital, will give an overview of the new DSM-V criteria. As we move forward to adopting the DSM-V, this will be a beneficial resource for staff.

Dr. Kiran Devaraj attended University of Leeds, School of Medicine in Yorkshire, England. He graduated in 1993. He completed his residency at CAMC in 2002.

2002-2003, he was Chairman of the Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee at Mildred Mitchell Bateman Hospital in Huntington.

Since that time, he has practiced Psychiatry in the Huntington area at River Park Hospital and in Charleston at KVC Behavioral Healthcare. He joined the Highland Hospital team in December, 2012 as Chief Clinical Officer/Medical Director.

Our children come to us looking for care and support during their times of crisis. As professionals in this field, we do our best to give them resources and skills to grow into the confident young people that we know they can be. This panel discussion will focus on the pride and joy of the social work field, our success stories. Young adults will tell of their experience within the system and their journey to confidence. Exchanging stories with one another is impactful, and hearing testimonials from youth who were in our care, will hopefully serve a similar purpose. After they share their stories, we invite the audience to ask questions regarding their journey. We appreciate those that were willing to join us and are courageous enough to share their journey.

Thursday - Afternoon Sessions

(TH-3) Journey Through the System

In this session participants will travel on a child’s journey through the system. They will make stops at each place a child encounters while in care. At each stop a professional from that field will explain what happens to “your child” and will send you to your next destination. A variety of professionals, Judges, JPOs, DHHR workers, Foster Parents, Shelter workers, etc. will participate with us to help make this an powerful picture of what our children encounter.

Judge Gary L. Johnson, Judge of the 28th Judicial Circuit in Nicholas County, has devoted his 23 years on the bench to improving judicial outcomes for children and juveniles. Judge Johnson has served as chairperson of the West Virginia Court Improvement Program Oversight Board since 2001; he is also a member of the Supreme Court’s Juvenile Justice Commission, the 2014 Governor’s Intergovernmental Task Force on Juvenile

Justice, and the Commission to Study the Residential Placement of Children. For these efforts, Judge Johnson has received numerous awards and citations.

Judge Omar Aboulhosn was born in and raised in Princeton. He graduated from Princeton Senior High School in 1985, Concord University in 1989, and West Virginia University College of Law in 1992. Judge Aboulhosn began public service as a magistrate, a position he held during 1996. He was Princeton City Court Judge from 1997

to 1999, Mercer County Chief Mental Hygiene Commissioner from 2004 to 2007, and an elected member of Princeton City Council in 2007. He was elected judge of the Twelfth Family Court Circuit (Mercer and McDowell Counties) in 2008 but declined to take the seat because then-Governor Joe Manchin appointed him to a new circuit judge position in the Ninth Judicial Circuit (Mercer County). He took office as a circuit judge on January 1, 2009, and was elected to that position in 2010.

Judge Aboulhosn has been appointed several times to sit on the Supreme Court to hear cases in which a Justice was recused. He is chairman of the Supreme Court’s Juvenile Justice Commission and was a member of Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s Intergovernmental Taskforce on Juvenile Justice in 2014. He is a former member of the board of directors of the West Virginia Association for Justice. He is a current member of the Board of Directors of the Jonathan Powell Hope Foundation, Inc., which helps families of children with cancer.

Katherine “Kitty” Dooley, decided to become an attorney at age 12, and made it happen, despite going the long way around to get there. She completed a degree in journalism from Marshall University, then served in the United States Army for nearly five years, attaining the rank of Captain.

The Fairmont native recently spent 10 years as the chair of the Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, where she spearheaded a $50 million campaign to rebuild Charleston’s most depressed public housing. She is a board member and past chair of the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia, guiding the organization to raising more than $1 million for the first time in its history. Kitty also serves as co-director of the J.R. Clifford Project and was the recipient of the 2013 Governor’s Civil rights Award.

Amy Lawson Booth BA in Psy WVSU.. MSW WVU ..LSW. A dedicated DHHR employee since 1997- Is currently the Community Services Manager of Kanawha District. Amy has served on several boards and projects and held other various positions including CPS, Adoption, CPS Supervision, Child

Welfare Consultant Region II, and Community Services Manager of Lincoln District. She is the proud mother of Angela, a Marshall University Freshman.

Tim Merrifield- BS in Education; History, Special Education WVSU.. MA., Marshall University., Middle Level Education., LSW

Currently the Social Services Coordinator in Kanawha County; Other positions Youth Services Supervisor, 8th grade teacher in Kanawha County. Tim is the proud father of Erica (Teacher)

and Paige (Nurse) and the proud grandfather of Tyler, Miley and Lyla.

He is an NCAA softball umpire and High School volleyball referee.

Jeff Sikorovsky has been with HospiceCare since 2006. He received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from Miami University, Oxford, OH in 1993, and recently completed the Leadership West Virginia program.

Originally from Cleveland, OH, Jeff now resides in Charleston, WV. He has one daughter, Zoey Rose. Jeff is active in the community, having served the Children’s

Home Society, Kanawha Valley Fellowship Home, and Covenant House. He also enjoys traveling, photography, and outdoor activities.

“My beautiful and amazing daughter was born Dec. 12, 2005 at Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Charleston, WV. Her birth mother did her best to care for her, but after five months decided to give her up for adoption through the Children’s Home Society in April 2006.

My wife and I had started the home study and adoption process in August 2005 and received the call in late April that this beautiful little girl was needing a forever family and that her birth mother chose us from several family profiles.

Our “Gotcha Day” was May 16, 2006. Since that day I have known the true joy and happiness that comes with being a parent. Zoey Rose has been the greatest blessing in my life and makes life more beautiful by the day. Our many experiences and travels together have made caused my plate to overflow. From coaching her soccer team, to taking her to ballet, to roaming all over downtown and the Capitol City, to travels all over the eastern seaboard and around the Midwest, we have been able to share a view of life and the world unlike no other and I look forward to many more adventures and happy years together with her as my daughter and “Big Girl,” and I her father and “Daddy.”

Zoey Rose is a special needs child with a non-verbal learning disorder that has made finding appropriate education for her difficult. This year she will start at her sixth school in six years, the second out of state. She lives with her mother in New England and attends a day school that addresses her unique learning needs, and I live and work in Charleston. Zoey Rose and I thoroughly enjoy our monthly visits/mini-vacations together and continue to develop a bond that is unlike any other. Hopefully as she grows and develops more we will be able to be closer geographically, but for now this is what life has given us… which is a daily blessing.I always think back to the line: “I’m not perfect, I’m a parent.” Biological or adoptive, she is my daughter and the love of my life. I couldn’t imagine my life without her in it.”

Thursday Afternoon Session

This will be a group discussion that focuses on particular crises that are being faced by the children and workers in emergency shelters. It is an opportunity to talk collectively about issues that our children are facing and ways that we can help them cope. Michelle Vaughn and a crisis counselor will moderate the discussion, however, discussion will come mainly from the group.

(TH-4) Shelter Crisis - Discussion Session

Michelle Vaughan received a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Marshall University in 2001. She has been fortunate to work for Children’s Home Society of West Virginia for the past 15 years in the Emergency Shelter Care Program. Michelle has worked as a Youth Care Worker, Shelter Social Worker, Shelter Supervisor and Site Manager prior to accepting her current position as Director of Shelter Care Services. She actively participates with the Emergency Shelter Providers Network and travels throughout the state to visit and provide assistance to our agency’s 10 Emergency Shelters.

Michelle has a special love for the shelter care system, believing that our shelters provide excellent care and support for youth in emergency situations.

Amy Sadler graduated from Marshall University with a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice in 2006 and a Masters in Criminal Justice in 2009. She worked for Child Protective Services in Cabell County for 4 years working as a Circuit Court Case Manager with the Honorable Judge Jane Hustead. In December 2014 Amy started working for West Virginia Supreme Court as a Probation Officer. Go HERD!!”

(TH-5) Foster Care Crisis - Discussion Session

This will be a group discussion that focuses on particular crises that are being faced by the children and workers in the foster care system. It is an opportunity to talk collectively about issues that our children are facing and ways that we can help them cope. Julia Kessler and a crisis counselor will moderate the discussion, however, discussion will come mainly from the group.

Julia Kesler, MA, LSW – Director of Permanency, Children’s Home Society of WV. Julia began her career as a social worker in 1993 at the Children’s Home Society. Julia earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Glenville State College and a Master’s Degree in Counseling from West Virginia Graduate College in South Charleston. She is currently working towards a second Master’s

degree at Marshall University Graduate College.

Julia has served in several roles with the Society. She has been a social worker in the Society’s shelter, home based and foster care programs, and has been the adoption social worker in Charleston since 1996. Julia is a certified CPR and first aid instructor through the American Red Cross and trains staff, adoptive parents and foster parents monthly.

Julia truly enjoys working with kids and families through the adoption program.

(FR-2) Community Engagement

This session will be a generation of ideas and practices for community engagement. We will develop fundraising ideas, community outreach strategies, and emphasize the importance of community support. This session will be lead my children’s home society development staff Brittany Myers (BA, PLSW) and Mary White (MSW, LSW)

Friday Sessions

(FR-1) Staff Development for Crisis Situations

Darshana Spach, Research Associate from Hornby Zeller Associates Inc., will lead a session on ways staff can manage personal crises. She will focus on areas such as stress management, time management, work load, mental health, etc.

Darshana Spach, M.Ed., is a Research Associate specializing in child development, early childhood special education, promoting protective factors and resilience in family systems, and home visitation. She has served as Project Director for West Virginia’s MIECHV evaluation (2011-14), and continues to lead the evaluation of Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention Study of Protective Factors for West Virginia. Ms. Spach is responsible for managing Iowa’s Child Abuse Prevention Projects and developed a professional endorsement for Child Abuse

Prevention Professionals under Iowa’s MIECHV Professional Development Advisory Group. Along with her colleagues at Hornby Zeller Associates, she has completed a Needs Assessment and Action Plan for the state of Maine Human Trafficking project. She was recruited to serve on the FRIENDS National Advisory Network in 2013, under the Administration for Children and Families, which advises on nationally recognized prevention efforts such as the Protective Factors Survey and Understanding ACEs.

Prior to this work, Darshana has had many years of direct experience working with at-risk populations first as a home visitor and supervisor for Early Head Start, followed by six years as program coordinator of a nationally- accredited early education center. Ms. Spach earned a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Maine at Orono, holds a 282 Endorsement (Teacher of Children with Disabilities) from the State of Maine Department of Education, and is also a Licensed Social Worker with supervisory experience in that field.

(FR-3) Child Advocacy Center

Victoria Slater and Emily Chittenden-Laird will give an overview of Child Advocacy Centers and their importance in helping youth who have experienced trauma. She will go through the steps a child takes while at a CAC and how to properly handle and support victims of abuse.

Emily Chittenden-Laird is the Executive Director of the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network, the state’s coalition of children’s advocacy centers. Chittenden-Laird came to the CAC movement as an AmeriCorps VISTA in rural West Virginia, where she worked on local and statewide development issues and served as a forensic interviewer at her local CAC. In her current position, Chittenden-Laird provides leadership to the CAC movement in West Virginia in the areas of technical assistance

and training, public policy, fund development, public awareness, strategic planning, and development of key relationships. Chittenden-Laird was the recipient of the national Outstanding Chapter Leader Award in 2011 from the National Children’s Alliance, the Purple Ribbon Award in 2012 from the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and Generation Next 40 Under 40 in 2013 from the State Journal.

Victoria Slater-Madert, Child and Family Services Supervisor with Children’s Home Society, began her work with the agency in 2006 in Martinsburg, WV. Over the last 9 years, Victoria has provided case coordination and program development with the Safe Haven Child Advocacy Center, a nationally accredited program. Victoria

has experience and professional training in investigative team development, forensic interviewing, child sexual abuse investigation work, and holds a Master’s of Social Work degree from WVU and a Bachelor’s of Social Work from Shepherd

University.

Charleston MarriottTown Center

200 Lee St. EastCharleston, WV 25301Phone: 304.345.6500

Directions

Page 9

From North/East

• At exit 58C, take ramp right for US-119 S / Bigley Ave toward Civic Center / Washington St

• Keep left to stay on US-119 S / Pennsylvania Ave S

• Turn left onto US-60 E / Lee St W

• Keep right to stay on US-60 E / Lee St E Arrive at near 224 Lee St E, Charleston, WV 25301

From South/South West

• At exit 58C, take ramp right and follow signs for US-60

• Turn right onto US-60 E / Lee St E

• Arrive at near 224 Lee St E, Charleston, WV 25301

Your input on the evaluations are very important to us. We use your ideas for planning the next conference or training. Please share your thoughts and evaluate those sessions and activities you attended.

Evaluations

(SL) Annual Children’s Home Society Staff Luncheon 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

At the conclusion of the conference, the Children’s Home Society Staff will meet for its annual staff luncheon in the Hawks Nest room. The luncheon will close with the traditional State of the Agency activity.

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Continuing Education Credits

Social Work

Thursday AM Workshops 3.0

Thursday PM Workshops 3.0

Friday Workshops 3.0

Total Possible CE’S 9.0

Lodging

Children’s Home Society employees call Mary White or Chris Freeman for hotel reservations. Others can make their hotel reservations with the Marriott by calling 304.345.6500. Inform them you are making reservations for the Children’s Home Society conference.

Annual Dinner

You are invited to the Children’s Home Society Annual Dinner, but must register separately. There is an additional charge of $25 (non-CHS) for the meal. Continuing Education credit will be given for the annual meeting. The Annual Dinner will be held in the Pavilion.

Conference At A Glance

Wednesday, November 12th

Check in by 6 p.m. Gather in the hotel lobby area to network with co-workers and friends.

Thursday, November 13th

7:00 - 9:00 Registration/Breakfast

9:00 - 10:30 AM Workshops


12:00 - 1:30 Lunch on your own

1:30 - 3:00 PM Workshops

3:15 - 4:30 PM Workshops

6:30 - 8:30 Children’s Home Society’s Annual Meeting & Dinner

Friday, November 14th

7:00 - 9:00 Registration/Breakfast



12:00 - 2:00 Annual Children’s Home Society Luncheon

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Thank You

School of Social Work

School of Social Work

Additional Sponsors

Name: __________________________________

Organization: ___________________________________________

Street Address: __________________________________________

City: _______________________ State: ___________ Zip: _______

Phone: __________________ Email: _________________________

Registration

Workshop Selection

Thursday, Nov. 12th (Choose Four - One per time slot)

Friday, Nov. 13th

Crisis to Confidence ____TH-1

Child Advocacy Center

____TH-2

9:00 - 10:30

10:45 - 12:00

1:30 - 3:00

____TH-3 Journey through the system

____TH-4

3:15 - 4:30

Shelter Crisis - Discussion Session

____TH-5 Foster Care Crisis - Discussion Session

____FR-1 Staff Development for Crisis Situations

____FR-2 Community Engagement

(Make checks payable to Children’s Home Society. Mail to CHS of WV, P.O. Box 2942, Charleston, WV 25330)

Full Conference (Nov. 12th & 13th) ($100.00) _______Thursday Only ($75.00) _______Friday Only ($25.00) _______Annual Dinner (Additional Charge for non-CHS) ($25.00) _______

Total Paid__________

(CHS Staff) I will attend the Friday staff luncheon. Yes ______ No _______

9:00 - 10:30 10:45 - 11:45

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Please Choose One Dinner Option:

____Baked Tilapia, Tomato, Caper, Olive Ragout, Rice Pilaf ____Grilled Flank Steak, Herb Roasted Red Bliss Potato, Seasonal Veg. ____Seared Chicken, Sauteed Veg & Penne Pasta w/White Wine Cream Sauce____Vegetarian Option

____FR-3

DSM - V Training

P.O. Box 29421422 Kanawha Blvd. EastCharleston, WV 25330Phone: 304.345.3894www.childhswv.org

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