National Center for Child Welfare Excellence
NCCWE Weekly Update 2/25/2015


Mind the Gap #2: Simulation Labs for Child Welfare Education and Training  National Webinar was held February 4, 2015 and is currently Archived on the www.nccwi.org
This webinar provides an overview of developing a Simulation Lab, an innovative technique being utilized with newly-hired children's services social workers in the Los Angeles area.
Simulation is a technique for education and training that has been used in many different disciplines, including aviation, the military, and medicine. It offers guided, immersive experiences that evoke or replicate aspects of the real world professional experience in a fully interactive fashion. The model in Los Angeles was first piloted in August 2013 at the Residential Simulation Lab at California State University - Los Angeles (Cal. State LA). Other simulation environments have been created at Cal State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and UCLA. A multi-disciplinary team consisting of University training faculty from these three Universities - along with USC - as well as Los Angeles County social workers, trainers, County Counsel, law enforcement consultants, and others - have worked together to design simulation exercises that promote, develop, and reinforce key social work skills (e.g. client engagement, critical thinking, assessment skills, interviewing techniques, decision-making, analysis, and problem solving).
http://ncwwi.org/index.php/link/220-mind-the-gap-2-simulation-labs-for-child-welfare-education-and-training

Growing Your Family: A Guide for Prospective LGBT Adoptive Parents [Illinois]
http://www.equalityillinois.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/EQIL-Adoption-Guide_01.15.pdf

Bridging the Gap: From Foster Care to College Success in New York
Community Service Society of NewYork. 2015
http://www.fysany.org/sites/default/files/document/bridging_the_gap.pdf

California to tackle excessive prescribing of psych meds to foster children
California lawmakers will consider a major overhaul this year of how the state cares for thousands of traumatized foster children, a sweeping effort to curb the excessive use of psychiatric drugs in the child welfare system. Legislation to boost caregiver training, strengthen court oversight of prescriptions and give foster youth the right to alternative treatments is in the works in the state Senate to address problems revealed in this newspaper's yearlong investigation.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_27432987/california-lawmakers-set-tackle-excessive-prescribing-psych-meds

Webinar — Children of Immigrants and the Child Welfare System
Feb. 26, 2015, 3-4:30 p.m. (EST)
This webinar will examine the unique challenges that children of immigrants face upon child welfare involvement and resources that can be used to build the capacity of child welfare agencies in working with immigrant children and families. This webinar will also include an overview of recent federal policies and their impact on immigrant children and families involved in the child welfare system. To reserve your webinar seat
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3897485410489391361

Webinar – Emerging Practices and Policies to Address the Needs of Children in Immigrant Families
Mar. 24, 2015, 3-4:30 p.m. (EST)
This webinar will review emerging practices and policies that have been implemented in California child welfare agencies to address the unique issues facing children in immigrant families involved in this system. Practitioners from California will discuss their experiences working with this vulnerable population and strategies to facilitate engagement and culturally responsive services. To reserve your webinar seat
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4825931720681129985
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Gerald P. Mallon, DSW, LCSW
Julia Lathrop Professor of Child Welfare
Executive Director
National Center for Child Welfare Excellence
Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College
A Service of the Children's Bureau
2180 Third Avenue. 7th Floor
New York, NY 10035
http://www.nccwe.org
mallong@aol.com