UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and to draw attention to the issue, the Penn State Child Maltreatment Solutions Network is hosting an event on April 12, 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. via Zoom.
The event, "Nurturing Healthy Futures: Promoting Effective Safe Care Plans for Substance-affected Infants and their Families,” will engage agency-level leadership and workforce representatives from children and youth services, public health, early intervention, and behavioral health settings wanting to learn more about implementing safe plans of care to address the needs of substance-affected infants and their families.
Dr. Margaret Lloyd Sieger, a noted expert in child protection policies impacting substance affected infants, will share findings from her work examining state and community policies regarding the implementation of plans of safe care. Lloyd Sieger will also explore areas for future practice-focused work in this area.
Additionally, speakers from Pennsylvania communities will share examples of innovative approaches being used to engage substance-affected infants and their families in community-based safe care plans, highlighting areas of promise and/or challenges experienced along the way.
Sean Couch and Kate Rocke, senior program associates at the Center for Children and Family Futures (CFF), will present efforts by their nonprofit organization to provides consultation, training and technical assistance, and evaluation services focused on improving practice and policy at the intersections of child welfare, substance use and mental disorder treatment, and court systems. CFF operates the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare, providing technical assistance at the state and local levels to build collaborative capacity to improve outcomes for infants and families affected by prenatal substance exposure.
The event will end with an opportunity for Q&A and discussion among participants and panelists.
This annual event is being also being sponsored by the Human Development and Family Studies Vladimir de Lissovoy Program Support Endowment. Participation is free, but registration is required.