Sessions, Events and Networking Opportunities
Plan your day with the PCCYFS 2025 Conference Schedule, including Networking Events.
Networking Events
Networking
7pm – 9pm
Tuesday Evening – Trivia Night
One of your favorite networking events is returning this year! On Tuesday evening (4/8/25), early arrivals may join PCCYFS staff and other attendees at the hotel bar/restaurant for Tuesday Trivia Night.
PCCYFS will host trivia from 7 to 9 pm and award prizes. Play individually, as your own group, or partner with PCCYFS staff or others. It’s sure to be a good time!
Networking
6:30pm – 10pm
Wednesday Evening – Murder Mystery Theatre Performance
New for 2025!! On Wednesday evening, PCCYFS will host a Murder Mystery Theatre Performance. Conference attendees can participate in the activity or simply sit and watch the show! Actors will perform the mystery performance in full costume. You will not want to miss this event. This networking activity will occur Wednesday evening, and is sponsored by George Junior Republic.
Please arrive by 7:15 at the Heritage Room located next to the sunken bar!
You can also enjoy delicious hors d’oeuvres, a variety of desserts, and enjoy drinks in our privately reserved bar area.
Conference Schedule
Wednesday, April 9
7:30-9
Registration & Hot Breakfast
7:30-5
Exhibit Booths Open
8:30-9
Welcoming Remarks
9-10
Keynote: Derek Clark
Motivational speaker and author Derek Clark overcame a brutal traumatic past enduring horrific child abuse and rejection before being abandoned into the San Francisco Bay area foster care system for 13 years. Through the power of connection, determination, resilience and a mindset shift, he made a commitment to transform his pain into purpose. Derek shares how he divorced his story from victim to victor and made a choice to write a new narrative of healing, hope and empowerment.
Derek shares connection tools that helped him shift his mindset of helplessness to creating a positive destiny. He inspires others to tap into their self-empowerment and discover the power within to not let your past infect your future. You own your future through taking responsibility for the direction of your life and choosing to rise above adversity. Derek’s programs are all about breaking the generational cycle of trauma and giving adults and professionals the tools to support children that are grieving and healing.
You can find more about motivational speaker Derek Clark at www.IWillNeverGiveUp.com.
10-10:30
Break, Please Visit Our Exhibitor Booths
Session 1
10:30-12
Leveraging AI for Transformational Change in Child and Family Services
Speakers: Chris Yakscoe, Jen Gray, Jessica Fechel
Join Jessica Fenchel from Access Services alongside Chris Yakscoe and Tricia Zerger of Netsmart as they explore the transformative power of artificial intelligence in child and family services. This session will focus on building a comprehensive AI strategy tailored to your organization’s needs, highlighting the importance of a holistic approach with a unified platform and partner.
Key discussion points include:
Navigating the AI adoption journey and fostering organization-wide efficiency.
Real-world use cases, such as transforming clinical documentation, enhancing mobile crisis response and automating collections.
Insights from Access Services on how an AI-powered clinical coach streamlines documentation, boosts staff efficiency and creates a foundation for future AI innovations.
Discover actionable strategies and practical examples to unlock the potential of AI in your programs, ensuring sustainable growth and impactful outcomes. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to effectively integrate AI into child and family services.
BURNOUT: Confront and Conquer it Together!
Speaker: Dr. Lori Scwartz Reichl (1.5 CEUs Available)
Session Description:
Life is busy and fragile, regardless of what roles we serve professionally or personally. Positions, expectations, responsibilities, health, and households may have changed or will change. These changes can impact how we show up for our colleagues, clients, students, and communities. Burnout can happen to anyone at any time. Change is possible! Learn the components of burnout, recognize the symptoms, and discover key changes to help yourself and those you love, serve, and lead confront and conquer it.
Learning Objectives:
- Attendees will consider possible symptoms they are experiencing of burnout.
- Attendees will reflect on how they are feeling, acting, and reacting at work and home.
- Attendees will reflect on how their colleagues seem burnt out and how they are feeling, acting, and reacting at work, too.
- Attendees will reflect on how their clients/students seem burnt out and how they are feeling, acting, and reacting, too.
- Attendees will learn the three-component syndromes of burnout.
- Attendees will recognize the negative physical and mental health outcomes from burnout.
- Attendees will discover 5 key changes for confronting and conquering burnout alone and with others.
Resources: - Article (authored by presenter): “Prioritizing People: Confront and Conquer Burnout Together”
- Making Key Changes Podcast Episode #12: “Banishing Burnout”
- Making Key Changes Podcast Episode #2: “Burnout: Confront and Conquer It!”
Increase Program Efficiency and Treatment Outcomes in Behavioral Health and Child Welfare Settings
Speaker: Dr. Jason James Raines
Training Summary:
The principles of Lean can work in behavioral health and child welfare in much the same way they do in other industries. Lean thinking involves deciding the value of any given process by distinguishing value-added steps from non-value-added steps and cutting waste so that ultimately every step adds value to the process. When applied, Lean principles can have a dramatic effect on productivity, cost, and quality. Participants will learn how to apply Lean principles to various aspects of behavioral health and child welfare, including clinical processes, patient care, treatment practices, operation and service processes and treatment setting layout.
The Lean training focuses on understanding the principles of Lean and how they can be applied to improve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction The Lean training includes various topics such as learning about the different types of waste(e.g., overproduction, waiting, transportation, over-processing, inventory, motion, and defects) and how to identify and eliminate them. Participants will also understand the concept of value stream mapping and how it can be used to visualize and improve processes. Additionally, the training covers conducting Lean events such as Kaizens and Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs) to drive continuous improvement in behavioral health and child welfare.
The training also includes examples of healthcare organizations that are successfully using Lean thinking to streamline processes, reduce costs, and improve the quality and prompt delivery of products and services.
Objectives:
1) Understand the principles of Lean method and how they can be applied to improve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction in behavioral health and child welfare settings.
2) Find and cut waste in behavioral health and child welfare processes to enhance value creation and streamline workflows.
3) Understand the concept of value stream mapping and how it can be used to visualize and improve behavioral health and child welfare processes.
4) Develop skills in conducting Lean events such as Kaizens and Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs) to drive continuous improvement in behavioral health and child welfare.
5) Understand the role of leadership in supporting and sustaining Lean initiatives.
12-1
Lunch – Networking Opportunity!!
Session 2
1-2:30
The Insurance and Legal Climate for Child Welfare Providers: Understanding the Root Cause of the Liability Insurance Crisis
Speakers: John Ehresman, Emily Reiter
This presentation will explore the factors driving the challenges child welfare organizations face in securing and maintaining affordable liability insurance. We will explore key legal trends, risk management issues, and systemic causes impacting insurance availability and costs. Attendees will gain insights into the evolving insurance market, legal climate, and practical strategies to mitigate risk and protect their organizations in this complex landscape.
Communicating Across Differences: Resource Parents and Child Welfare Professionals Working Together
Speaker: Dr. Kurt Miller, Garry Krentz (1.5 CEUs Available)
Historically, there has been a divide between resource parents and child welfare professionals. They share common goals, but they often do not speak the same language which allows for great misunderstanding. Through decades of experience in the child welfare system, the presenters will demonstrate how common areas of agreement can promote strong working relationships to support recruitment and retention of resource parents and respect for child welfare professionals. More broadly, the skills learned in this session can be transferred to working with diverse teams.
Learning objectives:
- Demonstrate an ability to reach common outcomes through disagreement.
- Summarize the importance of shared goals when working with diverse populations.
- Evaluate one’s own interactional style which may be a barrier to achieving child welfare outcomes.
- Formulate a practice approach when working with diverse teams.
Ensuring Educational Stability and School Success for Students in Foster Care
Speakers: Matthew Butensky, Dawn Traill
Studies and data reported by states find that students in foster care are much more likely than their peers to struggle academically and fall behind in school. With nearly three-quarters of children in foster care enrolled in elementary and secondary schools, educational agencies and their counterparts in child welfare agencies are uniquely positioned to support students in foster care and to ensure that involvement in the child welfare system does not limit students’ educational opportunities and academic outcomes, a role underscored by both Federal and State laws. During this session, attendees will hear from state education and child welfare points of contact who are responsible for the implementation of these requirements regionally and locally in school and child welfare agencies.
Attendees of this session can expect the following:
Become informed about legal education protections for students in foster care with an emphasis on school stability;
Become informed about State laws that affect education stability for students in foster care;
Learn about new Federal non-regulatory guidance issued in November 2024 that will be implemented in schools and child welfare agencies throughout Pennsylvania;
Become aware of the important role they play in supporting the education of children and youth in foster care;
Learn about other strategies that may support school success for students in foster care; and
Learn about resources available to them and how to assist children and youth they are working with.
Students in foster care deserve the same academic opportunities as their peers who are not in foster care. Working together, educational and child welfare agencies can ensure that involvement in the child welfare system does not deprive students of the opportunity to reach their full academic potential.
2–3
Exhibitor Networking Ice Cream Social
Session 3
3-4:30
Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence
Speaker: June Fisher (1.5 Ethics CEUs Available)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is HERE and like the fax machine, internet, social media before it we as leaders and professionals must guide its ETHICAL USE. This workshop is eligible for 1.5 hours of Ethics CEU’s. Like so many types of technology there are great benefits and potential risks to incorporating AI into our practice of delivering quality social services. The newest generation entering the work force has been utilizing types of AI for years, DO WE KNOW HOW THEY MAY BE USING IT IN THE WORKLACE? Are we or they using it ethically, in the best interest of the child, youth, family or their community? Attend this interactive workshop to learn and share with your colleagues – how can we benefit from AI, what are the potential risks of using AI in the workplace, and what are possible paths forward
Driving Leadership Team Health
Speakers: Karla Chin (1.5 CEUs Available)
In today’s fast-paced and often remote work environments, developing deep, meaningful, and humanized relationships within leadership teams is more important than ever. This session is tailored for leaders and decision-makers, who play a crucial role in shaping the culture and success of your organizations. Join us as we delve into the essential elements that contribute to the health of leadership teams and, by extension, the health of your entire organization.
In this session, we will cover:
- Creating Cohesiveness: Strategies to foster unity and collaboration within leadership teams, even in hybrid or remote settings.
- Psychological Safety: Building an environment where team members feel safe to express themselves, take risks, and share ideas without fear of negative consequences.
- Purpose and Clarity: Defining and communicating a clear vision and purpose that aligns and motivates the entire team.
- Building Trust: Establishing and maintaining trust among team members to enhance communication and collaboration.
- Self-Care for Leaders: The importance of leaders taking care of their own wellbeing to model healthy behaviors and maintain their effectiveness.
Building Bridges for Placement Stability: The Power of Collaboration Between Child Welfare and Behavioral Health
Speakers: Christine Nichols, Mace Cooper-Drew (1.5 CEUs Available)
This presentation will explore the critical role of collaboration between child welfare and behavioral health professionals in improving placement stability outcomes for children and youth in foster or kinship care. Drawing from evidence-based practices and real-world examples, we will provide insights into the challenges and opportunities for these systems to work together to address the complex needs of children in care.
Participants will gain actionable strategies to enhance cross-system communication, establish shared goals, and foster integrated
service delivery, ultimately supporting stable placements and positive outcomes for children and families.
Objectives:
- Highlight the importance of collaboration between child welfare and behavioral health services to address the multifaceted needs of children in foster and kinship care.
- Identify common barriers to effective collaboration and provide practical strategies to overcome them.
- Demonstrate how integrated efforts can improve placement stability, reduce disruptions, and promote long-term well-being for children and youth.
- Intended Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to: - Understand the connection between behavioral health needs and placement stability.
- Identify at least three strategies to enhance collaboration between child welfare and behavioral health staƯ. 3. Apply collaborative approaches to their own roles to improve service delivery and outcomes for children and youth in care.
High-Level Agenda - Introduction: Overview of session goals and the importance of cross-system collaboration.
- Understanding the Challenge: A brief review of data and examples illustrating the impact of behavioral health needs on placement
stability. - Case Study: Analyzing a real-world example of successful collaboration between child welfare and behavioral health services.
- Strategies for Success: Practical, actionable approaches to fostering collaboration, including communication techniques, shared
decision-making, and cross-training opportunities. - Interactive Discussion: Participants will brainstorm solutions to common barriers and share ideas for improving collaboration in
their respective roles. - Wrap-Up: Recap of key takeaways and a call to action for participants to implement learned strategies.
This session will be highly relevant for child welfare professionals, behavioral health clinicians, supervisors, and administrators committed
to enhancing outcomes for children and families through innovative, collaborative approaches.
4:45-6
Optional – Juvenile Justice Information Session
Location: Central Room D
5-6
PCCYFS Board Meeting
6
Dinner On Your Own But Not Alone
Join a group of your choice.
6:30-10
Networking Events – PCCYFS Mixer at Sunken Bar and Murder Mystery Theatre activity in the Heritage Room
Thursday, April 10
7:30-9
Registration & Hot Breakfast
7:30-3:45
Exhibit Booths Open
8:30-9
Welcoming Remarks
9-10
Keynote: Tracee L. Hunt MHS, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Tracee Hunt, Owner/CEO of Total HR Solutions, LLC, is an accomplished HR Executive, Author, and NonProfit Advocate. She provided key leadership in senior level roles, as well as driving HR strategies through Board membership and is currently the Board Chair for Philadelphia Youth Network. Tracee has over 25 years of experience in the field of Human Resources. As a refined HR Executive and Business Partner, Tracee has served as a key member of executive leadership teams in varying industries, as well as currently serving as an extension of each client’s leadership teams to facilitate the achievement of organizational goals and objectives.
Optimizing Human Resources in an Ever-Evolving Business Landscape!
Top Executives, Functional Leaders, and Frontline Management alike are faced with ensuring their organizations are optimizing their Human Capital strategies in a way that differentiates them for improved employee retention, attraction, and engagement that drive improved organization outcomes.
This keynote will address:
1. The critical synergies and leader competence needed among cross-functional teams to achieve organizational success.
2. Key Organization Development and Design Trends for 2025 and beyond.
3. Understanding how to effectively leverage AI tools in the organization’s Human Capital landscape.
4. Ways to ensure workplace inclusion efforts are well aligned for improved outcomes
10-10:30
Break, Please Visit Our Exhibitor Booths.
Session 1
10:30-12
From Data to Decisions: Optimizing EHR Success Through Data Governance and Change Management
Speakers: Theresa Yera, Tina Kirkpatrick
Effective data governance and organizational change management (OCM) are critical for the long-term success and maintenance of your EHR system. These Processes ensure data integrity, streamline system changes, and enhance overall project outcomes.
KEY OBJECTIVES:
Defining the importance of Data Governance and OCM
Describing the Phases of EHR Maintenance Required for Effective Data Governance
Ensuring Data Accuracy for Funding Success
Supporting EHR Change Management and Data Governance
Chaos of Suicide
Speaker: Govan A. Martin, (1.5 Suicide Prevention CEUs Available)
INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS:
To provide attendees with information on suicide and strategies and possible solutions to prevent suicide within the workplace and community.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES:
1. Discuss facts concerning suicide and suicide prevention
2. Discuss current suicide language and what to say and not to say
3. Discuss and show videos of why people die by suicide
4. Thinking outside of the box/what we need to do and change and how we can prevent suicide
PRESENTATION LAYOUT:
1. Introductory video/chaos in society
2. What/who are the faces of suicide
3. Suicide language
4. Why people die by suicide/video – clip from ‘facing suicide
5. What items we have to think about
6. Video clip on “interpersonal theory of suicide”
7. Suicide data
a. Most current data related to suicide on a national scale.
b. Reality of suicide
8. What problems are currently going on in the mental health system
9. Thinking outside of the box
a. Normalize conversation about suicide
b. Training
c. Talk to those with lived experience
d. Listen to the needs of the community
e. Talk with legislators for change
f. Support/other ways of thinking outside of the box
g. Data collection
h. Listening
10. Resources
Breaking Barriers: From Highschool Dropout to Leadership
Speaker: Monica Kindle (1.5 CEUs Available)
Monica Kindle’s journey from a challenging upbringing to educational success is nothing short of inspiring. Growing up in San Bernardino, California, Monica was the youngest of her siblings, three of whom were involved in gangs. Raised in poverty by a loving mother battling paranoia schizophrenia and a stepfather facing literacy issues, gang involvement, and incarceration, Monica’s early years were marked by significant hardship. Attending sixteen different schools from K-8 and eventually dropping out, Monica’s path seemed fraught with obstacles. However, a turning point came when Monica became a teen mother, and her middle school counselor encouraged her to pursue higher education. This pivotal moment ignited a transformation in Monica’s life.
In this breakout session, Monica will share her personal journey and the steps she took to overcome barriers and achieve success. Join Monica as she recounts her educational path, career experiences, and offers practical advice drawn from her work with disadvantaged
and at-risk youth. Discover the strategies that helped her navigate and bridge significant opportunity and achievement gaps and gain
insights that can inspire and inform your own efforts in supporting students facing similar challenges.
With an opportunity for an interactive activity, this session provides a balance of presentation, collaboration, and personal reflection to create a dynamic and actionable session.
Learning Objectives:
Understand the Impact of Adversity on Youth Development
Examine Strategies for Bringing Opportunity and Achievement Gaps
Apply Insights to Support At-Risk Students
Engage in Collaboration Reflection and Problem-Solving
Draw Inspiration from Personal Stories of Resilience and Success
12-1
Lunch – Networking Opportunity!!!
Session 2
1-2:30
Understanding Turnover Intentions Among Child Welfare Caseworkers: Insights from Three Waves of Workforce Surveys
Speaker: Yoon Mi Kim, George Kovarie, Soohyoung Rain Lee
Child welfare is one of the most complex and emotionally demanding fields in social services (DePanfilis & Salus, 2003). Many county and private child welfare agencies in Pennsylvania continue to grapple with challenges related to worker turnover and significant increases in workload. Turnover among child welfare caseworkers poses a critical threat to maintaining effective services for vulnerable populations.
This presentation examines the nuanced differences in turnover intentions between public and private child welfare agencies, drawing on qualitative data collected across three waves from 2018 to 2025. Key themes include organizational climate, authentic behavior, workload and caseload management, salary and benefits, and relational dynamics with supervisors and colleagues. Additionally, the presenters will introduce new survey questions informed by feedback from attendees of past PCCYFS conferences.
The preliminary results showed that private agency caseworkers expressed higher satisfaction with interpersonal relationships and perceived organizational support, often citing relational transparency and supportive supervisors as critical retention factors. In contrast, public agency caseworkers reported higher dissatisfaction with workloads and salary, compounded by systemic issues such as inflexible work schedules and strained relationships with court staff. The findings also highlight the role of authentic behavior, particularly in fostering a positive work environment where caseworkers feel valued and supported.
The final results of our survey will be shared with all members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The presenters and the funder, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, will deliver a printed copy of the Executive Summary to the Capitol, ensuring that each representative and senator receives our study findings and the voices of caseworkers. By sharing these insights directly with the legislature, we aim to inform and support their decision-making processes with comprehensive data to make changes.
PA’s Prevention Learning Portal: Empowering the Future of Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice, Education, and Behavioral Health
Speakers: Jordan Joyce
Our presentation will showcase an innovative eLearning platform designed to equip professionals across Pennsylvania with the tools, knowledge, and inspiration needed to drive positive change in public health, youth development, and prevention efforts. We are passionate about child welfare, juvenile justice, education, and behavioral health, and we aim to inspire a deep commitment to improving the well-being of our children/youth and families.
The eLearning platform features a wide range of specialized topics that address the pressing challenges in these fields, from building prevention efforts with evidence-based programs to fostering healthy youth development. Through our approach, we strive to equip professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to prevent future problems and promote a healthier, more supportive environment for children and youth. By the end of our session, attendees will feel inspired, equipped with tools, and ready to make a meaningful impact in the lives of young people across Pennsylvania.
This is more than just a presentation—it’s a call to action, a chance for professionals to come learn, grow, and lead the way to better futures for our children/youth and families.
Learning Objectives:
Identify Strategies in Addressing Staff Turnover Through Effective Recruitment and Retention Practices
Explore the Impact of the eLearning Platform on Professional Development
Develop Actionable Strategies for Preventing Youth Problems and Promoting Healthy Development
Enhance Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing Among Professionals
Tools for Promoting Trauma-Informed Practices in Human Services for Children and their Families
Speakers: Caren Rosser-Morris, Gordon Hodas (1.5 CEUs Available)
Learning Objectives
- Identify the 6 core principles that guide trauma-informed care, and be able to describe their significance to the ongoing observation and evaluation of staff and agency practices.
- Identify how the use of tools and surveys can provide a mechanism for organizations to evaluate the quality and level of implementation of trauma-Informed care.
- Identify, choose, and consider implementing the use of specific open-access tools for the assessment, observation, and maintenance of trauma-informed care practices for individuals, teams, and agencies.
Overview of the Presentation:
This workshop addresses the promotion of trauma-informed practices in human service agencies and programs. The presenters, lead trauma-informed care (TIC) consultants for the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), consider the benefits of using tools for the observation and evaluation of the implementation of trauma-informed practices within the organization.
Based on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administrations (SAMHSA’s) 6 core TIC principles, trauma-informed care implementation tools provide a mechanism for translating TIC principles into action. Specific observation and evaluation tools help operationalize these principles and promote individual, family, staff, and organizational success and empowerment.
Participants will be introduced to tools developed by OMHSAS to assist human service organizations in implementing TIC. These tools include the following: separate surveys for youth and for parents/caregivers regarding satisfaction with helping relationships and services being trauma-informed; a survey of staff attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors regarding trauma-informed principles and practices; and a tool for observing and assessing the quality of trauma-informed interactions between staff and individuals served. In addition, a document that reviews key issues for discussion related to trauma-informed care is also available. Potential benefits and limitations associated with the use of these open access tools will be considered.
2:30-2:45
Break – Please Visit Exhibitor Booths
Session 3
2:45-4:15
A Trauma Informed Approach to Defusing Escalating Behaviors
Speaker: Christopher Rahn (1.5 CEUs Available)
As programs continue to deal with individuals who demonstrate behaviors of concern that may be dangerous or cause a crisis within the milieu, knowing how to diffuse those dangerous behaviors prior to escalation is paramount in creating a safe environment. This interactive workshop will guide participants through a trauma informed approach to defusing and de-escalating behaviors of concern in order to help prevent crisis behaviors from occurring.
Participants will engage in a variety of activities that will help solidify their understanding of how trauma impacts the development of the brain specific to behavior, interaction readiness, and situational awareness in defusing and de-escalating behaviors of concern.
Using Trauma-Informed Tools to Heal Fractured and Fragmented Organizations
Speaker: Larry Shallenberger
Society is forever changed by stressors of the past five years: COVID, racial reckoning, the Great Resignation, and inflation. As individuals and families work to recover from multiple traumas, the need for behavioral health services has never been higher. However, provider organizations were not immune from the impact of these forces and have found that their workforces are unable to return to their pre-COVID levels of functioning.
In this workshop, participants will:
— Discover mitigating factors that make some workplace cultures more resistant to organizational trauma;
— Learn how to use the S.E.L.F. framework to quickly assess the health of their organization;
— Practice a four step strategy for reducing organizational reactivity by increasing psychological safety;
— Explore Vivian and Hormann’s Organizational Trauma Spiral to understand how trauma erodes workplace culture;
— Examine a case study of how Sarah Reed Children’s Center recognized it’s organizational trauma and the steps it took regain resilience.
The PCCYFS annual conference is primarily intended for professionals within the child welfare, juvenile justice, mental/behavioral health, and education fields. However, people from all fields are welcome.
The Pennsylvania Council of Children Youth & Family Services (PCCYFS) #SWPR004114 is approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors to offer continuing education for social workers, marriage and family therapists and professional counselors. PCCYFS maintains responsibility for the program(s).
PCCYFS will maintain electronic and on-site records for 2 years; after 2 years, records will be sent to storage. Please note that you may only receive CEUs for courses that are marked as CEU-eligible. You may not receive more than one type of credit for a single course.
CEU’s for the conference are $10/day (regardless of how many CEU hours you request per day).
If you were to need a refund for CEUs, please e-mail hbgoffice@pccyfs.org.
