2022 Conference Presentations

Overview

2022 CWDA Annual Conference

This year, CWDA welcomed over 1,100 attendees to our annual conference in October. We had phenomenal keynote speakers who are noted below and a wide-array of fantastic breakout sessions.

Below are PDF versions of breakout presentations from those presenters who shared visual presentations with CWDA. 

Keynote speakers:

  • Michael Tubbs – Founder of End Poverty in California (EPIC)

  •  Brenda Peyser – Co-Author of The No Club: Putting a Stop to Women’s Dead-End Work

  • Bill Walton – Basketball Legend and Author of “Back from the Dead”

  • Alex Smith – Founder of the Alex Smith Foundation for Foster Teens and Retired National Football League (NFL) Quarterback & Frank Mecca, Retired CWDA Executive Director

Below are the breakout session presentations:

Presentation

Developing Community Pathways for Healing Through Trauma: The Perspective of Black Survivors

This session is designed to address the complex set of challenges to maintaining mental wellness in the Black community. The presenters will discuss the cultural and environmental stigma associated with mental health, societal factors that could exacerbate the trauma in the Black community, systemic problems within the health care system, and strategies to develop an integrated community response framework.

  • Dr. Marie Brown-Mercadel – Mercadel Consulting Solutions Chief Executive Officer

Presentation

CalAIM: Justice Involved Pre-Release Application Mandate

Come join us for a discussion around the CalAIM pre-release application mandate, which is effective on January 1, 2023. County representatives and representatives from the Department of Health Care Services and the San Diego Sheriff’s Office will share best practices on how to prepare and plan for the mandate, including guidance on how to overcome implementation challenges counties and correctional entities may face to meet the mandate. A Q&A will follow the panel discussion.

Presentation

Fiscal Essentials 101

Fiscal Essentials 101 is back and will allow you to learn the essentials of human services financing. Fiscal Essentials 101 will provide a high-level overview on how human services is budgeted. In addition, it will provide information on how programs are funded, including 1991 and 2011 realignment, and current changes in finance.

  • Ardee Apostol – San Diego County Assistant Finance Director

  • Monica L. Bentley – Riverside County Department of Public Social Services Assistant Director

Presentation

Enhancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Human Services: Creation & Ongoing Implementation of CWDA’s DEI Plan

Developed during 2021, CWDA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan is a multi-year effort that addresses needs within the organization, in support of our human services department members and their teams, and in partnership with the broader community. Learn about the development and adoption of the plan, key details included in the plan, and efforts underway to implement the initial priorities. Perspectives include CWDA Executive Director Cathy Senderling-McDonald, Tulare County Human Services Director Anita Ortiz, and Co-Executive Director of the Unconscious Bias Project, Dr.

Presentation

San Diego Elder Justice Task Force (EJTF): Combating Elder Scams With Local/Federal Collaboration

Billions of dollars are being stolen from Elder Victims each year. While the scammers are mostly overseas, there is a black-market economy of gift cards, cash, and crypto-currency flourishing within the US. Sadly, when the thousands of victims each year report these crimes to the police, they are told, “sorry, there is nothing we can do.” The San Diego Elder Justice Task Force (EJTF) set out to answer the question of “What COULD we do?” The EJTF is an unprecedented collaboration by local and federal agencies and has revealed a Road Map for combating these scams.

Presentation

Riding the Wave to Go Live

Big and exciting changes are coming for the CalWIN counties! We are off and running with Wave 1 counties (Placer and Yolo) migrating to CalSAWS on October 31. Waves 2 through 6 begin migration in February and continue through October 2023. This session describes the activities to prepare for Go Live – Organizational Change Management and Web-Based and Instructor-Led Training.

Presentation

Cal-OAR: Successful Strategies to Engage with Community Partners Using Human-Centered Design Techniques

This presentation will highlight the experiences of 2-3 counties that have used human-centered design to get feedback from community partners and collaborators. Counties will share successes and challenges from their engagement processes. The presentation will also include a general orientation to the Cal-OAR initiative.

  • Mark Ezzo – Mathematica Research Analyst

    Joseph Sapp – California Department of Social Services Staff Services Manager

Presentation

Reimagining Aging and Adult Services Through Servant Leadership, Collaboration, and Integration

Reimagining Aging and Adult Services through Servant Leadership, Collaboration, and Integration:Bringing APS/IHSS, Veterans, Housing, Behavioral Health, Public Authority and Public Guardian to One Table

  • Susan Gleason – Calaveras County Health and Human Services Agency Program Manager Adult Services

    Michael Magana – Calaveras County Health and Human Services Agency Assistant Director

Presentation

Fiscal Essentials 102

Fiscal Essentials 102 will provide you with a high-level understanding of how costs are charged to Social Services programs in the state claiming process, how time studies drive the allocation of costs, and why it is critical to have a global view of resource and funding and how those factors may impact your programs, and a review of the complete local budget cycle and how that might impact planning for your programs.

  • Cherlyn Davis – Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance (DHA) Deputy Director of Finance and Administration

Presentation

Sacramento County Cultural Broker Program: Navigating the Child Welfare System and the Critical Need for Culturally Responsive Advocacy

The Sacramento County Cultural Broker (SCCB) Program is specifically designed to address issues of African-American disparities and disproportionality in the child welfare system. The presentation will demonstrate how the model can: 1) Reduce Entry Rates 2) Increase Kinship Placements and 3) Reduce Length of Time in Care (Time to Reunification).

Presentation

Sacramento Black Child Legacy Campaign

In Sacramento County, and across the nation, African American children die at nearly twice the rate of children of other races. Issues such as low birth weight, prematurity, infant sleep-related deaths, child abuse/neglect and third party homicide contribute to the increased child death rates. Many of the factors that lead to infant and child death are preventable. Thanks to the commitment of leaders across sectors—grassroots, education, civic champions and philanthropy—long-term, place-based efforts to catalyze systemic change are taking root in communities throughout Sacramento County.

Presentation

Preschool to Graduate School: Supporting Educational Success in Foster Youth

Participants will learn about innovative, data driven approaches to address educational challenges and improve outcomes for youth in foster care across the continuum. San Diego will share how work on preschool expulsions, combined with community partnerships focused on prevention, help to reduce maltreatment in early education and strengthen trauma informed strategies to support educational success for middle and high school youth in foster care. Participants will also learn about collaborative programs created to ensure educational supports for youth in and exiting care.

Presentation

Mobile Work Operations for Adult Protective Services (APS) Social Workers Share Pacific E

The goal is to highlight the effectiveness of transitioning APS traditional field units to mobile teams to improve social workers’ investigation processes and enhance service outcomes for older adults, especially at a time when the use of mobile workforce has become more prevalent in many organizations due to the ongoing pandemic. Mobile work allows for remote work, scheduling flexibility, same-day documentation, and use of mobile technology as highly effective social work practices.

Presentation

Making Work Suck Less: Employee Engagement Strategies During COVID and Beyond

To share effective, concrete strategies designed to improve engagement and well-being. To emphasize why organizations need to gain buy-in and support to make engagement a priority. To learn how to shift organizational culture and implement strategies within a government setting.

  • Catherine Vu – County of Santa Clara Social Services Agency Interim Deputy Director – Program Support, Research, and Evaluation

Presentation

Overview of Race Equity and Implicit Bias Training for CalWORKs and CalFresh County Staff

To provide an overview of current CDSS efforts in implementing requirements of AB 135, section 44, which requires the Department to facilitate Race Equity and Implicit Bias Training for CalWORKS and CalFresh County Staff

  • Kathy Yang – CDSS Acting Chief, CalFresh and Nutrition Branch

  • Constance (Khani) Gustafson – Anavo Solutions Vice President of Human-Centered Cultures

Presentation

Clone of Sacramento County Cultural Broker Program: Navigating the Child Welfare System and the Critical Need for Culturally Responsive Advocacy

The Sacramento County Cultural Broker (SCCB) Program is specifically designed to address issues of African-American disparities and disproportionality in the child welfare system. The presentation will demonstrate how the model can: 1) Reduce Entry Rates 2) Increase Kinship Placements and 3) Reduce Length of Time in Care (Time to Reunification).

Presentation

I See You! Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Policy and Training Implementation

I See You! Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Policy and Training Implementation. The session will focus on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) policy implementation plan. The presenters will share how they have collaborated with Community-Based Organizations and fellow Counties to draft a policy that promotes inclusivity.

Presentation

Sacramento County Cultural Broker Program: Navigating the Child Welfare System and the Critical Need for Culturally Responsive Advocacy

The Sacramento County Cultural Broker (SCCB) Program is specifically designed to address issues of African-American disparities and disproportionality in the child welfare system. The presentation will demonstrate how the model can: 1) Reduce Entry Rates 2) Increase Kinship Placements and 3) Reduce Length of Time in Care (Time to Reunification).

Presentation

LA Found: Using Technology to Keep Individuals with Cognitive Impairments Safe

With the older adult population doubling by 2030, Los Angeles County is taking a proactive approach to address the growing concern of wandering of individuals with cognitive impairments. Attendees will learn about this multi-departmental approach and learn best practices that can be used to replicate similar programs that support families and caregivers with locative technology.

  • Cinthie Lopez Paz – Los Angeles County Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services Human Services Administrator I

Presentation

Step-Up Empower Youth

The Step Up Program has made a difference in various capacities with our Youth in Tulare County. Especially those who have been and continue to be at risk for drugs, gangs, and homelessness. Step Up has multiple programs for the youth including #LEAD, #GROW, Loop Bus, Summer Night Lights, Youth Challenge, and Youth Committee.

  • Jacob Jimenez – Tulare County HHSA Administrative Specilaist II

  • Anita Ortiz – Tulare County HHSA Director of Human Services