Texas Child Care Administrators Conference
In Person, November 8-10, 2021
Did you attend the 2020 conference and miss seeing your colleagues in person? Or did you participate virtually and secretly love wearing your slippers while in a break-out session? Are you new to the conference and wondering what all the hype is about?
Whatever your situation, you do not want to miss the 2021 Texas Child Care Administrators Conference – the largest conference in Texas that connects over 1200 child welfare professionals with the latest information and training on effectively delivering quality care to the children, youth, and families they serve.
As we emerge from a very challenging 2020, we find renewed strength in our shared experiences. Through Powering Connectivity, community organizations have continued to be at the forefront of creativity and innovation in serving the children, youth, and families of Texas!
So please join us as we come together for high-level training, professional networking, and lots of fun! As always, 15 pre-approved hours of continuing education are offered for LCCA and LPCAA license types. This year’s event will be held in person at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel on November 8-10.
A Vision for Child Welfare in Texas
JooYeun Chang is the acting assistant secretary and principal deputy assistant secretary at the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She joined the Biden Administration in February 2021 after serving as the senior deputy director at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Services Agency, where she oversaw the state’s child welfare system, including Children’s Protective Services, the foster care system, adoption services and juvenile justice programs.
Prior to her work in the Michigan state government, Chang served as a managing director at Casey Family Programs, the nation’s largest operating foundation focused on improving the child welfare system. She has led work to identify, develop and disseminate information about the most promising best practices in child welfare.
She previously served as head of the Children’s Bureau in the Administration for Children of Families; the Children’s Bureau is the first federal agency to focus exclusively on improving the lives of children and families. There, she administered more than $7 billion in federal programming to support national child protection, foster care, guardianship and adoption programs.
Chang earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from North Carolina State University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami School of Law.
Navigating These Overwhelming Times
Laura van Dernoot Lipsky is the founder and director of The Trauma Stewardship Institute and author of Trauma Stewardship and The Age of Overwhelm. Widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of trauma exposure, she has worked locally, nationally, and internationally for more than three decades.
The book, Trauma Stewardship, was written at the request of fellow colleagues. In 2005, she traveled to post-Katrina New Orleans to help in the aftermath. As Laura was coming to the end of her time there, residents asked if she had anything in writing to leave for them. She did not, but the palpable need for resources on trauma exposure compelled her to collaborate with others to write and independently
publish Trauma Stewardship in 2007. Several thousand copies were sold out of her basement. The book immediately was nominated for and received international award recognition and went on to become a bestseller.
Transforming the System: Moving Beyond Trauma and Toward Resilience, Equity, and Health
Dr. Isaiah Pickens is the founder and CEO of iOpening Enterprises, a professional development and media company that specializes in building the capacity of individuals and organizations to unlock their potential using psychological science, implementation best practices, and inspirational media. In this capacity, Dr. Pickens has developed the Bridge Trauma-Informed Culturally- Responsive (TICR) Program, a multi-day professional development program for educators that provides a practical toolkit for managing youth traumatic stress responses in the school setting. Additionally, Dr. Pickens has developed a curriculum for justice professionals as well as organizations across sectors to promote workplace wellness through a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lens. As a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leader and Fellow, Dr. Pickens works collaboratively with cross-sector scholars and practitioners to promote a culture of health in America.
Dr. Pickens currently sits on the National Board for Communities In Schools (CIS) and has been awarded by the American Psychological Association Early Career Achievement Award and the Black Enterprise BE Modern Man award for his contributions to the field of psychology. As former Assistant Director at the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress—the coordinating site of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), and a former clinical assistant professor at NYU School of Medicine, Dr. Pickens has built a reputation as a national trauma expert and shares practical science-informed lessons about mental wellness with audiences around the world. Dr. Pickens aims to continue working toward systemic change and unlocking people’s potential by moving the world from happy to healthy through psychological science.
Creating Lasting Change: Collective Perspectives from Women of Color with Lived Experience in Foster Care
Creating Lasting Change: Collective Perspectives from Women of Color with Lived Experience in Foster Care
Ángela Quijada-Banks is a Holistic purpose coach and NAACP Image Award Nominated, American author of the best-selling book, The Black Foster Youth Handbook , Founder of Soulful Liberation which started as a podcast to support young people with trauma navigate their healing journey during the pandemic and has expanded into a movement where she aims to empower others to channel their hurt through art, storytelling or book publishing! As a transformational speaker and artist, she has impacted thousands with her message to alchemize your pain to purpose and power. Ángela is a scholar at Legacy Holistic Health Institute studying Holistic Health and healing through medicinal herbs. Through her everyday work with helping young people uncover their divine purpose, performing spoken word events, facilitating workshops, and political advisory to legislators across the nation, she aims to aid in a revolutionary change in the areas of holistic health, economic injustices, child-welfare disparities, cultural awareness and identity within low-wealth communities of color both on a micro and macro level.
Creating Lasting Change: Collective Perspectives from Women of Color with Lived Experience in Foster Care
Semico Parson is a former foster care youth who aged out of care at the age 18. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA and holds a master’s degree in Public Health. She also has a 10-year-old daughter named Spirit who brings her so much joy! When Semico is not speaking about her experiences of being in childcare, she enjoys traveling, being a dance mom-ager, Toastmasters, facilitating discussions, conducting trainings, and mentoring other foster children and adults. The ultimate job for Semico would be to work alongside her daughter in the future for NASA.
Favorite Quote: “The only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them.” Mrs. Michelle Obama in her book Becoming
Transforming Child Welfare in the US: Co-Designing Solutions to Shift System Dynamics
Sixto has been advocating for change at the intersection of child welfare and advanced technology since the age of 16. Sixto has amplified national conversations around data in child welfare, assembled stakeholders from diverse disciplines and delivered concrete results for the field. He will provide his take on the national landscape, state innovation with regard to serving youth, and what he’s encouraged by.