News From the Field (FALL 2022)
National child welfare policy, practice and research
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Last year, our team began planning a community symposium about the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a decades-old federal child welfare law which garnered renewed attention as a result of a case set to challenge whether the law is constitutional. On November 9, 2022, the United States Supreme Court will hear challenges to ICWA in the Haaland v. Brackeen case. Recognizing the critical importance of ICWA and its impact on child welfare practice, our team planned a 2-part symposium series, focusing on the history, impact and challenge to ICWA from a range of experts. Our hope is that the symposium series will allow participants to learn more about the law from tribal law experts, engage with the practice of ICWA from the perspective of advocates and government officials and understand the potential implications of the Supreme Court case.
In this issue, you can read about our first webinar in the series which was held in September. We’ve included information about the upcoming oral arguments and a second webinar scheduled for later this fall. You’ll also hear about other exciting work that the Field Center is conducting this academic year, including our ongoing “Foster Care to College” initiative that aims to increase the number of young people with foster care experience that attend and complete college, and hear from a few of the graduate students currently studying with the Field Center’s Multidisciplinary Student Training Institute.
The start of the school year at Penn always brings with it a renewed sense of engagement, intellectual curiosity and optimism. I am always heartened to engage with students seeking interdisciplinary solutions to some of the most pressing challenges in our field. We are proud to provide an environment where exploration, debate, and learning can thrive not only across but among disciplines. We hope you will take the time to learn more about our initiatives and we welcome the opportunity to share our work with you.
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Kara R. Finck
Practice Professor of Law, Director of Interdisciplinary Child Advocacy Clinic
Faculty Director, The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
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FIELD CENTER HOSTS FIRST SESSION OF ICWA SYMPOSIUM SERIES |
On September 29, the Field Center held its first session of the Fall Symposium Series: The History & Future of the Indian Child Welfare Act. This first session, “Background and Implementation of the Law, ” featured Professor Kara Finck of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Field Center Faculty Director as moderator and the following panelists: Kimberly Cluff, Legal Director of the California Tribal Families Coalition; Nikki Farago, Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services; and Sheldon Spotted-Elk, Senior Director for Judicial and National Engagement at Casey Family Programs.
Each panelist presented practical information on how ICWA impacts their work, the work of their organizations and/or their state’s practices. Some highlights include Cluff sharing innovative approaches to legal representation as well as some information on bills in California that integrate tribal decision-making at the core of adoption practices; Spotted-Elk discussing the history of ICWA courts and why ICWA is considered the “gold standard of child welfare”; and Farago sharing information on bills and initiatives that Minnesota is undertaking to implement ICWA in person-centered and trauma-informed ways by partnering with tribes.
Register here for Session 2 of the series, scheduled for Thursday, December 1, 2022 from 2:00 – 3:30 PM EST. This session will focus on debriefing the upcoming Supreme Court case and discussing the impacts of Brackeen v. Haaland on ICWA. Supreme Court oral arguments are scheduled for November 9, 2022 and Live Oral Argument Audio is available online here.
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CWLA profiles Field Center in “Member Highlight” |
In the September issue of CWLA’s Networker, Managing Faculty Director Dr. Johanna Greeson sits with Riva Reed, Associate Director of Membership, to talk about the Field Center’s work.
The discussion covers our unique interdisciplinary approach, Dr. Greeson’s natural mentoring intervention (Caring Adults ‘R’ Everywhere), our research in Kenya this fall, and more!
Click here to read the full interview. |
Our vital work depends on you |
To assure the well-being of abused and neglected children and ensure that children are loved, nurtured, and families have access to the resources they need to thrive, please consider a donation to the Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research.
All donations will be generously matched by the Joseph and Marie Field Foundation. 100% of your donation supports our critical work.
To learn more about how you can support our work, please contact the SP2 Director of Institutional Advancement Bart Miltenberger at miltenbe@upenn.edu or 215-573-5624."
For more information click
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Stay Connected and Stay Informed
Stay up to date with the latest in child welfare by following the Field Center on social media. Click the buttons below to follow The Field Center:
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Upcoming Child Welfare Conferences
2023 NCJFCJ National Conference on Juvenile Justice
March 19-22, 2023
Addison, TX
41st Annual National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) Protecting Our Children Conference
April 4-5, 2023
Reno, NV
The 23rd National Children’s Bureau Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect Doing Things Differently: Moving from the Challenge to the Change
April 11-13; April 18-20, 2023
Virtual
CWLA 2023 National Conference: Stronger Together-Uniting to Advance Change
April 26-28, 2023
Washington, DC
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BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS: SUPPORTING FOSTER YOUTH TO SUCCEED IN HIGHER EDUCATION |
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Earlier this month, the Field Center’s Program Manager, Sarah Wasch, joined over 700 participants from around the nation at the biennial Blueprint for Foster Youth College & Career Success Conference in Los Angeles, CA. Returning after a hiatus due to COVID, attendees were overjoyed to finally gather again in person for 2 days of dynamic learning opportunities. As a member of Fostering Academic Achievement Nationwide (FAAN), the Field Center was also represented at the day-long pre-conference convening, where representatives from 19 states shared best practices and strategies for increasing college attendance and completion for students with foster care experience.
Conference highlights included Community Conversations, where advocates gathered to discuss opportunities for growth and impact, and a deep-dive into Financial Aid and Satisfactory Academic Progress, with attention to recommendations to improve student success. FAAN Members worked together to develop a shared agenda and a plan to include more states in the network. Thank you to John Burton Advocates for Youth for hosting this wonderful conference!
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WHERE IS THE CODE OF ETHICS IN CHILD WELFARE?
By Meghan Chasar, MSW Graduate Student
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As a recent BSW graduate, my studies have been guided by the National Social Work Association’s Code of Ethics. These professional standards are intended to serve as a guide to the everyday professional conduct of social workers. The Code is relevant to all social workers and students, regardless of professional functions, settings in which they work, or populations they serve. The social work profession’s mission is rooted in a set of core values, which are the foundation of social work’s unique purpose and perspective.
As I am immersing myself in the world of child welfare, I am learning that social workers in this field are responsible for knowing and complying with local, state, and federal legislations, regulations, and policies. Yet in my studies thus far, it appears that legal and regulatory guidelines and practices may conflict with the best interests of a child and/or family at times. Child welfare social workers may be directed to the NASW Ethical Principles if conflicts arise among competing expectations.
Curious how these values would manifest, for each of the six values provided by the NASW (Service, Social Justice, Dignity and Worth of the Person, Importance of Human Relationships, Integrity, Competence) I reflected on how they are embodied in child welfare practice…
Click here to read Meghan’s reactions to these values as a new scholar in child welfare.
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A CALL TO ACTION TO CHANGE CHILD WELFARE
By Em Brandon, Field Center MSW Student
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From October 3rd through October 6th MSW student intern Em Brandon attended the International Virtual Conference: A Call to Action to Change Child Welfare. The Kempe Center puts on the conference yearly, this year featuring over 100 workshops focusing on different subject tracks like Community Well-Being; Child, Youth, Parent and Family Advocacy; and Social, Racial and Family Justice. Those who attend the conference have access to the session video archive for a year following, allowing participants to view all sessions.
One of the featured keynotes was called SOUL Family- A Proposed Permanency Pathway for Youth in Foster Care. Presenters Patricia Chin and Sonia Emerson from the Annie E. Casey Foundation explained how young people in foster care deserve permanency after aging out of care, but that the current system makes children choose between family or system supports. The proposed plan that SOUL Family describes was created by youth with experience in foster care and outlines a way for the youth to remain in contact with their biological family, have access to legal relationships that last after age 18, and still have access to resources and supports that they would lose through the “permanency” of adoption or reunification. Read more here about the SOUL Family plan.
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IN LIGHT OF FULTON V. CITY OF PHILADELPHIA – WHAT COMES NEXT?
By Jamie Suk, Field Center Lerner Fellow in Child Welfare Policy
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What should happen if a foster care agency refuses to certify same sex parents because of the agency’s religious beliefs? If, as a result, the foster care agency is stripped of their services, does this constitute a violation of rights? In 2020, the Supreme Court heard a case, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, in which Catholic Social Services (CSS), a foster care agency, sued the City of Philadelphia, which had barred CSS from providing foster care services because of CSS’s policy of not licensing same-sex couples to be foster parents. The City of Philadelphia had offered CSS a new contract enforcing its Fair Practices Ordinance, which bars discriminatory practices in areas of employment, public accommodations and housing. The City of Philadelphia terminated its contract with CSS after CSS’s refusal to adopt this new contract. CSS claimed that by doing so, the City of Philadelphia violated CSS’s right to free exercise of religion and free speech. After a series of legal battles and appeals, in 2021, the Supreme Court held that the City of Philadelphia had indeed violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
Fulton was expected by legal scholars to be a landmark case on the intersection between religious freedom and LGBTQ rights. In actuality, following the ruling, the case had little legal impact because it was found on narrow grounds, circumventing the issue of LGBTQ inclusivity altogether…
Click here to read Jamie’s full article on Fulton’s impact on child welfare.
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Through the Multidisciplinary Student Training Institute, The Field Center provides research, internship and field placement opportunities for selected students across multiple disciplines. Students receive training, career mentorship, and hands-on work experience within the field of child welfare. Meet our newest students here: |
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Jamie Suk is a J.D. Candidate in her third year at Penn Law and is the 2022-2023 Lerner Fellow in Child Welfare Policy at the Field Center. During her second year at Penn Law, Jamie participated in the Interdisciplinary Child Advocacy Clinic with Field Center Faculty Director Kara Finck. Through the clinic, Jamie worked with and represented youth in the child welfare system on dependency cases. Jamie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Government from Cornell University in 2014.
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Meghan Chasar is an Advanced Standing Macro MSS student at Bryn Mawr's Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. She joined the Field Center in September of 2022. Meghan completed her BSW at Gwynedd Mercy University and in her senior year was inducted into the Phi Alpha Honor Society for social work. While earning her BSW, Meghan completed an internship at the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services.
Read Jamie and Meghan’s full bios on our website here.
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FIELD CENTER RECENT PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS & GRANTS |
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Program Manager Sarah Wasch facilitated a three-session workshop track on foster care and higher education at the 2022 Paving the Way to Educational Success Conference, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Education held in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and Center for Schools and Communities.
Faculty Director Kara Finck presented a session titled “Mothers, Nurses & Lawyers: An Innovative Interdisciplinary Partnership to Support Families” at the Kempe Center 2022 International Virtual Conference: A Call to Action to Change Child Welfare.
Faculty Director Kara Finck was a Plenary Panelist at the National Association of Counsel for Children’s National Child Welfare Law Conference. The plenary topic was “Youth-Led Advocacy and Partnerships to Promote Enhanced Legal Representation, Improved Client Outcomes, and Systemic Reform.”
Faculty Director Dr. Cindy Christian provided a virtual presentation for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration and Emergency Care Research Institute titled “Identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect: The role of health centers and free clinics”
Faculty Director Dr. Cindy Christian gave a talk titled “Improving collaboration to enhance child protection” at the Barnafrid Symposium on child abuse and quality improvement at Linköping University in Linköping, Sweden.
Field Center experts recently published the following:
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Protecting Children, Preserving Dreams |
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