|
+ Executive Director's Column
+ Welcome to our Newest Member Agency
+Evolution of the SOS Program
+ ProDev Training Series Takes Off
+ Workshop Presenters Needed
+ Corporate/Business Sponsorships are Smart
| |
From Our Executive Director | |
|
Dear CAFCA Colleagues and Friends,
In the midst of so many changes and unpredictabilities in our field, we are more focused than ever on advocacy at the state and federal levels. Thanks to all of you who are able to attend zoom meetings on rules and state issues- your input and expertise is critical and so valuable. Our lobbyist Benjamin Teevan continues to work closely with legislators and policy makers in a particularly challenging budget year.
If there is a silver lining- it is that so many legislators understand the importance what you all do for children and families every day, and they are absolutely trying to protect the funding that makes your work possible.
Here is the link to all of the bills CAFCA is watching and actively weighing in on. This link updates in live time, so it reflects the most current actions: https://fastdemocracy.com/shared-bills/?sharing-bill-list-id=kbfVkjYKLlix
| |
|
Our CAFCA Legislative Day at the Capitol was cancelled last week due to the snow storm, and we are working to get a new date for that, so stay tuned. We really need as many of you as possible to come meet your legislators and help us make the case to defend against Medicaid cuts.
We are also joining a new statewide coalition that is forming to advocate against Medicaid cuts. This coalition is being led by Speak Our Minds, a national youth mental health effort based here in Colorado and led by our colleague and friend, Heidi Baskfield. I will keep you all posted about how we can help with those efforts. In the meantime, visit www.speakourminds.org to follow Heidi's really interesting and informative Podcasts and for other information about the Colorado Children's Mental Health Lawsuit and Settlement agreement currently in place.
You all are doing incredible work showing up for kids and families every day and I am so grateful for ALL that you do. We will continue working hard to support your work for children!
| |
CAFCA Welcomes Newest Member | |
|
CAFCA is honored to welcome the newest addition to our growing list of member agencies. Over the course of the past 22 years, Firefly Autism, headquartered in Lakewood, has become one of the nation’s most respected treatment centers for individuals living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), effectively changing the landscape of behavioral and mental health.
Working with individuals from 18 months to over 70-years of age, Firefly utilizes a person-centered approach to Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy and offers a wide range of services through individualized behavior plans and instructional goals that meet the client’s interests, values, and support needs.
Additionally, Firefly offers K-12 educational services at its main campus in Lakewood, while also providing in-home and clinic-based services for individuals in southern Colorado who are on the spectrum through learning, support and solutions offered at their Colorado Springs campus.
Under the leadership of Dr. Amanda Kelly, Firefly continues to grow and expand their continuum of care to meet the needs of a growing autism community. Regarding the decision to join CAFCA, Kelly said, "We are honored to partner with an organization that makes such a meaningful impact on our community and deeply value the opportunities CAFCA brings to Firefly."
CAFCA Executive Director Becky Miller Updike knows all too well that the climate for non-profit care agencies and treatment centers has become volatile and uncertain. As a result, alliances are more important than ever before to ensure direct-care organizations can continue providing essential services to the community.
She added, “In the past, CAFCA has fought for funding for our member agencies, for better laws to protect our more vulnerable kids and families and for a safer world where all children are protected. Now, we’re fighting for the survival of our profession, and with each new organization that joins CAFCA, we become stronger. And so do they. Firefly understands that, and we’re honored to have them with us.”
Visit our website for more information on CAFCA membership. If you still have questions about CAFCA membership opportunities for your organization, contact us via email here.
| |
The Evolution of the SOS Program | |
|
After nearly a year of planning and careful coordination, what was once just a small part of a piece of legislation had finally come to fruition, right on schedule. Well, almost on schedule.
The Shared Operational Services (SOS) program was born from a mandate that was part of a grant awarded to CAFCA by the Colorado Dept of Education (CDE). Terms of the grant included the creation of a program that would support Colorado Facility Schools through discount purchasing initiatives for essential goods and services, while allowing schools to acquire new services in a shared capacity.
After a great deal of research, we decided to partner with the National Back Office Cooperative (NBOC), a non-profit social enterprise specializing in reducing expenses and promoting financial sustainability for nonprofit organizations. Following months of building and customizing the new program and a rigorous testing phase to ensure the program delivered the kinds of savings we had hoped for, it was time to launch SOS and make it available to all 33 of Colorado’s Facility Schools.
Participation in the new program was initially slow, but word started to spread and there are now 16 schools receiving all the benefits and advantages the program offers, including an average overall savings of between 15 and 35%. Purchases made through the SOS program also come with free, next-day delivery.
The next phase of the evolution of the program is the acquisition of vendors to provide services to multiple facilities in a variety of areas including custodial/grounds maintenance, IT tech support, nursing and various therapeutic capacities. We are also seeking corporate sponsors to support the program. To find out more about the new SOS program, click here.
| |
ProDev Training Series Takes Off | |
|
What originated as a once-a-year training event for the CAFCA annual conference has grown into a monthly series that has taken the child welfare community by storm. The ProDev Professional Development Training Series features monthly virtual workshops on a variety of topics relevant to professions in the child welfare and mental health arenas, presented by top industry professionals who have extensive expertise and knowledge on a specific topic.
These virtual workshops happen on the third Wednesday of each month from 1p to 2p on the Zoom or other similar platforms, offering the convenience of attending from your home, office or just about anywhere, for that matter. The workshops are well suited for individuals seeking to advance their careers or simply hone their existing skill set, and each participant receives one full hour of certification for attending the training.
Workshops have covered a wide range of relevant topics, including safety across a continuum of care, maintaining self-care in such a high-stress profession, trauma-responsive approaches to building connections, and fostering adolescent skills through mentoring, along with several others. Upcoming topics will cover various ways to prepare for the adoption process, creating a trauma-informed classroom, how to be truly resilient, and so much more.
Sessions are currently free to attend but increasing administrative and overhead costs make it inevitable that fees will eventually need to be incurred beginning mid-year, although the workshops will continue to be free of charge for CAFCA member agencies and their staff for the foreseeable future. You can find the full list of upcoming workshops as well as more information and registration on our website here.
| |
Share Your Knowledge and Expertise. | |
|
The Dalai Lama once said, “Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.”
The success of the ProDev training series is due, in large part, to the caliber of the professionals presenting the workshops. It requires us to continue tapping into the pool of qualified candidates, which just might include YOU. If you have knowledge and expertise on a topic relevant to the child welfare or mental health communities, you could be a workshop presenter for an upcoming training. And who knows? You just might become immortal in the process.
The first step is to complete our simple application, after which we will review the qualifications of each applicant to determine if they’re a good fit for the ProDev series. Currently, presenters are not compensated for their time, but that may change as we acquire sponsors and funding to support the program. Regardless, it’s fun, and it’s a great way to pass on your knowledge to help advance the careers of other professionals. To access the application, click here.
| |
Business Sponsorships: A Wise Decision | |
|
Partnerships and sponsorships are ideal ways to help change the lives of so many children and families, whose lives are impacted by the work of CAFCA as well as our member agencies. The advantages of becoming a sponsor are numerous. For your business, sponsorships help to promote a positive brand while increasing brand awareness and enhancing the customer experience. They also allow you to reach a wider demographic. For CAFCA, they help maintain continuous operations while providing a fluid funding source for events and other projects that allow us to fulfill our mission.
Support from our sponsors and partners helps us produce our annual conference and sustain the high quality of our primary programs, including the ProDev Professional Training Series and the SOS Group Purchasing Program. In fact, without that support, our annual conference would not be possible. That’s why we make sure that our sponsors receive the highest possible value for their support. Our conference, our advocacy work and our primary programs bring hundreds of professionals into our midst, all of whom will know of your generosity in supporting the work of CAFCA. By becoming a sponsor, you make all of that possible, and you become a part of the team of amazing professionals who change the lives of at-risk children and families!
CAFCA offers several different sponsorship levels as well as customized sponsorships, with levels to fit just about any budget. More information is on our website. Still have questions? Send an email here.
| | | | |
