July 30, 2019
July 2019 Issue
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Supporting Case Management in a Humanitarian Setting
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The meeting, sponsored by the
Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action
, the International Rescue Committee, and the
USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
, focused on rolling out the organizations' training on Child Protection Case Management Supervision and Coaching. The training addressed developing clear pathways for supervisors to support the work of their case management teams to retain a qualified workforce that can mobilize in emergency situations. Moving forward, participants identified barriers in explaining the benefits of social work, utilizing local expertise, and convincing the government to appropriately invest in case management.
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Improving Our Foster Care System
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On Tuesday, July 16, ISS-USA's Fund Development and Communications Fellow, Cameron Stiles, traveled to Washington, DC to attend a Congressional Briefing on the issues facing the U.S. foster care and child welfare system. The briefing, hosted by the
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute
(CCAI), featured members of the CCAI’s
Foster Youth Internship (FYI) Program
, who are all alumni of the U.S. foster care system. The FYI interns presented their policy proposals to members of Congress and their staff on a host of topics ranging from improving education prospects for foster youth, resolving permanency and stability problems, to supporting kinship placements.
With thousands of children in our foster care system, it is important to hear the perspectives of youth who have experienced shortcomings of our current system. The FYI interns will go on to present their policy proposals to audiences at the White House, Department of Health and Human Services, and leaders in the private sector.
ISS-USA helps children in the U.S. foster care system connect with family abroad. To learn more, visit the
Services for Children
page of our website.
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TCS New York Marathon Runner Spotlight: Bobby Harris
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Bobby decided to run for Team ISS-USA because, as a nurse practitioner, he has witnessed the negative long term effects of prolonged family separation on children. He joined team ISS-USA to support ISS-USA's continued service to families and children who have been separated by international borders. He is hopeful that, through his support, ISS-USA will be able to connect more families with the services they need. To learn more about why Bobby is running for Team ISS-USA or to donate to his campaign, visit his
fundraising page
.
To learn more about the services ISS-USA provides to vulnerable children and families separated by international borders, check out our
services
page.
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Early Bird Registration is OPEN Now!
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The registration page for ISS-USA's
Beyond Separation: Protecting Cross Border Families
Conference is now up! This year's conference is a two day event co-hosted by the
University of Maryland School of Social Work
covering how legal, judicial, social service, and advocacy professionals share and implement best practices to protect the long term safety of cross-border children and families. Day one of the conference is a full-day training institute designed to skill-build on cross-border child welfare. Day two is a full day conference comprised of expert panels that explore planning for the safety of vulnerable children.
You can register now until August 31st to take advantage of our special early bird discount. For more information, please check out our
event page
.
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ISS-USA Welcomes Two New Interns
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This month, ISS-USA welcomed two new interns, Ema Makas Fund Development and Communications Intern, and Tracey Fann, Case Management Intern.
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Ema Makas
is ISS-USA's new Fund Development and Communications Intern. Ema comes to ISS-USA from the
University of Baltimore,
where she is pursuing her Master's degree in Global Affairs and Human Security. Previously, Ema earned her BA in Political Science and Journalism CERT from the
University of Buffalo
. Her past experiences include working as a staff writer at the University of Buffalo's Spectrum Newspaper and collaborating with Lawrence Titzler to publish his personal memoir,
A Local Boy Goes to War: Memories of World War II.
Following her graduation from University of Baltimore, Ema plans to attend law school to focus on her passion for international law.
Ema is originally from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ema's parents moved with her and her brother to the United States in the early 2000s for education. She is beyond grateful and proud of her achievements thus far. Ema is thrilled to be working for ISS-USA.
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Tracey Fann
is ISS-USA's new Case Management Intern. Tracey also studies at the University of Baltimore, where she's working towards a master's degree in Global Affairs and Human Security as well as a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from
Johns Hopkins University
. Tracey is an active member on the program committee with the
Syrian Culture House
, a nonprofit based out of Washington, DC and Virginia. In her free time, Tracey works on her art, studies Arabic, and loves to travel. Her favorite regions to travel to are the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
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Do you know what "case management" is?" Case management is how ISS-USA reunites families all over the World every day. To learn more, read our
July blog
!
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The ISS-USA staff worked hard this month packing up everything from our Light Street office to move to our new location on North Charles Street. It was quite a project packing up everything from our computers to our office plants! We are settling well into our new home at 1120 North Charles Street, Baltimore. Please be mindful not to send anything important to our old mailing address!
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ISS-USA recently helped lawyers at the
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
close out an international family case. One lawyer at the DOJ had this to say about our case workers:
"Thank you very much for the call and information. You have been incredibly helpful. We will use this help to close out our case."
To learn more about the services ISS-USA provides to children separated from their family,
click here
.
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ATTENTION SPONSORS AND EXHIBITORS!
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Attention social workers in MICHIGAN,
NEW HAMPSHIRE, IOWA, KENTUCKY and INDIANA:
we want to hear from you!
ISS-USA is looking for social workers to complete occasional assessments with families in your state. We will provide you with guidance throughout the work and you will help us directly serve families who are seeking to care for their relative children in another state or country. Check out the description
here
. Please contact Elaine Weisman at
eweisman@iss-usa.org
for more information.
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