‘Nurturing Families’ Focus of UA Social Work-Sponsored Conference

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama School of Social Work will host its 14^th Annual Fall Social Work Conference Aug. 27-28.

The two-day conference, “Cultivating Permanency: Nurturing Successful Families Through Interprofessional Collaborations,” will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in downtown Tuscaloosa.

Among the conference speakers is Charles Wilson, senior director of the Chadwick Center for Children and Families and the Sam and Rose Stein Endowed Chair in Child Protection at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego.

In this role, Wilson oversees a large multi-service child and family maltreatment organization providing prevention, intervention, medical assessment, and trauma treatment services along with professional education and research.

Wilson also serves as the director of the California Evidenced-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare, under contract with the California Department of Social Services.

The conference is jointly sponsored by The University of Alabama School of Social Work and the Alabama Department of Human Resources.

“This conference has a long history of providing top-notch training to social service and child welfare workers across the state of Alabama and beyond,” said Dr. Vikki Vandiver, dean of the UA School of Social Work.

“The Fall Conference is considered our signature conference and is recognized for its high-quality presentations delivered by nationally recognized experts in their fields,” Vandiver said. “It represents the best in partnership between The University of Alabama School of Social Work and the Department of Human Resources.”

In addition to Wilson, other keynote speakers at the conference will include: Dr. Tracey Barnett, UA School of Social Work alumna and a Council on Social Work Education Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Minority Fellow; Sharon Behrens, adoptive and foster parent who discovered the ability of children to heal through her own experience in raising “Mia,” whose journey from troubled child to a caring, productive woman has been documented in literary accounts and aired on the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” and “The Early Show” with Harry Smith.

The conference will also feature breakout sessions, and Continuing Education Units will be provided.

The cost for the two-day conference is $120, and, for one day, $75. Detailed conference information is available on the School of Social Work’s website at http://socialwork.ua.edu/.

For more information on conference registration, contact Kristy Holt at krholt@sw.ua.edu or 205/348-0753.