Conference on Child Maltreatment, Welfare & Dependency

My friend Jerrod Brown and his organization the American Institute for the Advancement of Forensic Studies is planning another event that I highly recommend.  Judge Tony Wartnik who is an expert on FASD will be presenting at the conference and he is really cool!  I will also be on a panel as well- what else could you ask for?? :)  I have cut and pasted the info here as I can't figure out how to get the flyer on my blog.  Email me if you would like me to send you the flyer and registration form.

Here are the details:

FIRST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON CHILD MALTREATMENT, WELFARE AND DEPENDENCY:

ABANDONMENT, NEGLECT AND ABUSE INCLUDING SCALDED AND SHAKEN BABY, AND OTHER FORMS OF CHILD ABUSE

Seminar Date: April 25, 2012 8:30am-4:30pm

 6.5 hours of continuing education credits

Presenter: Judge Tony Wartnik (Author, Educator, FASD Expert)

The 1st Annual Conference on Child Maltreatment, Welfare and Dependency, to be presented April 25, 2012 will provide an overview of the federal and state laws that govern the work of child protective services, the courts, and alternatives to dependency proceedings such as Child in Need of Services (CHINS), At Risk Youth (ARY), Truancy (BECCA in the State of Washington), Guardianships and Open Adoptions.  This conference will also focus on Minnesota specific laws related to the child welfare system.   It will also identify and analyze the burning issues we are faced with today, including FASD and other areas involving children and parents with special needs.  We will use case studies in order to gain insight as to the type of issues that arise in child welfare cases and the chronology of case processing and decision making deadlines.  In addition, the relationship between Child Welfare and Family Law will be discussed along with best practices, such as the use of Unified Family Law Courts, for dealing effectively with issues involving children caught up in child welfare non-offender cases, delinquency cases and family law litigation or a combination of these court proceedings.  In addition, audience members will learn more about the various forms of child maltreatment and the risk factors associated with them.    

Professional Panel Discussion: During the later portion of the conference, there will be a professional panel discussion involving members from various professions that relate to the Child Welfare System.  These professionals will be discussing their experience working within this system and answering questions from the audience.

Training Objectives:

1) Learn about the roots of the government’s role in child welfare and the fundamental principles that guide our child welfare policy.
2) Acquire an understanding of the child welfare/dependency court system, the goal of reunification, the role of the various players in a dependency proceeding, and the relationship between the dependency system and family law.
3) Identify the conditions precedent to a determination that a child is dependent (e.g.), abandoned, neglected or maltreated and understand the relationship between FASD and related conditions, in light of recent changes in the CAPTA law.
4) Examine the time line for processing dependency cases and the role of the federal government in the enforcement of the time lines.
5) Learn about role of substance abuse, lack of anger management, mental illness, FASD, and other disorders in child dependency cases.
6) Acquire knowledge about scalded babies, shaken baby syndrome and other forms of child abuse and how FASD relates to these behaviors.
7) Know the types of services that parents and children can be ordered to participate in that are aimed at identifying the conditions leading to the dependency action.
8) Understand the primary goal of effectuating reunification of the family unit.
9) Become knowledgeable about termination of parental rights, the burdens of proof for dependency and termination rulings.


Location: Holiday Inn St. Paul East 2201 Burns Avenue St. Paul, MN 55119 651-731-2220
Cost: $50.00 (Individual Rate)
Registration Form (form on back)
Additional Info: Jerrod Brown Cell: 651-734-5517 Email: Jerrod01Brown@Hotmail.com


Presenter’s Biography:
Anthony P. (Tony) Wartnik served as a trial judge for 34 years, almost 25 years on the Superior Court in Seattle, retiring in 2005 as the senior judge. He served as Dean Emeritus of the Washington Judicial College, chaired the Judicial College Board of Trustees, and the Washington Supreme Court’s Education Committee. Judge Wartnik chaired a task force to establish protocols for determining competency of youth with organic brain damage and the Governor’s Advisory Panel on FAS/FAE. In addition, he chaired the Family and Juvenile Court Committees and the Family Law Department of the King County Superior Court, as well as the Sealed Adoption Files Committee. In the latter capacity, Judge Wartnik was responsible for creating the current protocols and policy for the determination of when sealed adoption files can be opened and the appointment of confidential intermediaries (“C.I.s”).

Judge Wartnik is the Legal Director for FASD Experts, the first multidisciplinary forensic FASD diagnostic team in the United States, and a consultant to the Fetal Alcohol and Drug Unit (FADU) at the University of Washington, School of Medicine. He received both his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Washington and its School of Law, has attended National Judicial College courses on managing complex mental health cases and managing death penalty cases, participated in SAMSHA’s Training the Trainers Program, and provides annual FASD scientific research updates. Tony is an internationally known speaker and author on the topic of FASD and the courts.