SWAN/IL Winter Statewide Meeting Kicks Off 2022

The 2022 SWAN/IL Winter Statewide Meeting was held January 26-27. Originally planned to be both an in-person and virtual event, the prime contractor and OCYF decided to pivot the event to be virtual as a safety precaution during the recent Omicron surge of COVID-19.

The meeting opened in usual form with morning updates from OCYF, IL, and the prime contract. These updates can be found online in the 2022 SWAN/IL Winter Administrative Updates.

The general session was titled “Partnering for Permanency: Engaging Youth and Providers,” and was presented by Denise Goodman, Ph.D. Ms. Goodman has 40 years of child welfare experience and currently serves as President of the Board of the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC). The session focused on the critical need to engage providers and youth in achieving permanency, as well as strategies to connect, engage and build relationships that promote permanency. Ms. Goodman shared insightful practice tips gathered throughout her extensive career in child welfare. She also shared personal stories and anecdotes to help illustrate the creative ways workers can engage with youth who may be hesitant about opening up to permanency. The session encouraged reflection on the immeasurable role permanency plays in a youth’s life. After the morning session, the meeting offered an additional 13 sessions on a variety of permanency-related topics.

Though we weren’t able to be together in person, more than 1,000 members of the network attended the meeting online. We are thankful for the ability to still come together virtually to work on behalf of Pennsylvania’s children and families.

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend, and we look forward to seeing you at the Spring Quarterly Meetings!