Webinar #1 – Maintaining Connections Through Virtual Family Time – recorded April 2, 2020
In the time of COVID-19 we have to change – not discontinue – our methods of maintaining connections between children who are in out of home care and their family. This webinar provides information on the current visitation directives from the federal Administration for Children and Families, DCYF and the Washington Supreme Court. Rose Wentz will address considerations for the effective delivery of Family Time using technology – including adjusting visit frequency and length and examples of best practices given a child’s age and developmental needs.
Materials for Webinar #1
- Virtual Visits Recommendations and Resources 042020 – by Rose Wentz
- Long Distance Activities for Parents – Wentz
- Virtual Family Time Wentz Slides
To receive CLE credit for watching the RECORDED webinar, go to your MyWSBA account and search the MCLE section for recorded activity #1140923.
For judicial officers seeking CJE credits for watching the RECORDED webinar, please fill out the CJE Request Form – Maintaining Connections Through Virtual Family Time form as “Self-Study”, and submit the form to Phil Zitzelman at phil.zitzelman@courts.wa.gov.
Webinar #2 – Strategies for Maintaining a Child’s Connections During COVID-19: What Caregivers, Professionals, and Providers Need to Know About Supporting Family Connections – recorded on April 28, 2020
This webinar provides guidance for changing in-person Family Time plans, including visit frequency and length, to ensure that virtual visits are successful and tailored to children’s developmental needs and abilities. Tips for engaging parents and caregivers in remote visits to support children, and ideas for encouraging positive interactions between adults, are modeled by a veteran parent and experienced foster parent. Helpful resources to make virtual Family Time engaging and fun for families.
Presenters
- Rose Wentz, international child welfare and visitation expert
- Jason Bragg, OPD Social Service Specialist and successfully reunified parent
- Katie Biron, Connections Consultant with Fostering Connections for Families and a foster and adoptive parent
Materials for Webinar #2
- “Family is a Compelling Reason” – article by Jerry Milner and David Kelly, Federal Children’s Bureau – April 6, 2020
- Presentation slides for Webinar #2 – Maintaining A Child’s Connections COVID19 042820 Slides
To receive CLE credit for watching the RECORDED webinar, go to your MyWSBA account and search the MCLE section for recorded activity # 1140928.
For judicial officers seeking CJE credits for watching the RECORDED webinar, please fill out the CJE Request Form – Strategies for Maintaining a Child’s Connections During COVID-19 form as “Self-Study”, and submit the form to Phil Zitzelman at phil.zitzelman@courts.wa.gov.
Webinar #3 -Support and Coaching for Virtual Family Time Visits: Connecting Parents and Caregivers to Make Virtual Family Time Work for Everyone – recorded on May 28, 2020
During the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual Family Time visits have become a reality for most families with children in out-of-home care. As a result, parents and caregivers find themselves having to work together to make remote visits possible – a challenging undertaking in the best of times. To help everyone involved have a positive experience, Partners for Our Children (P4C) created free training and guidance for visit supervisors, called the Supportive Virtual Family Time Program.
This webinar describes the program and key components, including preparing parents and caregivers ahead of visits and resources for designing activities and dealing with difficult emotions. Videos are shared to help participants see how online support, education and resources can build mutual understanding and promote relationships between parents and caregivers.
Presenters
- Partners for Our Children: Susan Barkan, Kimberlee Shoecraft and Laura Orlando
- Family Connections Program: Katie Biron
- Parent Representation Program Social Service Worker: Jason Bragg
Materials for Webinar #3
- Supported Virtual Family Time Webinar Slides 5_28_20
- Preparing Parents and Caregivers Emotionally for Virtual Family Time
- Ideas for Virtual Visits
Resources
Partners for Our Children (P4C) at the University of Washington created the free, Supportive Virtual Family Time program to provide structure, guidance, and training for those supervising virtual parent-child visits, with the goal of helping them facilitate positive remote supervised visits between parents and their children in out-of-home care. The program and training is geared toward both private agency supervised visitation providers as well as child welfare caseworkers who will be supervising these virtual visits. The Supportive Virtual Family Time Program can be accessed here.
Also, here’s a link to a blog post from P4C about the new, free program to help parents having virtual visits with their children.
To receive CLE credit for watching the RECORDED webinar, go to your MyWSBA account and search the MCLE section for recorded activity #1141850.
For judicial officers seeking CJE credits for watching the RECORDED webinar, please fill out the CJE Request Form – Support and Coaching for Virtual Family Time Visits form as “Self-Study”, and submit the form to Phil Zitzelman at phil.zitzelman@courts.wa.gov.
Webinar #4 – Moving to In-Person Visits During COVID-19: Dispelling Myths, Fears and Assumptions – recorded on June 8, 2020
As Washington State relaxes COVID-19 restrictions, DCYF has released guidance on returning to in-person Family Time visits for children in out-of-home care. This webinar reviews the guidance and current visit data, and panelists explain how the lack of in-person contact impacts children, families and permanency planning. Presenters explore how COVID-19 myths, fears and barriers to in-person visits can make it challenging to navigate the transition from virtual to in-person Family Time. To address these challenges, participants are provided ideas and tools for facilitating conversations to plan for successful and safe in-person visits, including how to discuss fears and deal with resistance to in-person family contact.
Presenters
- Rose Wentz, international child welfare and visitation expert
- Jason Bragg, OPD Social Service Specialist and successfully reunified parent
- Katie Biron, Connections Consultant with Family Connections Program and a foster and adoptive parent
- Deanna Morrison, DCYF Permanency Planning Program Manager
- Shannon Quinn, DCYF Social Worker
Materials for Webinar #4
Resources
- Need for In-person visits Wentz WA state June 2020
- In person visit planning – Wentz
- Sample SW Email Return to In-Person Visits
- Department of Health Guidance on Cloth Face Coverings
To receive CLE credit for watching the RECORDED webinar, go to your MyWSBA account and search the MCLE section for recorded activity #1142157.
For judicial officers seeking CJE credits for watching the RECORDED webinar, please fill out the CJE Request Form – Moving to In-Person Visits During COVID-19 form as “Self Study”, and submit the form to Phil Zitzelman at phil.zitzelman@courts.wa.gov.
