Kinship care literature and research has informed child welfare policy and practice for nearly twenty years.  The 2014 CWLA National Kinship Care Conference, Building Communities of Caring for Children and Families, was held in New Orleans on September 16-19, 2014.  The Conference was designed to explore current practice and policy issues that have been influenced by research and literature.  Conference workshops/learning communities, and plenary sessions focused on models of support for kinship caregivers and families, building and maintaining family connections, cross-systems collaboration, data and trauma-informed practice.  Training on CWLA’s model of practice, Traditions of Caring and Collaborating, was available to conference participants.


International participants from Canada, Ethiopia, and Australia, and kinship caregiver attendance added to the richness of workshops/learning communities and interactions between and among conference participants.


Please visit the Workshops page for session presentation information.  Thanks again to our conference sponsors, plenary speakers, workshop presenters, and attendees! 



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CWLA is proud to host its National Kinship Care Conference, Building Communities of Caring for Children and Families, from September 17 - 19, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. As kinship care continues to be a primary and valuable option for children who cannot live with their parents, the number of children residing with relatives or adults with a significant relationship to the family has grown over the past ten years. Emphasis on kinship care policy, practice, and research is necessary to continue to enhance services and supports for kinship families. This conference is a call to bolster the collective knowledge of best practice, policy, and program and service development, and to identify areas for further research.

Join child welfare and human service professionals, community advocates and partners, and kinship families (including caregivers, birth parents, and youth) to learn about models of support, family partnerships and connections, permanency planning, creative community and cross-system collaboration, advocacy efforts, trends and practice issues in Tribal communities and internationally, applying trauma-informed practice, and much more.


For questions or assistance, please e-mail BuildingKinshipCommunities@cwla.org. We look forward to you joining us in New Orleans at the CWLA 2014 National Kinship Care Conference!


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Moving Towards Excellence
Special track of sessions designed for executive level staff
from CWLA Member public and private agencies


CWLA is pleased to offer Moving Towards Excellence. This executive convening will take place over a day and a half, from 8:15am on Thursday, September 18 through 10:15am on Friday, September 19. It is designed to allow participants to attend many of the workshops and all of the plenary sessions of the conference.

The Moving Towards Excellence sessions will include a six-hour intensive workshop featuring the ARC Organization Strategy (please see workshop description), a special tour of key neighborhoods in New Orleans which have undergone varying levels of transformation since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and a dinner hosted by CWLA board member, Keith Liederman, at Kingsley House. Dr.Liederman will highlight the transformative work his organization and other key partners have been able to accomplish following the catastrophic storm and lessons learned regarding transformative organizations and leadership.

A separate registration is required for participation - $125 with a full conference registration; $200 for Moving Towards Excellence sessions only. Space is extremely limited. Registration is on a first come, first served basis. To participate, please RSVP to MemberServices@cwla.org.