his past year we celebrated the introduction of new projects and phases that seek to strengthen families and the systems that support them such as our Strong Families, Thriving Children, Connected Communities initiative, Hope and Healing for Children Who Experience Family Violence, and Addressing Unresolved Trauma: JobsWork MKE. As we reflect on the potential of our new initiatives and projects, we recognize and honor the enormous value of the relationships that we have developed over these years that make possible the advancing of our mission to promote the well-being of all children and families by addressing barriers that result in unequal access to the best available care and solutions. As we enter new phases in our projects and work, we will continue to deepen and strengthen those relationships, learn from our partners’ research and lived experience, and aspire to translate what we learn into prevention and intervention strategies that make a real difference in people’s lives. The list of agencies and stakeholders who deserve our gratitude is too long to acknowledge here, but we invite you to check out our project pages where you will find many of our key partners.
As we begin 2024 – our eighth year as the Institute – our aim is to strengthen these alliances and forge new community connections that are necessary to disseminate effective strategies and produce lasting systems and community change. So take a moment to review what we learned and accomplished in 2023, and check out our newsletter, social media, webpage, and SFTCCC signup to learn more about what we are doing and how you can join us.
Meet the New ICFW Team Members
We welcomed new team members and roles to the Institute this year. Learn more about them here.
Masters of Social Work Interns
- Andrea Bailey
- Jo Cabrera
- Jill Finnel
- Joe Moreno
- Sylvia Onyeiwu
Research Assistants
- Theresa Beaumier
- Sara Chopp
- Xiyao Liu
Predoctoral Fellow
- Daniela Kaiser
ICFW Enters New Phase of SFTCCC Initiative and Second Season of Overloaded Podcast
We are excited to announce the four Critical Pathways of the Strong Families, Thriving Children, Connected Communities (SFTCCC) initiative and our Overloaded: Understanding Neglect podcast.
Critical Pathways are specific problem/priority spaces that are focal points for elevating or designing specific and actionable system-level solutions. Over the course of our first year, we hosted many community roundtables and information gather sessions. We have analyzed the data that we have collected through these community events along with the emerging research in the field to develop our four Critical Pathways.
In season 2 of Overloaded: Understanding Neglect, we will be exploring these complex issues through our Strong Families, Thriving Children, Connected Communities’ four Critical Pathways, our roadmaps for discovering and developing innovative solutions to the wicked problems that overload families.
Subscribe and listen wherever you find your podcasts or at this link here.
ICFW Dissemination in 2023: New Journal Articles and Webinars
- The ICFW had 9 new journal articles published in 2023 on topics ranging from Trauma-Responsive Vocational Rehabilitation Services to Intergenerational transmission of child protective services involvement and Impact of a family treatment court on child permanency and safety. To learn more, explore the publications here.
- New Webinars:
- New Workshops:
Projects and Partnerships
- Addressing Unresolved Trauma: JobsWork MKE in partnership with JobsWork MKE.
- Hope and Healing for Children Who Experience Family Violence in partnership with Sojourner Family Peace Center.
- Milwaukee Equity Action Plan in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR).
- Parenting with P.R.I.D.E. – Group-based, Virtual Parent-Child Interaction Therapy in partnership with the Children’s Wisconsin’s Child and Family Counseling programs.
- Strong and Stable Families in partnership with Wisconsin Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention Board, Strengthening Families Together Association, and statewide Family Resource Centers.
- Strong Families, Thriving Children, Connected Communities Initiative in partnership with Children’s Wisconsin’s Child Well-being Programs and community-based organizations across Wisconsin.
Memorable 2023 Events and Upcoming Events
The Institute provides training, consultation and technical assistance to help human service agencies implement and replicate best practices. If you are interested in training or technical assistance, please complete our speaker request form.
- PCIT Training
- T-SBIRT Trainings
- Together for Children Conference
- Building Brains with Relationships workshops
- Wicked Problems of Child Welfare Convening
Upcoming Events:
- Overloaded: Understanding Neglect podcast – Bonus Episode with Josh Mersky – February 14th
- Disrupting Poverty Conference: A Path Forward in Boston – March 27-28th
- Together for Children Conference – April 8-10