Dr. Sandra Cook-Fong
Department of Social Work, 308.865.8739
A Brighter Future: Linking Child Welfare Policy and Practice is the focus of the 2005 social work conference set for Wednesday, April 13, at the University of Nebraska at Kearney Nebraskan Student Union Ponderosa Room.
Nancy Montanez , director of Nebraska Health and Human Services and a UNK graduate, is the keynote speaker for the conference. Montanez was appointed director in 2004. Montanez, who earned her undergraduate degree in social work from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1994, has lead the in the development, implementation and monitoring of agency programs and policies.
The conference, sponsored jointly by the UNK Social Work Program, Phi Alpha Honors Society and Student Social Work Organization, is free for all UNK faculty and students.
For social work professionals and the general public, there is a $40 registration fee. Checks are to be made payable to Phi Alpha Honor Society and mailed to: Social Work Program, University of Nebraska Kearney, Founders Hall 2001, Kearney, NE, 68849-1270. Social workers can earn 6.5 continuing education units by attending.
The schedule for the day, including presenters and their topics, is as follows:
Wednesday, April 13
8 a.m. Registration
8:15 a.m. Welcome, UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen, J.D.
8:30 a.m. Nancy Montanez, Director, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
9 a.m. Child Welfare Advocacy in Action, Kathy Bigsby Moore, executive director, Voices for Children in Nebraska
10:15 a.m. Break
10:30 a.m. Indian Child Welfare Act: The Basics, Dr. Herb Gradbois, social work department chair, Creighton University
12 p.m. Lunch
1 p.m. Impact of Foster Care on Families, Michele Harp, Foster Care Review Board. Harp is a 2003 UNK Social Work graduate from North Platte.
1:30 p.m. Life Experiences of Orphan Train Riders to Nebraska, Alissa Seier, family support worker, Community
Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska. Seier is a 2004 UNK social work graduate from Pierce.
2 p.m. Influencing the Well-being of Children’s Lives, Dr. Sandra Cook-Fong, UNK Department of Social Work
3 p.m. Closing and Evaluation
