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Home > 2011 Symposium Workshop > Symposium Keynote Speakers
Strength in the Face of Challenges
Dr. Roger Friedman is a psychologist and clinical social worker who grew up in Texas and has been in clinical practice in Maryland for 30 years. Since 1984, he's also consulted with and trained child welfare staff in family-based practice across the country, and helped implement state-wide Family Preservation programs in Texas, Maryland, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arkansas. This summer he ran the only family centered kinship summer camp in the U.S. at Echo Hill Ranch in the Texas hill country. He currently is Adjunct Faculty at the University Of Maryland Graduate School Of Social Work, and has authored many articles on family-centered practice and systems reform in child welfare programs. He serves as an editor of the Journal for Family Strengths.
Statewide Parent Collaboration Group Keynote Address
The panel is comprised of parents who have been recipients of services from the child welfare system and are now parent liaison who are partnering with the Texas Department Family and Protective Services. The attendees will have an opportunity to learn about the history, learn skill building techniques and ignite passion about their work to strengthen families and work as a team. Family Expert Keynote Panel Moderator, DeShaun Ealoms is currently the Parent Program Specialist for Child Protective Services (CPS), Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
Family experts will share how what workers do to help families and ways to improve services. A focus on collaboration with families is critical to family based services. The statewide Parent Collaboration Group provides technical assistance to the CPS regions across Texas with their local parent information and support groups for parents involved with the CPS system.
Ms. Ealoms is also a parent who has utilized CPS services to access needed support and services for her son who has autism. Ms. Ealoms is a member of Autism Society of America, and has served on the Austin Independent School District Special Education Advisory Committee and Mental Health Mental Retardation Center Advisory Committee. Ms. Ealoms received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Huston-Tillotson College and a Masters Degree in Special Education from Texas State University.
Why I needed Family Preservation
Mr. McKenzie will tell his story about his life in foster care. He has written She Never Answered. Cedric's narrative is a real life roadmap for both young people and adults tied to the foster care system. This workshop explains how family preservation could have saved his family.
