IFCA Alumni Members to Present at the 21st ISPCAN International Congress

Janice Cole, Janell Braxton and S.Y. (IFCA US Foster Care Alumni Team) will be traveling to Calgary, Canada this next week to present at the 21st ISPCAN International Congress!!!
ジャニスとジャネル、そしてサンウォンがIFCAの米国ユースチームを代表して、来週末、ISPCAN (国際児童虐待防止学会）の第２１回世界大会に登壇するため、カナダのカルガリーに出発します。Amy Salazar, Ph. D. (Social Development Research Group) will be presenting in the workshop with these three young presenters at this conference. Best of luck with your presentations. Safe travels!

From the conference web page: http://ispcan2016.com

AUGUST 28 to AUGUST 31, 2016

The 2016 Congress theme is “Protecting our Children, Protecting our Future”. It is expected to attract approximately 1200 -1500 delegates, with a major focus on attracting professionals from developing countries. We are looking forward to a stimulating event where we can come together from all corners of the world to consider how best to protect children from being maltreated and maximise their wellbeing.

IFCA Alumni Team’s Abstract

<< Creating a trauma-informed workforce from the perspectives of youth and alumni of care >>

Too often, foster youth are defined by the problem behaviors they exhibit, without an understanding of the complex trauma that rests underneath the surface.

There are 415,129 U.S. youth in foster care and about 45,000 Japanese youth living in out-of-home placements – most in large, group home facilities. Youth in these two countries suffer from complicated emotions and trauma related to their past abuse and neglect, as well as from an astounding lack of quality mental health services available to them. In both countries, foster youth have considerably worse outcomes than youth who grow up in traditional home settings. To combat these outcomes, International Foster Care Alliance (IFCA) seeks to create a venue for foster care alumni, professionals, and caregivers to collaborate on how to better serve foster youth globally.

Through an interactive workshop, IFCA and Dr. Amy Salazar will share information about the rising use of trauma-informed trainings for professionals who support foster youth. In a twist on the usual style of presentation, our research expert will be joined by experts of a different kind: alumni of the Japanese and American foster care systems who have special insights into the policies and practices that most impact young people. Alumni of care from the U.S. and Japan will share their first hand experiences of foster care, under the framework of mental health and trauma, and facilitate activities and discussion with workshop participants on the value of adding youth perspective into mental health service provision. Ultimately, this workshop will argue that training a workforce to be trauma-informed is not enough. In order to best support this vulnerable population, mental health service providers and social workers should be educated on the unique challenges and barriers foster youth face so that they can become healthy members of a global community.

Authors
Janice Cole (International Foster Care Alliance), Amy Salazar (Social Development Research Group), Janell Braxton (International Foster Care Alliance), S. Y. (International Foster Care Alliance)

Topic Area: Mental Health

Session: W-10 » Workshop 10 (16:30 – Monday, 29th August)