LAPORTE, Ind. – In 2012, more than 13,000 Indiana children were in need of services from the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) of abuse or neglect.
In response to this issue, the Indiana Youth Institute (IYI) is hosting a forum to take an in-depth look at “permanency,” which DCS describes as a safe, stable and secure home and family, love, unconditional commitment and lifelong support in the context of reunification, adoption, or legal guardianship for a child.
This forum will feature speaker Jennifer Lee, DCS program manager for Permanency and Practice Support, Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) Assessment as well as the Permanency Roundtables. She will give an overview of the permanency roundtable models. Participants will learn how the roundtables are used to develop a permanency action plan for specific children, to prove case-centered learnings to support skill development and to identify and address recurring systemic barriers to the attainment of permanency.
The forum will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT on April 11, at the LaPorte County Complex, 809 State St., LaPorte, 46350.
As part of IYI’s Youth Worker Café program, the forum is free and lunch will be served, but reservations are required by noon on April 10. RSVP by contacting Chip Cotman at rcotman@LaPorteCounty.org. Reservations may also be made by contacting IYI Northwest Indiana Field Representative Stephen Gill via text only at (219) 314-9516 or via email at sgill@iyi.org. Gill also may be contacted for more information on the café.
Youth Worker Cafés are designed to bring together local youth workers to build relationships and inspire collaborations that will benefit children. This Youth Worker Café is made possible by IYI and the LaPorte County Circuit Court.