Addressing the Best Interests of Children in Immigrant and Refugee Families: Rising to the Challenge

Featured Presenters

Randy (Randolph) Capps, PhD

Senior Research Associate, The Urban Institute

Tom Gillaspy

Minnesota State Demographer

Foreign Born Children in Minnesota (PDF)

Sonia C. Velazquez

Vice-President, Children’s Division, American Humane Association

Critical Issues for Child Welfare: The Search for Best Practices in Programs and Policy (PDF)

Rowena Fong, EdD, MSW

University of Texas at Austin

Building the Capacity to Respond to Vulnerable Children In Immigrant, Southeast Asian Families: Community-Based Models

Panelists

A response panel to findings from “New Populations in Rural Counties: Implications for Child Welfare”

Hassan Ugas

Director, Center for Somali Family and Children Services
Commentary

Katherine Fennelly

Professor, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota

Observations on Diversity Coalitions in Rural Minnesota

Susanne Schroeder

School Social Worker, Owatonna, Steele County
Confronting the Challenge: The School System

John Keller

Executive Director, Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
The Harsh Reality: The Fate of Children in Immigration Enforcement

Dianne Kimm

Program Manager, Lutheran Social Service Refugee Program, Pelican Rapids
An Indispensable Partner: The Non-Profit Agency

Wrap-Up

Esther Wattenberg, Professor

School of Social Work, CASCW, CURA, University of Minnesota

Funded with a grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the President’s Initiative on Children, Youth, and Families, University of Minnesota. This seminar is being offered under the auspices of the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, School of Social Work, College of Education and Human Development, and The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs University of Minnesota.