Please select the blue "View & Purchase" button below next to the event you attended.
Course Information
The Power of Family Engagement to Generate Improved Outcomes - 8/17/17
How do we know that parent partner and family engagement programs are working while we continue to
collect long-term quantitative data and analyze it? To answer that question, we must ask key
stakeholders what it looks like when programs are effective, and organize the answers to that question in
the form of qualitative data. In other words, we collect the stories of success. Through the stories of
parent partners, family leaders, the families, and child welfare staff with whom they work, we can begin to
see patterns of practice emerge across the country that tell us what success looks like.
This webinar will emphasize why it is important to collect the experiential stories of child welfare program
participants and personnel, offer strategies on how to collect and use the stories as qualitative data to
show positive outcomes or areas in need of improvement, and model qualitative data collection strategies
through a facilitated discussion of the stories of parent partners, families, and child welfare staff about
their experiences with family engagement.
Presenters
Melinda Feola-Mahar, MA, PhD
Melinda has served the Capacity Building Center for States as a member of a national team of family
consultants working with the Capacity Building Center for States (the Center) to build the capacity and
effectiveness of public child welfare agencies by offering expertise in child welfare and change
management and helping States and jurisdictions initiate and sustain innovative change and
improvement to child welfare systems. She brings with her over twenty years of experience in child
welfare leadership roles and expertise in the areas of family engagement and child welfare research.
Jennifer Marcelli, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
Jennifer Marcelli serves as the Program Area Manager for foster care, family empowerment, and the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (P.L. 113–183) for the Capacity Building Center for States. In her role, Ms. Marcelli works closely with the Children’s Bureau and other experts to shape and implement the priority agenda for her program areas. One of Ms. Marcelli’s primary responsibilities is helping build capacity in Foster Care and Permanency, Family Empowerment, and P.L. 113–183 by developing and managing projects, products, learning experiences, and constituency groups. With over 12 years of experience as a line worker, supervisor, and senior administrator in a child welfare organization, Ms. Marcelli has extensive experience in many child welfare program areas, including program development and implementation of youth, foster care, and adoption programs, and has extensive project management experience.