Event Trainers
Ebony Chambers; Carlene Casciano-McCann, MA, CAGS, LMHC; Trish Cocoros; Julie Collins, MSW, LCSW; Sherri Hammack; Joe Anne Hust; Angel Knapp, MSW, CSAYC; Mark Nickell, MDiv; Kevin Roach, MSW
Ebony Chambers
Family and Youth Partnership Director, Stanford Youth Solutions
echambers@youthsolutions.org
Ebony Chambers has been with Stanford Youth Solutions for over 13 years, providing youth and family support and leadership within Wraparound programs and other community-based services. As a mother who has worked through and navigated multiple systems with her child, she brings that perspective to her role to provide oversight, advocacy and support to families in the greater Sacramento area and surrounding counties. Prior to her role with Stanford, she served a Children’s Residential Administrator. Ebony is also is an instructor for UC Davis Center for Family Focused Practice. Chambers also worked with the National Council of Behavioral Health, on addressing Health Disparities within her local community, with a focus on eliminating barriers and increasing access for the LGBT community. Chambers is the recipient of the 2017 Sacramento Business Journal’s 40 under 40 award for her outstanding professional accomplishments and community involvement. She is actively involved in the community, serving as the Co-Chair of the UC Davis Parent Partner Advisory Committee, a member the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Steering Committee and other community initiatives, ensuring family and youth voice is integrated at every system level.
Close
Carlene Casciano-McCann, MA, CAGS, LMHC
Executive Director, St. Mary's Home for Children
cmccann@smhfc.org
Carlene Casciano-McCann has been the Executive Director of St. Mary’s Home for Children since 2008. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Stonehill College and Master’s and Certificate of Graduate Studies degrees from Rhode Island College. St. Mary’s Home for Children provides residential, acute residential and emergency shelter services, specialized outpatient, home and community-based services and a special education program. Recognizing the need for an approach based on dignity, meaning and youth and family voice and choice, Carlene has focused on improving all facets of service delivery in order to provide trauma-informed services to the youth and families served by St. Mary’s Home for Children. This has resulted in a significant decrease in the use of physical management, increased family engagement and youth voice. St. Mary’s has partnered with a Parent Partner organization (Parent Support Network) to bring the Building Bridges Initiative to fruition.
Close
Trish Cocoros
Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder, Youth Development Institute
Trish.Cocoros@ydi.org
Trish Cocoros is Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder of Youth Development Institute (YDI), a non-profit, Joint Commission Accredited organization providing residential and outpatient behavioral health services for youth. Trish, together her husband, David, founded YDI in October of 1996. In June of 1997, YDI opened a 14-bed residential treatment unit in leased space and has since grown to a 132–bed continuum of care located on a 9-acre campus in central Phoenix. Trish has been the driving force behind YDI’s reduction in seclusion and restraint and the implementation of trauma-informed care and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). Trish began her work with youth in residential treatment in 1970 and considers working directly with youth as the best part of her job. David and Trish have been married for over 40 years, have two children and three grandchildren.
Close
Julie Collins, MSW, LCSW
Family First Project Lead, Building Bridges Institute
jcollins@cwla.org
Julie Collins has been with the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) since 2001 and is currently the VP, Practice Excellence. She has over 35 years of experience in the fields of: child welfare, mental health, substance abuse, and managed care. She has worked in both Canada and the US. While at CWLA her work has focused on providing training and technical assistance around: cross systems collaboration in child welfare, in particular with mental health and prevention; program and organizational assessments; program and system reform and transformation; identification of best practices; preparation for and implementation of evidence-informed and evidence-based programs and practices; and, implementation of the national Building Bridges Initiative (focused on quality residential and the collaboration across residential and community-based services). She has participated in reviewing performance of public and private agencies providing child welfare and behavioral health services including supportive housing and providing recommendations for improvements. She has authored and edited numerous articles, journals, monographs, and e-learning courses on child welfare and mental health related topics including trauma-informed care and secondary traumatic stress.
Close
Sherri Hammack
Coordinator, Building Bridges Institute
svhammack@sbcglobal.net
Sherri Adair Hammack is a native-born Texan, with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a teacher’s secondary education certification from Texas Universities. She has more than 37 years of experience in health and human services at the federal, state and community level - especially in the area of systems transformation. Prior to serving as the BBI Coordinator, Ms. Hammack previously served as the state lead for a collaborative statewide children’s mental health initiative known as the Texas System of Care initiative, using the 'system of care' framework that is supported by federal partners at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). She has facilitated the establishment of mental health center of excellence at a state university and the initial implementation of the Medicaid 1915c waiver. Ms. Hammack has served as Principal Investigator for several federal grants focused on children’s behavioral health and trauma-informed care. Mrs. Hammack has dedicated her career to improving collaborative service delivery for youth with complex needs and their families.
Close
Joe Anne Hust
Quality Improvement Collaborative Coordinator, Building Bridges Institute
joeannehust@gmail.com
Joe Anne Hust first entered the world of children’s mental health as an advocate for her own child. She has been involved in activities related to improving services, supports and reducing stigma for children and youth with mental health challenges and their families for more than 20 years. Hired as a parent partner for one of the first wraparound projects in Los Angeles County, Joe Anne went on to build a division of peer to peer support for a large children’s mental health provider. She co-lead a pilot in 2004 at the same provider to reduce lengths of stay for children in residential utilizing wraparound principles and parent partners. Joe Anne served as the parent representative for the Los Angeles County RBS Reform workgroup which went on to statewide legislation for residential reform and was a member of the State of California Emily Q. lawsuit settlement team.
She received the California Mental Health Association for Children and Youth (CMHACY) Advocate of the Year award. Experienced developing family involvement at all levels of the child serving system, Joe Anne also worked as the Director of Innovation at a Family Run organization in Phoenix, Arizona and as a National Trainer, Coach, and Manager for The Institute at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work. She has presented at numerous conferences and has done extensive training and consultation on parent peer to peer support, family professional partnerships, Wraparound, program design and residential transformation. Joe Anne has been involved with The National Building Bridges Initiative since 2005 and participated in several national efforts to integrate system of care and family-driven care values into residential care settings. Ms. Hust is President and Principal Consultant for JH Consulting in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Close
Angel Knapp, MSW, CSAYC
Senior Director, Damar Services
angelkr@damar.org
Angel Knapp serves as the Senior Director of External Initiatives & Quality Services for Damar Services in Indianapolis. She has served in various Damar leadership positions for the past 10 years. Her current leadership role is assuring that all clients, families, and community partners experience exemplary service throughout the agency that is reflective of best practices and family engagement. Previously, Angel served as the State Director of Integrated Services (ISP) in Indiana. ISP is the State’s clinical and financial residential reform model, deploying the services and resources historically associated with residential facilities to the homes, schools and communities of families and children served. Angel led the collaboration with 13 partnering agencies to assure best practices in reducing the number of children experiencing out of home placements and improving long-term sustained outcomes for those youth and families touched by residential care.
Before joining Damar Services in 2005, Angel worked as a college-based counselor at Ball State University and then as the program coordinator for Indiana’s Homes for Black Children adoption initiative. Angel currently serves as the Board President for Stopover, Inc. and serves as a practicum supervisor for the Indiana University School of Social Work where she earned bachelors and master’s degree in social work. Angel is a member of the National Association of Social Workers.
Close
Mark Nickell, MDiv
National Director, Building Bridges Institute
marknickell.bbi@gmail.com
Mark is currently serving as the National Director for the Building Bridges Initiative, after the founder/director Beth Caldwell stepped down in October 2019. Prior to assuming this role, Mark served in California as a Regional Executive Director with Seneca Family of Agencies where he worked for more than 16 years developing and delivering continuums of care within the Bay Area. He is a certified Wraparound trainer for the California Department of Social Services and has trained nationally with BBI around issues related to organizational transformation, family engagement, youth guided care, and data-driven practice, with particular emphasis on improving residential interventions in order to improve outcomes for youth and their families.
Close
Kevin Roach, MSW
Chief Executive Officer, Methodist Children's Home Society
kroach@mchsmi.org
Kevin Roach currently serves as CEO of Methodist Children’s Home Society (MCHS), having served since 2015. He brings 15 years of leadership in the child welfare and nonprofit world, having served in a variety of settings and with diverse populations and organizations across the country. At MCHS, he has led the agency through an ambition strategic plan, while leading the efforts in major capital renovations, securing national accreditation, launching new programs, increasing revenue, and increasing the number of children and families served. Under his tenure, the agency has grown 187%. Most recently, MCHS opened a satellite campus as well as finalized plans for a charter school. Recognized for his commitment for children and families in need, Kevin remains active in the community, participating on several boards and committees throughout the State of Michigan and around the country. Passionate about children and families, Kevin is a reading enthusiast, wannabe foodie, recovering political junkie and golf hack, but his best title is "Dad."
Close
To make your room reservation by credit card and receive the $105.00 state rate, click below:
Book your group rate for Building Bridges Initiative
Who should attend:
- Residential program teams, inclusive of executive level and program leaders, clinical leaders and staff, and other program formal and informal leaders of all disciplines, and family/youth partners or families/youth served.
- Oversight agency leaders and staff from oversight of residential and other out-of-home programs for youth and families.
- Other interested stakeholders committed to increasing their knowledge about successfully engaging families and implementing successful aftercare practices when their children are receiving services with any out-of-home program.
- Family and youth partners; families and youth.
Oklahoma and New Mexico state oversight agency leaders have shared interest in and commitment to continuing to improve residential practices to support improved long-term outcomes post-residential discharge for youth and families. To this end, the Building Bridges Initiative is hosting this two-day training event. Both days will support all residential stakeholders in increasing their understanding of essential elements required by the Families First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) specific to Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs), as shared by a national FFPSSA QRTP expert. The goal of the training event is that attendees will leave a take-home action plan of strategies that move beyond mere compliance with the new legislation toward the ‘heart’ of the Act’s intent.
Day One will focus on Successful Family Engagement Strategies. Participants will learn from national residential provider leader and family partner experts who have transformed their residential interventions with primary attention on successfully engaging families and implementing a range of practices that are family-driven and align with the research on improving sustained positive outcomes for youth and families post-residential discharge.
Day Two will focus on Successful Aftercare Strategies. Participants will learn from national provider leaders and family partner experts who have implemented residential interventions that incorporate successful aftercare practices. Essential foundational program practices in order to develop successful aftercare practices, effective aftercare practice components, and lessons learned over the years of implementing aftercare practices will be shared.
Both days will provide ample opportunities for questions, discussion and small-group work to identify and successfully address potential challenges and develop take-home action plans.
CEU Credits: 1.3 credits provided for those completing this training.