TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama School of Social Work will hold its second Fall Social Work Conference Sept. 18 and 19 at the Paul W. Bryant Conference Center on the UA campus.

The two-day conference, “Focus on Outcomes: Exploring Family-Centered Practice,” will have speakers and presentations on child welfare and family-centered strengths based practices.

“This conference is part of our school’s initiative to provide continuing education as a service to the social work practice community,” said Dr. Ike Adams, dean of the UA School of Social Work.

“The theme of this conference was very timely and based on a fundamental premise: when we make the family central to our practice, policy and research efforts, then the quality of their lives is likely to be enhanced,” Adams added.

Among the presenters are Dr. Katharine H. Briar-Lawson, dean and professor in the School of Social Welfare at SUNY, and Carolyn B. Lapsley of the Alabama State Department of Human Resources.

Briar-Lawson is a national expert on family preservation and child and family policy. Among her books are “Family-Centered Policies and Practices: International Implications” and “Innovative Practices with Vulnerable Children and Families.”

Lapsley has been with Alabama DHR for more than 24 years and has worked in all aspects of public child welfare, including foster care, adoption, child welfare training and child support. She is responsible for the coordination of resources, strategies and the development of interventions to support statewide implementation of the agency’s Child Welfare Consent Decree.

Social Work CEU contact hours will be awarded at the end of each workshop.

For additional information on registration and the workshops offered, please contact Veretta Barnes at 205/348-7027.