WKU News

Hundreds of social workers from around the country have been in Bowling Green this week as WKU hosted a national child welfare training conference.

It was a long time coming as well as a unique opportunity for some graduate students as WKU’s Amy Bingham explains in this week’s View from the Hill.

“It really means so much to just bring people together in person to talk about child welfare, to talk about these important issues related to Title IV-E.”

It’s a talk that’s been three years in the making.

“So in May of 2020 we were all set until about March. We had people registered, people were buying plane tickets, we were all set and then the pandemic happened so we shut it down but last year in May what we did is we set up this completely free virtual conference.”

Finally, this week, 250 people were able to come to Bowling Green for the National Title IV-E Roundtable for Child Welfare Training and Education.

“Partners across the country gather at different locations each year. They connect, they share, they meet and they really work together to build partnerships so they can help families and children.”

It’s also been a unique opportunity for graduate students Alecia Hatfield and Lindsey Powell. 

“Even the opportunity to speak at a conference like this is just huge you know and as an undergraduate student I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be doing that kind of thing.”

“Being able to help and assist has just been a great opportunity for me to grow and then to kind of learn how the behind the scenes go.”

Professionals leveraging resources and having conversations about evidence-based approaches when it comes to child welfare.

“It’s always been something I’ve been passionate about, showcasing what we do and how we do it but also bringing people to our beautiful state and university.”

The conference wrapped up Thursday just before a ribbon cutting was held to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the LifeSkills Center for Child Welfare Education and Research on Normal Drive.