Racial Identity Development and Child Welfare

Recorded Webinar
Instructor: Jessica Pryce, M.S.W., Ph.D.
CEs: 1.25 
Level: Intermediate
Target Audience: Social workers and other social service providers.
Course Delivery Method and Format: Recorded webinar, self study. All courses are hosted on SmithOnline. Login information will be emailed immediately after registration to the email address entered during registration.
System Requirements: Attendees will need access to a computer with internet and the capability to play recorded videos.

Date of original webinar: August 19, 2019, noon - 1:30 p.m. ET

This online course will examine racial identity development and the importance of understanding one’s own racial identity. Participants will learn the different stages of Racial Identity Development. This will bring awareness to how one’s racial identity impacts one’s work with families. Family separation and the trauma that lingers when a child is removed from their family will also be discussed, in addition to the ways privilege shows up in our work and what we can do to create a safe space for our often subjugated clients to be seen and heard. Finally, there will be a discussion about how to identify one’s own stage of racial identity development as well as how to engage others at different stages of identity development.

Registration Fee and Deadlines:

Fee: $30 (one time registration fee of $5) | Ongoing

Learning Objectives:

1. Define stages of racial identity development.
2. Identify one’s own individual racial identity development.
3. Describe the importance of family connection.
4. Explain at least two ways to engage others who are at a different stage.

Outline:

• Introduction
• Discussion of the states of racial identity 
• Each participant recognizes their own stage and the stages of their close friends/family
• Exercises on how to engage others who are at a different stage
• Discussion of how racial identity impacts our interactions with colleagues and clients 
• Q & A

Instructor Biography:

Jessica Pryce, M.S.W., Ph.D., is a faculty member at Florida State University and is currently the executive director of the Florida Institute for Child Welfare. For the past 10 years, she has been involved at multiple angles of child welfare (direct practice, teaching/training and policy and research). She has published on child welfare-related topics such as, training and education, racial disparity and anti-poverty practices. Pryce has presented research at 30+ conferences both nationally and internationally. She is the author of several op-eds focused on racial disparity and effective strategies to impact racial disproportionality within child welfare. Her TED Talk on “Implicit Racial Bias in Decision Making” has since been viewed over 1.2 million times. Pryce has worked on the frontlines of child welfare, conducted primary research, been a policy advisor to Florida’s legislature and taught graduate level courses in child welfare. Pryce has held positions of child protective caseworker with the Department of Children and Families, as well as deputy director of the University at Albany's New York State Education Consortium. In 2019, she received a 5-year appointment to the Advisory Board of the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute, where she consults and advises on leadership and workforce interventions around the country. She currently sits on the Florida Dependency Court Improvement Panel alongside judges and advocates who are working towards a more trauma-informed approach within the judicial system. She has maintained and cultivated a commitment to the wellbeing of vulnerable children and families, the sustainability of the child welfare workforce and effectively addressing inequity. Her paramount goal includes re-building and leading a child welfare system that focuses on strengthening families instead of pulling them apart.