30th Annual "Protecting Our Children" National American Indian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect
April 22-25, 2012
Scottsdale, Arizona
Protecting Our Children, Ensuring Our Legacy
The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 was landmark legislation empowering American Indian and Alaska Native peoples to exert their sovereignty over their own tribal members. It is a powerful acknowledgment that “…[there] is no resource that is more vital to the continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than their children…” (25 U.S.C. § 1901). Thirty-three years later, we are still fighting to ensure that our children receive the best possible protection, services, and resources.
There are thriving traditional and emerging new best practices in urban and rural Native communities that are meeting the needs of children and families across the continuum of services. No one understands the needs of their children better than the communities themselves, and they are creating their own solutions for the challenges they face. Native communities are building the capacity and empowering their own members to become better leaders and advocates at the local, state, regional, and national levels.
For 30 years, NICWA and our national, regional, and local partners have been advocating for and protecting the rights of Native children and communities. Our annual conference is our signature event, and this year we celebrate 30 years of partnership with Native programs and organizations and non-Native allies. To ensure the best services in Native communities and fulfill the promise of the Indian Child Welfare Act, grassroots community representatives, child welfare professionals, and tribal leaders must gather to share information, plan, support one another, and transform the systems and services that will meet the growing challenges facing Native communities. Join us in Scottsdale, Arizona, for NICWA’s 30th anniversary conference to protect our children, preserve our cultures, and ensure our legacy.
Conference Goals
- To highlight successful strategies for developing effective services
- To reveal the latest and most innovative child welfare and children’s mental health service delivery practices
- To highlight tactics and strategies for financing and sustaining services that impact children
- To showcase strategies for involving youth and families in developing services and policies that lead to systems change
- To create peer-to-peer networks that will assist each other in the work toward permanency for all American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) families
- To share the latest research on the well-being of AI/AN children and effective child welfare and children’s mental health services, practices, and policies.
Agenda
The full conference agenda is currently in development by NICWA conference staff. To help you plan for your travels, please refer to this schedule of conference events.
Event Location - Host Hotel
Radisson Fort McDowell Resort
10348 North Fort McDowell Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85264
Room Rate: $109 per night (+tax)
Phone Reservations: (480) 789-5300 or (800) 333-3333
Online Reservations: Fort McDowell Reservations
Promotional Code: NICWA1
Website: www.radissonfortmcdowellresort.com
Registration
Early-bird Registration (Registration received before or on March 29, 2012) = $395
Regular Registration (Registration received after March 29, 2012) = $460
Become a Conference Vendor
A limited number of booth spaces are available for non-profit and for-profit organizations, as well as arts and crafts vendors. Booth spaces are guaranteed with a 50% deposit.
2012 NICWA Annual Conference Vendor Application
Donate to the 2012 NICWA Silent Auction
With the generous support of our conference participants, NICWA’s annual silent auction and banquet night raises funds to help protect the well-being of AI/AN children and families. All auction items are donated by NICWA supporters and the proceeds go to underfunded projects.
In previous years we have received blankets, baskets, jewelry, artwork, books, regalia, vacation packages, spa packages, food, and much more. Donating a silent auction item is tax-deductible and a great way to support NICWA’s work. If you have any questions or would like to donate an item to the silent auction, please contact Margie Sarna, board and member relations manager, at (503) 222-4044, extension 127, or by email at margaret@nicwa.org. Join us the last night of the conference for an evening of fun and entertainment at the silent auctiom.