On Today’s Podcast Dr. Rufus Sylvester Lynch, ACSW comes on to discuss the 3rd Annual SOC Convening. You may register for this free event where the Role of Father’s and Strengthening families will be advocated for. In this 3rd event Early Childhood Development will be the area of Fatherhood emphasized. Enjoy the Podcast and Consider attending the event. As discussed on the podcast this group of Social Workers can be strong allies in our family court movements. You may be surprised at who is advocating for you and your rights.
Joe Gormley from Saving Fatherhood will be at this event on Day 1 speaking briefly as part of a response to a panel of experts. Details on the agenda for both days are at the bottom of this post.

To Register for this event: https://www.nasw-pa.org/event/fathersfromthebeginning

DETAILS ABOUT THE EVENT –

An Advocate for Greater Father Family Involvement in the Lives of children and Families & the Systems that Serve Them

3^rd Annual SOC Convening

A

Forum where ideas and views can be exchanged

 “From the

Beginning…Early Childhood Development and the Role of Fathers”

September 18^th &19^th 2019

The School District of Philadelphia Administrative

Building

440 North Broad Street, Auditorium, Second Floor

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19130

Day One September 18^th 2019

8:00 a.m. – Registration & Continental Breakfast, Auditorium

Reception Area.

• 
  
• Registration managed by THE
  
  COMMISSION’s Volunteer Leadership Team, VeRita Amelia Barnette Lynch, Chair.
  

9:00 a.m. – Program Begins

–

• 
  
• Welcome Joy Diljohn,
  
  Executive Director, Pre-K Program, Office of Early Childhood Education.
  
• Forum
  
  Overview will be provided by Day One Moderator, Malkia
  
  Singleton Ofori-Agyekum, Pennsylvania State Director for the
  
  ParentChild + Program, & Chair, 3^rd Annual Statewide SOC
  
  Convening. 
  
• Invocation
  
  – George J. Fleming, Pastor and
  
  Founder, The Father’s Touch Ministry, Outreach specialist/Trainer for
  
  Allegheny Family Network & SOC’s Faith-Based Ambassador Coordinator,
  
  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  
• Message
  
  from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Savings Programs, Karen Carr, Field
  
  Representative, sharing information about statewide college and career savings
  
  programs.
  
• The
  
  JourneyGetting Us Here– The Honorable
  
  W. Wilson Goode, Sr., former Mayor, City ofPhiladelphia and President, Amachi Inc.:“People of Faith Mentoring
  
  Children of Promise” introduced
  
  by David A.
  
  Wyher, Founder, President and CEO, Delta Community Supports,
  
  Incorporated.
  

9:30 a.m. A Thought Leader’s Address, Dr. Wade F. Horn, “The Ebb and Flow of Fatherhood Programming – Presentation and Open Discussion.”

• 
  
• Let’s
  
  Continue the Journey for our Children – Dr. Wade F. Horn, introduced by Darlene
  
  Tart-Scott, Special Initiatives Coordinator, in the Immediate Office
  
  of the Regional Administrator – Region III, Administration for Children and
  
  Families (ACF).  ACF Region III is
  
  composed of the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West
  
  Virginia and the District of Columbia.
  

10:30 a.m.

Part

I:

Panel Call to Action for Greater

Father Involvement in the Lives of Pennsylvania’s Children and Families – Panel

Moderator, Kerry

Krieger, Executive Director of Delta Family Services, LLC.

• 
  
• Panelist
  
  include:
  
• George
  
  D. Mosee, Jr., Esq.,
  
  Executive Director, Philadelphia Anti-Drug/Anti-Violence
  
  Network, and former First Deputy District Attorney for the City of
  
  Philadelphia;
  
• Dr.
  
  H. Jean Wright,
  
  Director, Behavioral Health & Justice Related Services at DBHIDS;
  
• Jeff
  
  Steiner,
  
  Executive Director, Dads Resource Center;
  
• David
  
  R. Fair, Deputy
  
  Chief Executive Officer, Turning Points for Children;
  
• Malkia
  
  Singleton Ofori-Agyekum, Pennsylvania State Director for the ParentChild +
  
  Program;
  
• Dr.
  
  Richard Jeffrey Rhodes, Education Consultant and former Assistant Superintendent of the School
  
  District of Philadelphia;
  
• Lance Wright, Fatherhood
  
  Coordinator- Catholic Community Services, Representing the Employment and
  
  Training Work Group;
  
• Angela
  
  Mclver,
  
  Board Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Fair Housing Rights Center in
  
  Southeastern Pennsylvania;
  
• Anita
  
  Kellerman Kulick,
  
  President
  
  and CEO of Educating Communities for Parenting & Board Chair of the
  
  Pennsylvania Parenting Coalition; and  
  
• Dr. William
  
  Champagne,
  
  Professor of Sociology and Human Service at Harcum College, and former Men’s
  
  Support Services Coordinator, with the Philadelphia Department of Health.
  

Part II: Reactions – THE

COMMISSION’S commitment to open communication is to allow all voices to be

heard.

• 
  
• Chris DeVol,
  
  Ambassador for Erasing Family.Org, “We need to strengthen family bonds after
  
  divorce, not #erase them.”
  
• Joe Gormley,
  
  Servant Leader, Saving FaTherhood.Org, “Saving
  
  Fatherhood is a response to the epidemic of fatherlessness.  We address
  
  this issue and the ongoing problems we see in the courts, legislatures, churches
  
  and the public square.”
  

11:45 a.m. Break & Pickup Box Lunch

12:00 Noon – Greetings from the Superintendent of Philadelphia’s

SchoolDistrict, William R. Hite, Jr.,ED.D.

• 
  
• Joy Diljohn, Executive Director, Pre-K Program, Office of Early Childhood Education, will introduce Dr. Hite.
  

1:00 p.m. Keynote Speaker

• 
  
• Lynn Johnson,
  
  Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
  
  Administration for Children and Families (ACF), introduced by Anna Pilato,
  
  Deputy Assistant Secretary for External Affairs at HHS’ Administration for
  
  Children and Families (ACF). Follow-Up Discussion with the Assistant Secretary
  
  on Strategic Next Steps and Directions will be facilitated by Dr. Martha
  
  Okafor, Region III Administrator for the Administration for Children
  
  and Families (ACF).
  

2:30 p.m. Break

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. “From the Beginning…Early Childhood Development,

Trauma, and the Role for Fathers”

Co-Facilitators: Anita Kellerman Kulick,

Dr. Catherine Lobaugh and Suzanne J. O’Connor will present twoexceptional thought leaders of Child Well-Being

and why the discussion is so important:

• 
  
• Carole Haas Gravagno,
  
  is
  
  a philanthropist, activist, and lifelong supporter and enthusiast of education,
  
  the arts and parenting education.  She believes deeply in providing the
  
  most vulnerable among us, with the kind of nurturing that can transform lives,
  
  communities and society.
  
• Dr. Sandra L. Bloom is a Board-Certified
  
  psychiatrist, graduate of Temple University School of Medicine and currently
  
  Associate Professor, Health Management and Policy at the Dornsife School of
  
  Public Health, Drexel University.
  

5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Jazz Reception – Malkia Singleton Ofori-Agyekum, Mistress of Ceremony. Ver’non D. Brown,

Director of Field Operations for The Strong Families Commission, who will

introduce Dr. Alicia Barbara Harvey-Smith, who

will give Reflections.

• 
  
•  Dr. Harvey-Smith is new to Pennsylvania and serves as President/CEO of Pittsburgh Technical College. She is a nationally recognized educator, author, poet, and motivational speaker with thirty years of experience in Higher Education.
  
• Evening Musical Entertainment will be provided by the “V. Shayne Frederick Ensemble.”
  
  

Day Two September 19^th

2019

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast,

Auditorium Reception Area.

9:00 a.m. – Program Begins

–

• 
  
• Welcome to Day Two: Dr. Amy C. Sagen, Chief Operating Officer, Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
  
• Invocation – Pastor Quincy C. Hobbs, Jr., Zion Hill Baptist Church of Philadelphia.
  
• Greetings from Commissioner David T. Jones, Commissioner, Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services.
  

9:15 a.m. 

• 
  
• The
  
  Connection and the Difference between Fathering and Daddying. Moderator, and FoundingDADvocate, Allan Shedlin.
  
  Founder of DADvocacy Consulting Group and Creator, Daddy Wishes Fund and the Daddy Appleseed Fund. Father of four, grandfather
  
  of eight.
  

9:30 a.m.

• 
  
• Dr. Joel N. Myers, Founder, Chairman and
  
  Chief Executive Officer of AccuWeather & Founder and Chairman of the Dads’
  
  Resource Center, State College Pennsylvania, introduced by David A. Wyher, President and CEO, Delta
  
  Community Supports, Inc. Dr. Myers serves as the official Advocate and Champion
  
  of Pennsylvania’s SOC Campaign “Brighter
  
  Futures for our Children…Through Greater Father Involvement.”
  

10:00 a.m.

• 
  
• Dr. Carol S. Larach, Director of Integrated
  
  Care, Community Behavioral Health, Department of Behavioral Health and
  
  Intellectual disAbilities, City of Philadelphia, introduced by Nadine
  
  Blackwell, R.N., MS – Low Vision Therapist. Topic of Presentation
  
  “Perinatal Depression in Fathers.”
  

10:45 a.m.

• 
  
• Dr. Jay Cherney,
  
  Founder of Dad Lab: Peer Mentoring for New Fathers, introduced by William L. McCusker, Founder and CEO, Fathers & Families, Inc.
  

11:30 a.m. –

• 
  
• William L.
  
  McCusker, Founder & CEO of Fathers & Families, Inc.
  
  Topic: Expectations of the Corporate World in Supporting Childhood
  
  Development & the Role for Fathers.
  

12:15 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Larry L.

Klinger, Co-Chair,Pennsylvania’s

Fathers, Families & Service Providers Network, Status Up-date.

12:30 p.m.  – 1:00 p.m.

• 
  
• Wrap-Up and Moving Forward – Next Steps: Anita Kellerman Kulick, Dr. Catherine Lobaugh, and
  
  Suzanne J. O’Connor.
  

1:00 p.m. – Box Lunch to Go