August Program Agenda

Professor Pasztor is experienced as a public agency caseworker, supervisor, and administrator; as a curriculum developer and trainer working internationally; as a social work educator and field instructor; and as a foster and adoptive parent for children with special needs.  She teaches courses in administration, child welfare, and social welfare policy advocacy, for both campus and distance education programs. Professor Pasztor previously worked for the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) as its national program director for adoption, family foster care, kinship care, and international projects, and as a liaison between the organization and 200 child welfare agencies in the 15 Western states.  Her publications focus on foster and adoptive parent and kinship caregiver development and support, and related training for child welfare social workers.  Professor Pasztor was named the 2004 “social worker of the year” for the Los Angeles region of National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter.  She received the 2006 “Outstanding Community Service” award from the CSULB College of Health and Human Services. In 2008, she received an award from CWLA for outstanding curricula design. In 2010, Prof. Pasztor was named editor of the journal Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping. Opportunities to publish in Reflections will be shared at her presentation.

Overview
When the general public, child advocates, court personnel, and even social service professional talk about the ages of children in the child welfare system, it often is in the context of their chronological ages.  Much more attention must be given to how the tragedy of physical and sexual abuse, neglect, and emotional maltreatment alters growth and development. Eileen will demonstrate a technique used to teach child welfare workers and foster and adoptive parents and kinship caregivers of children with special needs how to assess eight components of children's growth and development. This technique has been used in a curriculum she designed that is used across the United States and also used in over a dozen other countries. Eileen will invite participants to try out the assessment tool as part of her presentation, so come to her presentation thinking about a child or adolescent with whom you might be working.  This is Eileen's third time presenting with EALB, so we know she is an interactive presenter who engages participants.
Note: The history of the development of this assessment tool is described in an article that Eileen co-wrote titled, "When Work Comes Home and Home Goes to Work: Child Welfare Workers as Foster and Adoptive Parents."  Click here for the article.