Safe Children Coalition presents successful 14th annual SCC Conference

On October 9-10, Safe Children Coalition presented the 14th annual SCC Conference, which convened over 300 child welfare and youth mental health experts and practitioners at the Palmetto Marriott Resort & Spa. Attendees heard from numerous topic matter experts as well as enjoyed the opportunity to network with peers working in the field.

The event opened the morning of October 9 with a keynote address by Dr. Sharrica Miller, Ph.D., RN, titled "Every Youth Needs Someone." Dr. Miller is a doctoral prepared board-certified pediatric nurse practitioner with nearly 20 years of experience in nursing. She has over 10 years of mentor, advocacy, and research experience working with transitional-age foster youth.

After spending 12 years of her childhood in foster care, Dr. Miller earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Howard University and worked in a multitude of nursing specialties including pediatrics, emergency medicine, and critical care, before becoming a nurse practitioner. She earned her Ph.D. from UCLA in 2017, completing her dissertation on the health and well-being of transitional age foster youth. She is a nationally recognized TEDx speaker and author who was featured in the documentary "Still Waters Never Crash," which chronicled her journey from foster care to Ph.D.

Dr. Miller began her keynote by sharing her traumatic experience in foster care – she was removed from her home and her drug-addicted mother and drug dealing father at the age of 5 or 6 – which caused her to disassociate with reality. She didn’t trust any of the adults who were making all the decisions about her life. Reading was her escape and education put her on a path toward self-determination and success.

She shared three key lessons with the conference attendees: Connect before you correct, believe in the children more than they may believe in themselves, and be willing to plant seeds that you may never get to see grow. By combining lived experience with professional expertise, Dr. Miller’s presentation directly addressed the urgent need for connection and mentorship in today’s climate.

Over the course of both days, conference sessions addressed topics including trauma-informed care, supportive housing for youth aging out of foster care, strategies for empowering case managers, family interventions addressing substance-involved families, creating supportive environments in courtrooms, Attachment Theory, trends in human trafficking, navigating autism spectrum disorder, supporting sexually traumatized children, fatherhood engagement, empowering parents through peer connection, empathy, mental health first aid, navigating generational trauma, managing challenging behaviors, caregiver support services/respite care, youth suicide prevention, and safe sleep for babies.

"For 14 years, Safe Children Coalition has convened thousands of professionals for learning, inspiration and networking. SCC's Learning & Professional Development team works all year to build the conference program, looking at current issues in society that affect children and families in crisis as well as reviewing feedback from attendees of previous conferences to make each conference a valuable experience for all," said SCC President & CEO Brena Slater. "We are proud to bring together dedicated professionals from near and far to share best practices, learn new research-based strategies, and to gather more resources to help children and their families.”

The following organizations helped to make this professional development opportunity possible: Conference Title Sponsor, Gulf Coast Community Foundation; Program Sponsor, Family Initiative; Educational Sponsor, Florida Institute for Child Welfare; and Program Sponsor, Sunshine Health.

For more about SCC, visit sccfl.org.

About Safe Children Coalition, Inc.
Safe Children Coalition, Inc. (SCC) serves as the lead agency for community-based care for Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. SCC is a collaboration between local community agencies who provide services to children and families in need. SCC is committed to protecting children, strengthening families, and building community. The core functions provided by SCC include child welfare case management, foster care, adoption, independent living, prevention, diversion, quality management, and support services. Visit sccfl.org or call 941-371-4799.