OICWA CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020:

The Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare Association (OICWA) is excited to announce that the 13th Annual OICWA Conference “2020 Vision of ICWA Best Practices Through Sharing Cultural Connections” will be held virtually on November 4th, 5th, & 6th, 2020.

Based on concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our conference attendees ability to travel, the OICWA Conference Committee has made the decision to move to a virtual conference platform. The safety and well- being of our conference attendees is our priority.

OICWA intends to continue its conference tradition of delivering top-notch training and invaluable opportunities to learn from colleagues and increase knowledge of the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare Act and facilitate collaboration efforts with Oklahoma Department of Human Services and the Oklahoma Court system.

The virtual conference will span two and one-half days with an afternoon plenary webinar session on Wednesday, opening ceremony with keynote address, panel discussion and webinar presentation on Thursday and four hybrid workshop sessions on Friday. Conference session topics will focus on four main training tracks: Policy & Procedure/ Behavioral Health/ Legal/ Culture.

This year, OICWA is working with the Osage Nation and will dedicate a session to feature Osage culture and tradition as the in-person conference was originally planned to be hosted by the Osage Nation and held at the Osage Hotel and Casino.