DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCES
PUBLIC HEALTH SEMINAR
Presented by: Vannessa Dorantes, LMSW
Managing Director, Strategic Consulting
Casey Family Programs
TITLE: PREVENTION: Upstream Considerations in Reducing the Likelihood of Child Maltreatment
DATE: Tuesday, June 25, 2024
TIME: 12:00-1:00 pm
LOCATION: Hybrid format – 195 Farmington Avenue, Ste. 2100 and via Teams
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Ms. Dorantes joins Casey following her second term as Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (CT DCF) and is the first African American to serve in that role for the state of Connecticut managing a department budget of $868 million and a staff count of 3200. She chaired The Governor’s Kids Cabinet —cochaired Connecticut’s Alcohol & Drug Policy Council and the Governor’s Council on Women & Girls. DCF’s racial equity work was focused through safety culture modeling, performance management and continuous quality improvement as evidenced by Connecticut’s successful exit from a three-decades-long federal consent decree in 2022 which garnered national media attention following the reduction of a third of the state’s foster care population.
Within the 30+ years with CT DCF, Ms. Dorantes has held every position in the department’s social work job class and was an adjunct faculty at Central CT State University. She served on the Social Work Advisory Boards of two state universities during their CSWE re-accreditation and as a member of UCONN School of Social Work Board of Advocates and Dean search committee. She holds a certification in supervision and field instruction.
Ms. Dorantes is a member of the Board of Directors of the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) where she Chaired the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators (NAPCWA).
For more information, contact: Lisa Cook at lcook@uchc.edu