Who We Are
The National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators (NAPCWA) provides national leadership for the development of sound policy, successful and innovative practices, and critical capacity building to improve agency performance and consumer outcomes.
Our Purpose
NAPCWA represents state and local public child welfare agencies through their child welfare administrators, deputies, and other child welfare agency staff that envision a safe and loving public child welfare system to provide children with permanent homes and support in their social and emotional growth and development.
Contact
Meg Dygert
Senior Policy Associate, Child and Family Well-Being, APHSA
Leadership
Executive Committee:
Chair
Mary Carpenter, Director
Division of Protection and Permanency
Vice Chair
Dr. Alger M. Studstill, Jr., Executive Director
Social Services Administration
Main State Representatives
Angie Schwartz, Deputy Director
CA Department of Social Services Children and Family Services Division
Gail Geohagen-Pratt, Associate Commissioner
New York State Office of Children and Family Services
Laura Opfer, Deputy Director
Policy & Legislative Services
Michael Williams, Director, Child Welfare Services
Oklahoma Department of Human Services
Jennifer Dorfmeyer, Chief Deputy Director
Indiana
Rebecca Vinroot, Director
Virginia Division of Family Services
Monty Prow, Deputy Director
Idaho Department of Children, Youth & Families
Lisa Cauley, MSW, Senior Director
North Carolina Child, Family and Adult Services
Alyssa Bish, PhD, Director
Nebraska Children and Family Services
Bobbi Johnson, Director, Office of Child and Family Services
Maine Department of Health & Human Services
Clinton Page, Deputy Commissioner
New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency
Jeffrey Van Deusen, Child Welfare Director
Office of Families and Children
Laval Miller-Wilson
OCYF Deputy Secretary
Tony Nease,
Director of Federal Programs
Andrea Sanders, Commissioner
MS Department of Child Protection Services
John Elliot
Child Welfare Director
County Representatives
Nick Henderson, Child Welfare Director
Sterns County Dept. of Health and Human Services
Michael Becketts, Director
Fairfax County Department of Family Services
Chip Spinning, Director
Franklin County Family and Child Services
Manideep Gill, Director of Child Welfare
Allegheny County, PA
Catie Gavin, Deputy Commissioner
Erie County, NY Department of Social Services
Bridgette Hernandez, Assistant Director
Riverside County, CA Children’s Services
Back-up Representative
Debi Knecht, Deputy Director
Child Welfare Programs
Latest Work
Comment Letters:
Comment on Senate Finance Committee Hearing “The Family First Prevention Services Act” (June 2024)
Comment on NRPM Foster Care Legal Representation (November 2023)
APHSA Response to NPRM on Safe and Appropriate Foster Care Placement Requirements for Titles IV-E and IV-B (November 2023)
Additional Resources:
APHSA members receive free access to the Journal of Public Child Welfare. This journal provides quality research and comprehensive information for child welfare professionals and public agencies.
