Association Solutions client National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA) entered the world of virtual conferences last month when it launched the virtual NCSEA 2021 Policy Forum ~ Connected. Traditionally held each year in Washington, D.C., the Policy Forum is dedicated to the policies and issues influencing the child support program as well as all human services, at the national, state, and local levels.
The virtual event was held over five days, and it included twelve plenary sessions and three discussion groups. The Policy Forum took on the timely and tough subject of diversity, equity and inclusion, with the theme “Moving Towards Equity Through Policy,” and applied the program’s skill and creativity to the issues of bias, barriers, racial trauma and systemic inequities.
The theme generated significant interest as more than 700 attendees participated in the virtual event, far exceeding expected attendance of 375! The virtual offering also expanded the Policy Forum audience, bringing many first-time attendees to the conference, including many who would never have had the opportunity to attend in-person. The new audience provided participants added insight and perspective in the discussion groups, as well as in chats during the plenary sessions.
Opening speaker Dr. Nita Mosby Tyler helped us learn how systems can feed inequality, how to gain knowledge to help address equity in home jurisdictions and across the child support program nationally. Subsequent plenary sessions addressed how to identify and disrupt implicit bias, barriers to inclusion contained in present day automated systems, and the public health implications of institutional and systemic racism among other topics.
Overall feedback from conference attendees was extremely positive, including the theme as well as the schedule and virtual platform (Cvent). The success of the event may lead NCSEA to incorporate virtual options into current conferences, as well as add a separate event to its schedule.
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