The Missing Piece: Courts Integrating Lived Expertise into Child Welfare System Improvement

Gina Cabiddu, MSW - Gina is a former foster youth, adoptee, and social worker with 10+ years of service. Her work has spanned child protective services investigations, private non-profit regional leadership, consultation services through her own LLC, successful statewide expansion of a model that has reduced pediatric boarding in emergency departments for intellectual/developmental/mental health needs, and working in Washington D.C with Congress to develop policies, practices, and legislation regarding child welfare at the national scale. Her work has been recognized with a MultiCare Research Symposium award and she has been published in the legal journal the Guardian twice. She is currently earning her LICSW to provide direct therapy services while building her LLC to provide training and system reform through multi-disciplinary collaborations at the national level.

Angela Cerilli Sager, MPA, Senior Court Management Consultant, NCSC - Sager joined the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) as a Senior Court Management Consultant after fifteen years of experience working with Pennsylvania’s family court system as part of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, Court Improvement Program. Ms. Sager has provided in-person and online training and technical assistance to courts in many areas of child welfare reform and is a specialist in family engagement, the collection, analysis, and utilization of dependency court data, court observation, and technical assistance to family court judges. She also has specialties in educational success for children in foster care and dependent children of incarcerated parents. Ms. Sager has also led statewide reform efforts on family engagement strategies related to family inclusion and enhanced legal representation in the child welfare system. Since starting at NCSC, Ms. Sager has worked on projects related to engaging lived experts, community resource and opportunity mapping, multidisciplinary legal representation, case management, remote dependency hearings, family court education sessions, and various other child welfare topics. In addition, Ms. Sager leads efforts on elder law and adult guardianship projects. Prior to joining NCSC, Ms. Sager has worked in county and state government in the areas of family court, child welfare, adult corrections, and juvenile probation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Administration of Justice and a Master of Public Administration, both from the University of Pittsburgh.

Teresa Nord, Training and Technical Assistance Specialist, Tribal Youth Resource Center - Teresa is a descendent of the Diné and Indigenous peoples of Mexico and a proud mother of two beautiful daughters, she is a fiancé, dog mom, survivor, women in recovery and community advocate. She serves as a Training and Technical Assistance Specialist for the Tribal Youth Resource Center at Tribal Law & Policy Institute. Teresa has also served as a Parent Advocate, Mentor, and board member for the Indian Child Welfare Law Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota for over 7 ½ years. Teresa has also served as a Reentry Coordinator for justice involved Indigenous women in Minnesota with the goals of healing and community reunification. Teresa has served in the Twin Cities as a member the National Emergent Leaders; Women Transforming Families, advisory board member of the “SAVES” Safe Access for Victims Economic Security Advisory Council for the DHS, volunteer and community organizer on a variety of issues including Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/Relatives, community safety, and violence reduction. Since 2018, Teresa has received certifications in; Trauma Healing Advocacy for Indigenous Communities, Upper Midwest Council Addictive Disorders- UMICAD, Indigenous Sexual Assault for Minnesota Women’s Sexual Assault Coalitions MIWSAC, Birth Parent National Network-BPNN, Birth Parent Advisory Council- BPAC for Casey Family Programs, Mind, Body, Medicine and crisis intervention. Teresa’s passion for doing this work has been fueled by her experience as an Indigenous woman within the child protection system, addiction, domestic violence & sexual assault, mental health, incarceration and systemic racism. With the support of FVPSA, Teresa has been able to use her voice as a National speaker, presenter, facilitator, and advocate, while also conducting focus groups, listening sessions, talking circles, and a panelist for the Accountability Dialogue, etc. Teresa’s passion for continuing to move lived experience experts' voices forward in the Child Welfare system is unwavering. Teresa’s hope is a future where no child or family involved in the child welfare system is without the support to of a lived experience expert.

Leroy Pascubillo - Leroy is a dedicated single father and a passionate advocate for parents and children navigating the child welfare system. In 2019, Leroy's daughter was taken by the state due to being born with heroin in her system. With the invaluable support of a parent ally from the Family Treatment Court, Leroy embarked on a challenging journey to regain custody of his daughter. With a long history of involvement with addiction, Leroy found hope and a path to recovery through the Family Treatment Court. During his time within a long-term treatment facility, with active involvement in the Family Treatment Court program, he entered into the Family Connections program, which focuses on building connections between parents and caregivers. Leroy was reunified with his daughter while at the long-term treatment facility, graduating from both treatment and the Family Treatment Court program shortly thereafter.

After graduation he remained wholly engaged in the Family Connections program gaining the trust and support of his daughter’s caregivers, who witnessed the positive changes in his life. Even after reunification, these caregivers remain an integral part of his extended family, creating a supportive "village" that celebrates “their” daughter’s birthdays, holidays and achievements together. Inspired by his own journey, Leroy became a Parent Ally and later the Certified Lead Family Mentor for the Family Connections program. In this role, he helps other parents navigate the complexities of the child welfare system. Leroy has also earned his Certified Peer Counselor certificate and W.R.A.P. certificate, further enhancing his ability and dedication to support families in need.

In addition to his work as a mentor and counselor, Leroy is actively involved in various organizations focused on advocacy for fathers and children. He is committed to making systemic changes to ensure that other parents do not have to struggle as he did. Leroy's dedication and lived expertise make him an invaluable advocate and mentor in the community.

Kristen Nicole Powell - Kristen is a passionate and creative community leader who co-founded The Lost & Found Institute (LFI) in 2023. LFI's mission is Through healing and honoring our humanity we are eliminating the oppression of our people. The Lost & Found Institute works with youth and young adults who have been impacted by systems of care and trauma to help them navigate transformative organizing, liberation, and healing.

From a former foster kid and incarcerated youth to a survivor of human trafficking, Kristen is a testament to the power of the human spirit. Through the use of advocacy, public speaking and transformative organizing Kristen has inspired people across the country to make changes within their communities. Kristen has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and sociology from Wichita State University, and has worked in various roles that involve survivor-informed, survivor-led services, holistic healing, journalism, and policy reform. Kristen has received multiple awards and recognition for her dedication and inspiration, such as the Light the Way Youth Award and the Soroptimist International Live Your Dream award.

JoAnn Santangelo - JoAnn has extensive experience in social policy, criminal justice, and child welfare. With a strong academic background, including a Master’s in Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania, she has excelled in leadership and program development across multiple sectors. Currently serving as the Court Improvement Program Director for Delaware’s Family Court, she utilizes her expertise in data analysis, research, and strategic planning to drive impactful policy initiatives. JoAnn’s career spans over 15 years, where she has demonstrated a commitment to improving juvenile justice systems, promoting alternative solutions to detention, and enhancing the well-being of youth experiencing the foster care system.

Miguel Trujillo, Court Management Consultant, NCSC - Trujillo's work has a particular emphasis on data-informed strategies for continuous quality improvement. At NCSC, Miguel works on child welfare, problem solving courts, behavioral health, and domestic relations projects. He assists with program evaluations, pilot program implementation, and building justice system collaboration across state and national levels. Recently, he has partnered with lived experts in efforts to promote the engagement of lived experts in dependency system policy and planning work. Miguel holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Utah.

Melissa Zielstorf - Melissa is a parent who has navigated the child welfare dependency court system on two separate occasions. After her last dependency case was dismissed in 2013, Melissa reunified with her three children for the last time. Since then, Melissa has valued advocating and supporting other families facing similar experiences. Melissa is a contracted Social Service Specialist with the Office of Public Defense Parents Representation Program in WA State and a Lived Expert consultant with the Administrative Office of Courts. She previously worked as a case manager at a family treatment program, providing support services to families in the dependency court process, and is now contracted as the referral coordinator. A strong believer in the power of transformative connection, Melissa feels that by dismantling society's biased perceptions, we can foster genuine empathy and ensure that families are treated with the dignity they deserve. Her passion for seeing systemic change is rooted in her belief that all people belong, and that every family deserves a fair and compassionate path toward healing and reunification.