Public or Tribal Child Welfare

As PACC Coordinator, Keely completed PACC with the 2015-16 Twin Cities cohort. Prior to joining the CASCW team, she practiced both community and clinical social work with a focus on autism spectrum and related disorders across the lifespan, and is particularly interested in the intersection of child welfare and disability.

I provide Concurrent Planning and Special Needs Adoption case work for a county system. I am responsible for locating permanency options and completing adoptions post TPR. I provide support to foster, birth and adoptive families. I have worked in the child protection field for over 12 years with approximately 6 of them in adoption. I locate families for children on my case load with the goal of permanency.

Address:
Benton County Human Services
PO Box 740
Foley, MN 56329

I am currently the Deputy Director of Health and Human Services with managerial responsibility for child-serving programs. Previously, I was the supervisor of Child Welfare supervisor of Child Welfare services and Licensing at Nicollet County with previous experience as a case manager for children’s mental health, child protective services and adoption case management. I use the information and perspectives I learned through the PACC training every day in my work.

Address:
Itasca County Health and Human Services
1209 SE 2nd Ave
Grand Rapids, MN 55744

Char earned her Masters in Social Work from the University of St. Thomas/St. Catherine University in 2011. She is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker by the MN Board of Social Work and has certificates in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and Permanency and Adoption. Char has 14 years experience working within the child welfare system, and is well-versed in safety and support planning with families, infant and early childhood mental health, child development, foster care and adoption issues, and attachment.

Michele Lovehaug received her bachelor of arts degree from Concordia College in 1997 in both social work and Spanish. She went on to complete her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Minnesota in 1999. Ms. Lovehaug is a Licensed Independent Social Worker in both North Dakota and Minnesota. She is also a Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work.

Aimee Klinski, MSW, is the Permanency/Adoption Social Worker for Winona County providing services related to permanency planning and the elements of adoption for children under the guardianship of the State of Minnesota. She works closely with Ongoing Child Protection Case Managers for concurrent permanency planning.

Address:
Ramsey County
160 E. Kellogg Blvd #7000
Saint Paul, MN 55101

Neree's home is filled with biological, adopted and foster children. She has worked in various areas of child development and child welfare for more than 20 years, and mentors former foster youth on their own parenting journeys. She currently works in child welfare transformation, shifting system thinking about trauma, worthiness, race, and wellbeing while supporting agencies to find and/or maintain permanency for youth under their jurisdiction.