Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment

Meet the presenter for Tuesday's ECCS training!

Jessica Seiler is a Clinical Research Supervisor at the Avera Research Institute in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. With more than eight years of experience in research, she has contributed to large longitudinal studies, clinical trials, and community-based programs. In her current role, Jessica supports the Avera Healthy Start program and its staff to help ensure successful implementation and positive outcomes for participating families. Her professional interests focus on improving health outcomes for children and families.

There is still time to register and join us online on Tuesday at 12:00pm CT. https://sdcpcm.com/events/eccs-touchpoints-0609/

Join us June 9 for our monthly ECCS Touchpoints webinar.
https://sdcpcm.com/events/eccs-touchpoints-0609/

In this session, we will explore Healthy Start, a national initiative dedicated to improving maternal and infant health outcomes. Implemented in communities with the greatest health disparities, Healthy Start provides critical services before, during, and after pregnancy. We will highlight the need for programs like Healthy Start in South Dakota, where infant mortality rates have remained unchanged for over a decade and maternal health challenges persist. Attendees will gain insight into how Avera Healthy Start supports families through comprehensive, community-driven solutions—including prenatal education, mental health support, and assistance with essential needs like housing and transportation. This webinar will provide valuable knowledge on how collaborative, evidence-based approaches can create healthier beginnings for families.

The Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment (CPCM) at the University of South Dakota is seeking a highly organized and mission-driven Foster Care Licensing and Placement Specialist to help children in need find safe, supportive foster care homes.

In this full-time role, you will work closely with the Department of Social Services and a distributed CPCM team to facilitate placement requests and match children with foster families who meet their needs. You’ll use your problem-solving skills, quick judgment, and strong communication to facilitate timely placements, while maintaining detailed documentation and ensuring compliance with all state requirements. This position is perfect for someone who thrives in fast-paced work environments and finds meaning in supporting vulnerable children and families. You will also help recruit, license, and retain foster care families in South Dakota.

As a Foster Care Licensing and Placement Specialist you will:
• Coordinate timely and effective foster care placements, ensuring that each child is matched with a home that considers sibling bonds, cultural context, proximity, and special needs.
• Maintain clear, ongoing communication and strong collaborative relationships with DSS Child Protective Services, DSS Office of Licensing & Accreditation, foster families, and fellow CPCM team members.
• Assist with recruitment, support, licensure, and retention of foster and potential adoptive families.
• Accurately track, document, and report licensure and placement-related data, meeting DSS and OLA compliance requirements.

Find details and apply at https://yourfuture.sdbor.edu/postings/48397.

Foster Care Licensing and Placement Specialist The Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment (CPCM) at the University of South Dakota is seeking a highly organized and mission-driven Foster Care Licensing and Placement Specialist to help children in need find safe, supportive foster care homes.In this full-time role, you will work closely....

The May session of the Court Improvement Program training series is just around the corner!

Register now and join us on May 27 at 12:00pm CT online for "Intersections with Criminal Law, Domestic Violence, SANE Exams" presented by Tracey Decker, SD Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault and Jen Canton, Avera.

https://sdcpcm.com/events/may2026-cip/

Everyone deserves time to care for their health and loved ones. Paid Family and Medical Leave make that possible.

PFML is a powerful primary prevention resource. We asked South Dakotans how PFML impacted their family. To learn more about PFML and other family-forward and primary prevention approaches, visit https://sdcpcm.com/our-work/businesses-for-babies/

Meet the presenter for tomorrow's webinar, Eliminating Childhood Lead Exposure: The South Dakota Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

https://sdcpcm.com/events/eccs-touchpoints-0512/

Brooke Lusk is the Director of the Division of Health and Human Services for Black Hills Special Services, a position she has held since 2004. Brooke is a Registered Nurse and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from USD. She has 30 years of experience in health and human services programs, six of those years with the South Dakota Department of Health and twenty-four with Black Hills Special Services. Brooke provides nurse consultant services to the SD Department of Health Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. She oversees several other public health programs and programs that provide services and training to people with disabilities.