09/13/2025
🟣 🌍 This week, ACRC joined colleagues from around the globe at the EUSARF Conference in Zagreb, Croatia — an important gathering focused on advancing research, practice, and policy in alternative care for children.
Our Executive Director Kari Sisson, Board Member Dr. Lisa Holmes, former Board Presidents Christopher Bellonci and Bob Lieberman represented ACRC alongside international partners, working together to address the global crisis in children’s mental health.
🟣 ACRC was grateful to see a presentation from Nancy Pierce (ACRC/BBI Senior Family Consultant & ACRC Board Member), Charley Downing, Bob Lieberman, Margaret McGladrey, Ph.D., and Vera Stoulil on:
“Using a Theory of Change for Co-Design and Evaluation of Residential Innovation and Transformation” — highlighting family and youth co-design in residential quality improvement, grounded in systems of care principles.
The conference covered critical topics shaping the future of care, including:
✔️ Processes and policies in alternative care
✔️ Research evidence use & knowledge transfer
✔️ Quality of alternative care and therapeutic services
✔️ Prevention of institutionalization & support for families at risk
✔️ Mental health, wellbeing, and trauma-informed practices
✔️ Cultural sensitivity, diversity, and social inclusion
✔️ Child participation, identities, and lived experiences
✔️ Transitions and leaving care
ACRC is proud to be part of these conversations, ensuring the voices and needs of children and families are at the center of global solutions. Together, we are building stronger systems of care that prioritize wellbeing, dignity, and opportunity for every child.
