Speaker Bio
Heather Alden, MSW, LICSW
K-12 Administrator's License Supervisor, Project REACH/Fostering Connections, MV Liaison; St. Paul Public Schools
Heather Alden is a school social worker with over 31 years of experience in urban education as both a teacher and social worker in Saint Paul Public Schools. She serves as Supervisor of Project REACH, a shelter and street-based program supporting school stability and academic success for children and youth experiencing homelessness, and works with Fostering Connections to promote educational stability for students in out-of-home care.
Heather earned her MSW from University of Houston and her undergraduate degree from Hamline University. She was named the Minnesota School Social Worker of the Year in 2011 and the National School Social Worker of the Year in 2012. She has provided professional development for educators, mental health professionals, and parents, served as an adjunct faculty member at Augsburg College, and works as a clinical lead social worker at Children's Minnesota. Heather is a dedicated advocate for educational equity, affordable housing, and youth mental health awareness.
Breakout 3C
Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness with a Trauma Informed, Mental Health Lens
Heather Alden
Learning Objectives:
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Understand McKinney Vento Law and ESSA Act for students in Foster care and their protections under that law with special attention to active enrollment in school.
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Understand the impact where homelessness and foster care intersects with mental health; clinically examining how this plays a role in students being able to navigate school with its academic rigor, social demands and challenges.
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Identify strategies and ideas of how to better support this community of students in our schools so that their mental health and the impact of housing scarcity or living without their primary caregiver doesn't preclude them from experiencing success at school and in accomplishing their goals.
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CEUs: 1 BOSW Clinical