The Cross Sites annual meeting brings together child welfare professionals, judges, court personnel, service providers, community coordinators, parent leaders, and state early childhood partners actively implementing and exploring the team-based Safe Babies approach.
It serves as a national learning community where attendees can share ideas, innovative approaches, and the latest scientific practices in child welfare, particularly focusing on infants, toddlers, and their families who are in or at-risk of entering the child welfare system.
This year, participants will be able to learn from each other, share innovative practices, network, forge new connections, and discover common ground.
This Year’s Theme
This year’s theme, Celebrating our roots, Growing our branches, honors our strong foundation in early relationships, childhood health and wellness rooted in infant mental health and parent voice while looking ahead to the future. Together, we’re expanding early childhood systems, fostering innovation and new ideas and deepening connections that strengthen families and communities. Celebrate at Cross Sites with us and branch out to support the next generation, so infants, toddlers and families can flourish.
Whether you’re working in the courtroom, the community, or in policy and advocacy, this event is designed to support and energize your efforts to improve outcomes for children and families.
Registration
Registration is now closed to attend the in-person Cross Sites 2025 event for Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Infant-Toddler Court Program (ITCP) Grantees and states/sites actively implementing and exploring the Safe Babies approach.
For questions, please contact your state’s Safe Babies Training and Technical Assistance Specialist or email CrossSites@zerotothree.org.
Agenda
The agenda is filled with 2.5 days of dynamic content designed for judges, attorneys, child welfare professionals, community coordinators, statewide coordinators, mental health clinicians, parent leaders, and more.
Tuesday, August 5
- HRSA Infant-Toddler Court Program Grantee Meeting
- Judges’ Convening
- Role-specific sessions
- Networking event
Wednesday, August 6
- Welcome Remarks
- Opening General Session
- Full day of sessions and programming
Thursday, August 7
- Half-day of sessions and programming
- Oregon, Host state/site highlight
- Team meetings
- Closing General Session
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, connect, and lead change together.
General Session Speakers
Mollie Nisen, MD, FASAM is a physician board-certified in Addiction and Family Medicine. Her clinical and research work focuses on the intersection of reproductive health, substance use disorders and recovery. She proudly serves as the director of the EMPOWR Program at Cooper University Hospital, which provides interdisciplinary, evidence-based care for pregnant mothers and parents with substance use disorders.
Lili Gray, LCSW, RYT is a National Trainer for Child-Parent Psychotherapy and serves on its Global Steering Committee. She specializes in trauma treatment for young children, reflective supervision, and supporting families in the child welfare system. Lili is also a trainer for Facilitating Attuned Interactions (FAN), DC:0–5, and ZERO TO THREE. She presents nationally and internationally on infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) and serves on multiple state and national workgroups. Lili is a board member of the Illinois Association for IECMH and a member of Florida Alliance for Infant Mental Health and the World Association for Infant Mental Health.
Sufna John, PhD is a licensed psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She specializes in infant and early childhood mental health, trauma-informed care, and supporting families in the child welfare system. Sufna partners with organizations such as ZERO TO THREE, the National Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center, and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network to develop resources, lead workgroups, and provide training. She is passionate about building trauma-informed systems that support all caregivers and young children.
Allison Smith, PhD is a Licensed Child Psychologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She specializes in treating traumatic stress in young children and their families. Allison is nationally certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, and is rostered in Child-Parent Psychotherapy. Her research focuses on child welfare-involved families, evidence-based treatment, and implementation science. She is affiliated with the Arkansas Building Effective Services for Trauma program and is committed to supporting professionals serving children and families impacted by trauma.
2025 Sponsors and Partners
This meeting is hosted by ZERO TO THREE and the HRSA-funded Infant-Toddler Court Program National Resource Center and in partnership with Help Me Grow; National Indian Child Welfare Association; Family Voices; American Academy of Pediatrics; Center for the Study of Social Policy; American Bar Association, Center on Children and the Law; the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; and an independent evaluation team at James Bell Associates.
Acknowledgements
The National Infant-Toddler Court Program was made possible through the support of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $8,400,564 with 0 percent financed from non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov ZERO TO THREE deeply appreciates Ballmer Group for its generous support of our work to scale the Safe Babies approach. We’d like to especially thank Connie Ballmer for her vision and commitment to transforming the child welfare system so that all babies thrive. Ballmer Group is committed to improving economic mobility for children and families in the United States, funding leaders and organizations that have demonstrated the ability to reshape opportunity and reduce systemic inequities.
