Julie Sweeney Springwater

Julie Sweeney Springwater is a lecturer and retired faculty member who was a past chair of Macro Practice at BUSSW. She is executive director of the New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors at Judge Baker Children’s Center in Boston.

Working in public child welfare early in her career convinced Springwater that there were better ways to partner with families, youth and children who found themselves in the child welfare system. Throughout her career, she has continually sought ways to improve policy and practice—engaging families and youth to achieve this and leading and managing organizations that provide competent support for those who do this vital work.

Springwater is the author of “Youth Engagement in Policy Advocacy: Successes and Challenges of a Multi-state Current and Former Foster Care Youth Coalition,” which will appear in an upcoming issue of Children and Youth Services Review, and of Trauma-Informed Resilient Child Welfare Agencies: A New England Learning Community – Summary of the Work (New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors and Casey Family Programs, 2018).

Springwater serves on the board of the Child Welfare League of America, the Massachusetts Network of Foster Care Alumni and USA Gymnastics, where she chairs the Safe Sport Committee.