Danielsen Appointed to Virginia Family and Children’s Trust (FACT) Board

For nearly a decade, Associate Professor of Social Work Ian Danielsen has shared his professional experience and academic expertise with Longwood students preparing for careers in social work.

However, as a longtime social worker and child services advocate, Danielsen's focus has long extended beyond the classroom-and his latest statewide recognition will allow him to share his expertise to the benefit of families across Virginia.

In August, Virginia Speaker of the House Don Scott appointed Danielsen to the Virginia Family and Children's Trust (FACT), a state advisory and funding board comprising experts from various disciplines. The group advises Virginia's governor, the Virginia Department of Social Services and other elected and appointed officials on matters related to the interests of children and families.

The board's work is critical in Virginia, which is one of only 10 "local control" states whose oversight of child services is handled at the local level-specifically within cities or clusters of rural counties, as opposed to being done through a singular statewide agency. That structure, says Danielsen, is twofold in that it allows for specialized focus based on the needs of a specific area, but it also creates inconsistencies from locality to locality.

"In Virginia, we have more than 120 local agencies who implement child welfare services in their specific area. That sets the table for a fair amount of inconsistency," Danielsen said. "FACT monitors for things like staff vacancy and retention rates and advises the governor on how to address resource deficits. Just like it takes a village, so to speak, to support healthy schools, so it is with a child welfare system."

Created in 1986 by the Virginia General Assembly, FACT also raises funds for statewide services, increases awareness among policy-makers, and advises state legislators on policies related to the prevention of family violence. That focus includes child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse and neglect.

Danielsen is well-qualified to contribute to that mission. Prior to becoming associate professor of social work at Longwood in 2016, he spent more than 20 years working with juvenile offenders and victims of child abuse throughout Virginia, while also advocating for specific child services with Virginia's elected officials. That includes time in the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, as director of Greater Richmond SCAN's (Stop Child Abuse Now) Child Advocacy Center, and on the Virginia Bar Association's Commission on the Needs of Children and Families Forward Virginia.

Along the way, he has received numerous awards, including the Virginia Office of the Attorney General's "Unsung Hero" award, the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award and the Commonwealth of Virginia Governor's Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect. At Longwood, he is also heavily involved with Longwood LIFE, a post-secondary education program for young adults who have intellectual disabilities.

Danielsen brings that expertise to an interdisciplinary FACT board that includes public health administrators, court-appointed special advocates (CASA), fundraising experts and more.

"I've done 'micro work,' like forensic interviewing, meso work like helping teams and helping people better help families, and then the macro work of legislative policy work," Danielsen said. "I've gotten to affiliate with professionals who know an awful lot about child protection and child welfare, and I've benefited from having a lot of models for policy and legislative mental health."

Danielsen, who began his four-year term on the FACT board in September, has also exposed Longwood students to those models, both inside and outside of his classroom. He has taken groups to meet with delegates and the Virginia's Children's Ombudsman-an appointed official who reviews complaints about the state's child services system-while also advocating locally. In 2019, he supported his students as they went before the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors to advocate for declaring April Child Abuse Prevention Month. The county adopted the measure and recognizes the month annually.

"The child welfare system is complicated, but at the end of the day, we're trying to support the well-being of children and families," he said.