4th Annual Children, Youth & Family Services Summit

Held on March 4th, 2026 at the Salem Convention Center, the 4th annual summit focused on the theme of Igniting Hope and drew a crowd of over 330 people, including local youth, families, and system partners focused on child, youth, and family health for a day of learning, creating action, and relationship building. View a short video of the day here. 

This event featured:
• Eight exciting breakout sessions led by youth and community partners, highlighting community hot topics and calls to action for community collaboration.
• Table activities aimed at finding ways to integrate the day’s learnings into daily work carried out by community, led by our Youth Co-Emcee, Ecoa Lee.
• A student panel on the current experiences of young people and what they need from community in this time, spoken to by students from Gervais, Jefferson, Falls City, Mt. Angel, and Salem-Keizer School Districts.
• A hope-filled address by Superintendent Andrea Castenada

3rd Annual Children, Youth & Family Services Summit

Held on April 22, 2025 at the Salem Convention Center, the summit focused on the theme of Expanding the Circle of Belonging, drawing over 300 participants to engage in workshops and discussions centered on strengthening community support systems for children, youth, and families.

The event featured a keynote address by Ben McBride of the Empower Initiative, eight breakout sessions focused on the development of community action, and an impactful panel hosted by youth involved with the Marion-Polk System of Care, the Career Technical Education Center, the Russian Old Believers community, Punx with Purpose, and Backbone. New this year, the event also included a networking hour, featuring a poster session with additional presenters sharing about child, youth, and family focused projects locally, and a book signing with Ben McBride. 

2nd Annual Children, Youth & Family Services Summit

Hosted on March 7th, 2024 at the Salem Convention Center, this event highlighted and provided workshopping opportunities for innovative projects aimed at community improvements to better serve children, youth, and families locally.

Through the theme of Building Community Resilience and Belonging, over 300 guests heard from keynote speaker, Dr. Wendy Ellis of the Center for Community Resilience at George Washington University, as well as students from the Career Technical Education Center, Willamette Career Academy,  and local families.

1st Annual Children, Youth & Family Services Summit

Hosted on February 1, 2023 at the Keizer Civic Center, this summit brought together nearly 200 local partners across the Marion-Polk region actively engaged in youth and family-centered agencies, coalitions, committees, programs, and other initiatives.

This even provided an opportunity for partners to re-connect, network, and learn about the incredible children, youth, and family focused work happening locally.