Training & Project Specialist
Collette Solano joined the Butler Institute for Families in 2005. Her expertise in the field of child welfare was gained at the Denver County Department of Human Services, first in ongoing child protection and ultimately in community collaboration and as a Team Decision Making Facilitator. Her work in the Bilingual Unit at Denver County allowed her to provide support to Spanish speaking children and families, and kinship, relative, and foster care providers. Ms. Solano has also worked extensively with community agencies to identify and utilize community-based resources to support and strengthen families in the child welfare system.
Ms. Solano worked with staff at the University of Kansas to develop and deliver training on working with Hispanic/Latino families involved in the child welfare system. She also has delivered training on working with fathers in the child welfare system. Both of these trainings were funded through Children’s Bureau grants. She is currently a trainer for the Colorado Child Welfare Training Academy and co-leads the Butler Institute’s work on the Colorado Child Welfare Intern Academy and the Child Welfare Title IV-E Stipend Program. In addition, she is working on another Federal grant as liaison for Title IV-B Child Welfare Traineeship students on Butler Institute’s Western Workforce grant. Ms. Solano also does training for foster parents and seasoned workers in the child welfare system. Ms. Solano has a BSW from Metropolitan State College and an MSW from the University of Denver.
