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The California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare & Attendance (CASCWA) is thrilled to announce Tony Hoffman as the opening keynote for CASCWA’s 89th Annual State Conference, March 16-18, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento.
On December 13th, 2008, Tony Hoffman was paroled by the California Department of Corrections after serving a two-year sentence for a drug-related robbery. While incarcerated, Tony set four goals: Race BMX professionally, go to the Olympics, start a non-profit called the Freewheel Project, and become a professional mental health and substance abuse speaker.
During his senior year at Clovis High School he was featured on the cover of BMXer Magazine, and was sponsored by Fox Racing, Spy Sunglasses and Airwalk Shoes. On the surface, Tony's path seemed destined for stardom. However, in reality, Tony experienced crippling anxiety, depression and suicidal ideations. Tony's substance use began during his senior year, leading to the deterioration of his mental health and opioid addiction soon followed. Due to his misuse of Oxycontin, & other drugs a life of addiction, crime, homelessness and incarceration became his reality.
CASCWA announces Hedy Chang as keynote speaker for the 89th Annual State Conference
The California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare & Attendance (CASCWA) is pleased to announce Hedy N. Chang, founder and executive director of Attendance Works, as a keynote speaker at the CASCWA State Conference in at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento, CA on Monday, March 16, 2026.
| A nationally recognized voice on student attendance and engagement, Chang has spent more than a decade building the research base, tools, and cross-sector partnerships that help schools and communities prevent and reduce chronic absenteeism. Her leadership has helped shift practice statewide and nationally—moving educators beyond truancy-only approaches to data-informed, tiered strategies that advance equity and improve outcomes for all students. A skilled presenter, facilitator, researcher and writer, Hedy co-authored the seminal report, Present, Engaged and Accounted For: The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades, as well as numerous other articles about student attendance. Deeply committed to promoting two-generation solutions to achieving a more just society, Hedy has spent over three decades working in the fields of family support, family economic success, education and child development. |
Join pupil services directors, superintendents, SARB leaders, counselors, and partners from across California to learn from one of the field’s most respected champions for student success.
Register now: https://cascwa.wildapricot.org/event-6084861