CONSULTANT

Karen Gunderson, MSW

Karen has been a senior consultant with SVC since 2016 and brings more than 30 years’ experience in the field of child welfare: eight years direct service (probation youth, county child welfare services, and state adoptions) and over 20 years in child welfare policy and program development with the State of California, with a primary focus on permanency for children in foster care.

In addition to her work with SVC, Karen currently is on the faculty of the Director’s Institute, through the Child and Family Policy Institute, working with county child welfare directors to implement the California Child Welfare Core Practice Model.

Working for the California Department of Social Services for most of her career, Karen helped lead and implement many child welfare system changes, including:

• California Child and Family Services Review
• Fostering Connections – After 18 (AB 12 – Extended Foster Care)
• Continuum of Care Reform/Resource Family Approval
• California Partnership for Permanence project, a $15 million grant from the federal Children’s Bureau focused on developing a practice model to reduce racial disproportionality in foster care.

In her off hours, Karen enjoys traveling, puttering in the garden, being creative in the kitchen, and playing drums in a rock band.