*Pending state approval for in-person gatherings after Covid-19

Main sessions

Parent & Caregiver Track

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The Foundational Importance of Belonging  

• All children enter the world in need of a family to belong to, one with safe healthy adults who will meet their needs and protect them from harm. Kids must be claimed and feel like they are part of a tribe in order to connect with others, develop trust, and thrive in life. Being part of a family is not just beneficial but essential to survival. In this breakout we’ll explore the foundational importance of belonging, what happens to a child’s brain and behavior when they are not claimed and the value of maintaining contact with birth relatives even in the instance of foster care and adoption.

• Speaker: Tiffany Loeffler, DPT | DTCRA

The Power of Forgiveness in Healing a Hurting Child

• Meeting the heightened physical and emotional needs of foster/adopted children or kids with a trauma history can be a daily challenge and source of conflict in your home. Controlling behaviors, disrespect for authority and interpersonal rejection are common responses to childhood trauma making the need for forgiveness paramount for parents and caregivers. In this breakout, we’ll discuss simple insights and exercises to master the art of forgiveness, reduce power struggles and empower children to reach a more hopeful and resilient state mind. Come learn about the powerful mind-brain connection and create a more peaceful family environment by responding differently to adversity.

• Speaker: Joanna Jullien | Core Connectivity

Expanding Your Crisis Toolkit

• This interactive workshop offers strengths-based parenting techniques and tools for managing crisis moments. The training is focused on the impact of crisis moments on the family system, offers an opportunity to create an individualized crisis plan specific to the needs of your family, identifies effective de-escalation techniques to avoid crisis moments, and highlights the importance of the post-crisis recovery period to build resilience and strengthen relationships. 

• Speaker: Dayna Freier | California Alliance of Caregivers

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Advanced Parent & Caregiver Track

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Empowering Principles of TBRI

• Trust-Based Relational Intervention addresses healing the whole child. Part of this strategy is learning how to empower children by addressing their physical needs. In this breakout session we’ll be discussing how to support children from hard places physically, as well as how to structure their environment to best help them succeed.

• Speaker: Charlotte Fritz, LMFT | Growing Hope

Increasing Felt Safety to Disarm Fear and Build Connection

• Being safe and feeling safe are two very different things. While a child may BE safe in their new foster or adoptive home, they can remain in survival mode because they’ve been conditioned to fend for themselves, put up thick walls around their hearts and shut out the world. If the adults who were supposed to care for them didn’t, why would other adults (especially strangers) be any different? As parents or caregivers of foster/adopted children, we need to understand the difference between the safety we think we are providing and the safety kids are actually experiencing. In this session we’ll figure out what beliefs are driving our trauma kids and how to increase felt safety in our homes.

• Speaker: Carla DeRose, LMFT | The Parent Cooperative Community

Secondary Trauma & Compassion Fatigue  

• Compassion Fatigue can be a serious occupational hazard for anyone serving in a caring profession or capacity.It’s typically those who exercise the most empathy who are at highest risk. In this breakout session, seasoned chaplain and trauma expert Mark O’Sullivan will outline the relationship between secondary trauma and compassion fatigue, the typical characteristics of physical and emotional exhaustion along with a profound decrease in the ability to empathize, plus valuable tools to combat these things when caring for kids from hard places.

• Speaker: Mark O’Sullivan, Senior Chaplain | Educational Ministries, Inc. & O’Sullivan Consulting

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Specialty Breakout Track

Sensory Processing/Healthy Sensory Diets: Raising your Sensory Smart Child 

• Is your child constantly on-the-go? Is getting dressed a constant struggle because your child complains that their clothing doesn't feel right?  These behaviors may be caused by an invisible condition called Sensory Processing Disorder. Learn about the many senses our mind and body use to process information and strategies to support your child's needs so that he/she may be successful at home and in the community. You may also learn something new about your own sensory processing abilities!.

• Speaker: Rose-Stella Pierre-Louis, OT | Ms. Rose's TheraPlace

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Enhancing Care & Understanding of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, or FASD, is a common diagnosis for children in the foster system due to the prevalence of prenatal alcohol exposure. Join FASD expert and Empowered to Connect trainer, Eric Osborn, for an interactive training on the causes and effects of FASD, typical strengths and characteristics of an individual with FASD, and ideas to support and accommodate the various traits of people with FASD. We’ll also discuss the importance of ongoing self-care and connection/support from other caregivers in similar situations.

• Speaker: Eric Osborn, MDiv | Transformational Family Ministries

Trauma-Informed Child Care from a Biblical Perspective

• Trauma-informed care involves a scientific, research-based approach to caring for children that have been impacted physically, emotionally and/or mentally from past trauma.  The human brain is intricately wired and throughout scripture God weaves in principles of connection, empowerment and correction as he binds up broken hearts and cares for the least of these. Join me as we explore the biblical foundation of trauma-informed care as well as gain a deeper understanding of the Father's heart.

• Speaker: Heidi White | DTCRA

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Provider Track

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Stuck Spots for Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Families

• When parenting or caring for a child with a trauma history, there can be many road blocks to connection and functioning successfully as a family unit. In this breakout designed specifically for social workers and therapists, we'll explore the common challenges foster, kinship and adoptive families face and ways to move past these hurdles to a place where adults and children alike can thrive.

• Speaker: Debbie McJimsey LMFT | Debbie McJimsey Counseling

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Healing Difficult Beginnings through Neurodevelopmental Movements

• Developmental trauma thwarts healthy brain development. An immature and disorganized brainstem is at the root of many of the “disorders” parents/caregivers and children struggle with. Neurodevelopmental Movements help mature and organize this part of the brain. In this session, counselors, therapists and social workers will learn how these simple and fun yet transformative activities can help children heal from difficult beginnings.

• Speaker: Teri Gelgood, LMFT | Creating Joy Now

Creative Interventions to Address Childhood Trauma & Promote Healing

• In this session providers and clinicians will explore new approaches to go deeper with their clients to work with underlying issues of grief, loss, and identity. 

• Speaker: Debbie McJimsey LMFT | Debbie McJimsey Counseling

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Educator Track

The Need for Trauma-Informed Educators: Changing Adult Mindsets so ALL Kids Can Learn

• Little things set Bobby off and he can be highly reactive, fighting with students and arguing with teachers. Susie is quiet and withdrawn with few friends. Tommy is fidgety, easily distracted and works erratically. Do you recognize these students? Children with neurodevelopmental trauma are 2.5 times more likely to fail a grade, have poor social emotional skills, are suspended more often, and frequently get placed in special education. Teachers may not know their students’ backstories, but we can peel back the layers so educators understand how neurodevelopmental trauma impacts the brain, how a child’s belief system is influenced, and what kids are communicating through misbehavior. In this session we’ll explain why education must be brain-based for children and educators to be successful, learn specific techniques and trauma-informed principles to help all students, and how to help schools become trauma-informed.

• Speaker: Judy Knapp | PreventionWORKS

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Alternative Teaching Methods for Traumatized Youth

• While schools are becoming more trauma-informed each year, there still seem to be gaps when it comes to educating foster youth or children with a trauma history.  In this session, educators will take a look at the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) curriculum and adaptations that could make this a valuable alternative teaching method for traumatized youth. We’ll also discuss the benefits of incorporating more kinesthetic and visual learning in the classroom, using positive behavioral interventions, finding connective factors, and the interconnection between teacher’s attitudes and student’s success.

• Speaker: Dr. Michelle Cook, Ed.D., LMFT, RPT | Institute for Children's Aid

Self-Care & Mindfulness for Educators: How to Reign in Your Emotions & Keep your Class on Track

• Children with disruptive behavior due to childhood trauma not only attract the attention of their teacher but also can become disruptive to the entire class and take away from effective educational time. This can dysregulate even the most experienced teachers especially if interruptions happen daily or multiple times in a single day. In this breakout learn how to relate to kids with a trauma history while maintaining your own composure during the school day. We'll also discuss in-the-moment mindfulness techniques and self-care strategies so you can leave classroom challenges at work and not bring them into your family life. 

• Speaker TBA​