Thursday, Jan 22, 2009

  7:30 - Registration

  8:30 - Welcome and Opening Remarks - Alisa Swinderman-Pathways & Georgina Morales-TDFPS

          Presentation by Devereaux        

  9:00 – Ten Habits of Highly Successful Parents and Professionals  Jeff Cotton

   This workshop will illuminate ”Ten Habits of Highly Successful Parents and Professionals.“ These habits are effective in not only forming healing connections with children, but in simultaneously taking better care of themselves, as well. The workshop is a wide-ranging smorgasbord of pertinent philosophies and therapeutic strategies, instantly practical and renewing to the spirit of parents and professionals as they face the challenges of better serving their children.

10:15- Break

  10:30- Understanding the Violent Child   Dr. Steve Bain

   This workshop examines the rise of violence among young people and offers practical intervention strategies.

   Leadership in the New Millennium   Gregg Catalano

     Whether you manage one person or hundreds, being an effective and efficient manager in the new Millennium requires adjusting to our changing times.  In this highly informative workshop, Gregg will not only update you on the core competencies of managing and supervising in 2007, but will offer numerous ideas and techniques to help you guide your staff and programs to a success level you never thought possible!

   Legal Rights of Students with Disabilities in Public Schools    Jacquie Brennan

   Students with disabilities may have rights under 3 different federal laws – The Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This session will explore the protections these laws provide for students and parents, and the responsibilities of the schools, as well as options when schools and parents disagree.

  Overview of Asperger’s Syndrome  Dr. Coverstone and Dr. Ghormley

   This presentation addresses the history, causes, and treatment of Asperger’s disorder.  It will compare and contrast the symptoms associated with the disorder to those of other psychiatric diagnoses.  Drug therapies, mental health interventions and educational strategies will also be addressed.

  Admitting a Child to the Psychiatric Hospital   Sue Reyna

   Some foster children have emotional problems that make them a danger to themselves or others.  Taking a foster child of any age into a psychiatric hospital can be a very long, emotional and sometimes frustrating experience. Understanding the criteria for admission and the process can help foster parents be better prepared.

11:45- Break

12:15 – LUNCH-    Presentation by Laurel Ridge

 Supercharged for Life: Living a Happier, Healthier & More Energized Life!  Gregg Catalano

   If you want to refuel the tank, live an energized life and create positive energy in everything you do; then this is the can’t miss workshop of the conference!  Catch Gregg’s energy, enthusiasm and love for life as he shares with you sound advice, energy boosting techniques and the formula for living a Supercharged life full of energy!

  1:30-  Caring for the Caregiver  Dr. Steve Bain

   What happens when the caregiver needs to be cared for?  This topic will cover the major issues facing those who provide care and support for others.  Topics will include burnout, anger, depression, anxiety, stress, etc.  Practical tools on how to care for yourself and help other professionals in their times of need.

 What To Do When Your ”Buttons“ Get Pushed   Jeff Cotton

   What type of kids (or adults or families) ”get you going“? Who pushes your buttons and makes you mad? Helpless? Irritated? Frustrated? Frightened? And perhaps worst of all… incompetent? Yet, more important than who pushes your button is… which button (of yours) did they push? And equally important is what to do when your button gets pushed rather than how do we get ”them“ to stop pushing our buttons? This workshop focuses on the core reactivity inherent in most interpersonal conflicts, struggles and dramas; the underlying shadow of our own unresolved dilemmas.

  Angry Kids Frustrated Parents: Practical Ways to Prevent and Reduce Aggression in Your Children Part I    Lana Freeman

   This insightful workshop that helps answer the concerns many parents experience. This workshop for parents describes five levels of aggressive behavior and explains how to know if a child reacts to feelings of frustration with acts of aggression or initiates aggressive acts to get what he or she desires. Parents learn how to use Crisis Teaching to calm themselves, teach children self-control, and deliver consequences that discourage negative behavior.

            Parenting the ADHD Child  Todd Russell

   Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a persistent pattern of inattention and impulsive behavior that thoroughly disrupts the afflicted child’s family, social, and academic lives.  Children with ADHD have difficulty maintaining attention over long periods of time; they are easily bored with or lose interest in certain activities; they seek immediate gratification; and they have a decreased ability to inhibit behavior or to show impulse control.  Parenting a child with ADHD is one of life’s greatest challenges.  In this workshop, Dr. Russell will briefly address the signs, symptoms and diagnosis of ADHD, strategies for modifying logical discipline and supportive guidance plans, and techniques for effectively dealing with the child’s frustrations as well as your own parental frustrations while simultaneously maintaining a healthy sense of humor.

   ”Follow the Yellow Brick Road“: A beginner’s guide through the maze of Trauma therapy for children and adolescents      Part I      Mark Siegmund

   This workshop is designed for caregivers of all types.  Participants will explore the current movement toward understanding the importance of the trauma movement and will provide a roadmap (with resources) of the numerous types evidence-based practices that claim to reduce the debilitating effects of complex trauma.  Trauma-Focused, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT), Integrative Treatment of Complex Trauma (ITCT), the Sanctuary model, and the Stress model will be examined and summarized so that participants can begin to study and consider the most appropriate therapy for their clients.

2:45 –BREAK

3:00 – Snakes & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails: Understanding What Makes Boys Tick  Gregg  Catalano

   Boys will be boys and girls will be girls – but why???  Join Gregg as he shares his insight and the brain based research behind this question and then provides you with positive practical ideas on how you can create the ultimate learning environment that supports the physical, social, emotional and cognitive development of those unique testosterone units called boys.

  Angry Kids Frustrated Parents: Practical Ways to Prevent and Reduce Aggression in Your Children  Part II   Lana Freeman

   This insightful workshop that helps answer the concerns many parents experience. This workshop for parents describes five levels of aggressive behavior and explains how to know if a child reacts to feelings of frustration with acts of aggression or initiates aggressive acts to get what he or she desires. Parents learn how to use Crisis Teaching to calm themselves, teach children self-control, and deliver consequences that discourage negative behavior.

  The Power of Gangs:  Tools for Parents of Adolescents   Todd Russell

   Adolescents join gangs because of their needs for belonging, excitement, protection, money, and friends.  Whatever the reasons, a parent needs to recognize the warning signs and identifiers of gang membership.  Research indicates that parents play a pivotal role in keeping young people out of gangs.  In this workshop, Dr. Russell will address the causes and correlates of gang affiliation among teens, the warning signs and indicators, strategies for compassionate discipline, and other techniques for preventing gang involvement.

  ”Follow the Yellow Brick Road“: A beginner’s guide through the maze of Trauma therapy for children and adolescents    Part II   Mark Siegmund

This workshop is designed for caregivers of all types.  Participants will explore the current movement toward understanding the importance of the trauma movement and will provide a roadmap (with resources) of the numerous types evidence-based practices that claim to reduce the debilitating effects of complex trauma.  Trauma-Focused, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT), Integrative Treatment of Complex Trauma (ITCT), the Sanctuary model, and the Stress model will be examined and summarized so that participants can begin to study and consider the most appropriate therapy for their clients.

  FASD 101: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Primer   June Villarreal

   What is FASD? This presentation will raise awareness about the causes, characteristics, challenges, symptoms, and interventions of FASD among individuals such as parents, caregivers, educators, health professionals and others who work with and live with children affected by this preventable disorder. With the information provided the attendees will be able to define FASD, describe the characteristics and challenges, recognize the symptoms associated with this disorder, and identify the needs of individuals with FASD. A Question and Answer section will be provided at the end of the class.

4:15 - ADJOURN

Thursday Evening, Jan 22, 2009

5:30pm-REGISTRATION

6:00-8:00pm

  Deconstructing Psychological Testing  Dr. Coverstone & Dr. Ghormley

  Presenters will discuss how to read and interpret a psychological evaluation; discussing commonly used tests, the constructs they measure, and what the scores actually mean.

  The Teenage Brain: Mind or Mush? –A Journey through the neurological, social, and  psychological dimensions of Adolescence     Mark Siegmund

  Understanding what’s going on in the brain of a teenager doesn’t excuse bad behavior but it can help    you increase your knowledge, change your attitudes, and develop effective skills that prepare you for ”the battle of the ages!“ This seminar will explain the adolescent brain and how it differs from the adult brain. Participants will also discuss how the adolescent brain grows and develops, affecting mood and behavior. Participants will be given ”brain-smart“ tips for sane relationships with teens.

6:00-9:00pm

  Preserving our Children’s and Family’s Memories Through Lifebooks(Scrapbooks) Beth Hartman  and Donna Peters

  Too often children who have been in care lose contact with family and those they cared for. Memorabilia, pictures, school awards etc are lost due to being moved.  Hence, the importance of creating and maintaining ”Lifebooks“. Come relax, create, and have fun learning how to create treasured memories for your foster and/or adoptive children and for your own family.  Experienced scrapbookers welcomed too!!  Please bring scissors, glue/adhesives, and several pictures. Scrapbooking supplies will also be available for sale.

Leadership Ethics  Honorable Judge Oscar Gabaldon 

 This presentation is intended to provide foster parents, social workers, and those involved in the foster  care system with a frame of reference from which they can measure the ethical efficacy of their day-to-  day activities.  The workshop will help keep participants attuned to professional expectations as well    as the need to maintain high standards of ethical leadership.

Friday, Jan 23, 2009

8:00- Registration

8:30 – Presentation by Superior Health Plan - Winning out over Failure   Dr. Steve Bain

The truth is, all of experience failure from time to time.  But that doesn't mean we are failures ourselves.  Discover what failure means and doesn't mean.  Examine the causes of low self esteem and how we set our own selves up for "failure."  Learn how to overcome your past failures and set yourself up to win in the future!

10:15- Break

10:30-Advocacy-Just What Does that Mean?  Irene Clements

  Simple advocacy efforts that pack a lot of punch!  You can do it.  Come and find out how easy it really is.

  How to Speak with Children About Difficult Things     Part I   Jeff Cotton

   Learning to talk with children about issues of abuse, suicidal, divorce addiction, sexual orientation, homicidal rage, etc demand a high level of skill and empathy on the part of parents and professionals. Many of our children are confused and well-defended. This training will be a pragmatic teaching designed to help participants come away with new tools and awareness in how to approach difficult subjects. 

  Cultural Diversity and Identity: Beyond Tortillas, Lowriders and Apple Pie - Gilbert Garcia LMSW

   Come join us as we explore the different dimensions of culture and gain a renewed approach to understanding what makes us who we are. We will also delve into how we often allow our prejudices to interfere with how individuals want to be identified. Participants will engage in exercises meant to increase insight and sensitivity into our own uniqueness. This training has implications with how we approach the children that come into our homes and how we can better serve their cultural identity and needs.

  Foster Parent Adoptions     Sue Reyna

   The decision to adopt is a very important event in any foster family.  Whether it is one child or seven and whether they are 1 year old or 17 years old every foster family knows when the right one comes along.  This session will walk you through the entire process from when parental rights are terminated and you submit your letter of intent through negotiating an adoption subsidy and finally to post-adoption services.

  Meth, It’s All the Rage  Nancy Underwood Long  Pat Hoffman

  We will cover Meth and Crime - The Who, What, Where and Why;    Meth Labs- Methods, Signs, Dangers, Property Owners and Clean-up;  Drug Endangered Children - Risk, Susceptibility and Effects; Treatment - Family Drug Courts;  Prevention - Education, Enforcement, Legislation; and Meth Watch in Washington State.

11:45- Break

12:15-

LUNCH- Presentation by Padre Behavioral - How to Stay Up in a Down World   Sue Fiedler 

 It has been said that "We see the world through the window of our attitude."  This motivational and entertaining presentation combines storytelling and humor, with specific action strategies that you can apply immediately to improve the quality of your attitude.  You will laugh but you will also think and come away with a renewed sense of control and inspiration.

1:30 – How to Speak with Children About Difficult Things  Part  II    Jeff Cotton

   Learning to talk with children about issues of abuse, suicidal, divorce addiction, sexual orientation, homicidal rage, etc demand a high level of skill and empathy on the part of parents and professionals. Many of our children are confused and well-defended. This training will be a pragmatic teaching designed to help participants come away with new tools and awareness in how to approach difficult subjects. 

  Self Harm: Beyond the Blood, Behind the Scars     Part I     Kathy Cunningham           

   This is a multimedia presentation geared toward audience participation on the subject of the  rapid rise in the number of teens using self harming behaviors as coping skills to deal with everything from anxiety to  abuse. The audience will view clips from a video that shows people who are cutters and hear their stories in their words. Additionally, new info on the phenomenon will be included. Participants will get info on what to do about it and what not to do.

   Enuresis (Bed Wetting) & Encopresis (Soiling)   Pat Miller

    This training will cover the reasons and remedies of encopresis (soiling), an extremely disturbing disorder, the impact of which can be profound and long lasting, and enuresis (bedwetting), a more common problem, with incidence that declines with age. This program explores practical behavioral approaches to reduce both behaviors and will discuss ways to correct past poor toilet training methods.

   Emotion Coaching   Nancy Underwood Long  Pat Hoffman

    ”What am I feeling?“  Helping parents understand the importance of valuing emotions, both in children and in themselves.  You will learn to understand unique parenting styles and the five steps to emotion coaching to guide your children through emotional situations. 

   Ethics: Sexual Exploitation by Health Care and Human Service Professionals Part I

   Patti Koo

    This session defines sexual exploitation (abuse of position of power or trust for sexual purposes) with historical background, extent of problem, definition of transference/counter-transference and grooming with case examples of this form of abuse.  Discussion of the psychological dynamics involved in this form of abuse and the damage it causes its victims.  Briefly reviews abuser characteristics, legal issues in Texas.  We will discuss how to recognize and guard the sexual boundary.  This session lasts till 4:45pm     

2:45 – BREAK

3:00 -  Self Harm: Beyond the Blood, Behind the Scars  Part II   Kathy Cunningham          

    This is a multimedia presentation geared toward audience participation on the subject of the  rapid rise in the number of teens using self harming behaviors as coping skills to deal with everything from anxiety to  abuse. The audience will view clips from a video that shows people who are cutters and hear their stories in their words. Additionally, new info on the phenomenon will be included. Participants will receive info on what to do about it and what not to do.

   Teaching Children Sexual Responsibility   Pat Miller

    Sexual acting out in children usually is connected to premature exposure to adult sexual activity either through observation or through the child’s being sexually abused. The mixed messages which children and teens receive about sexuality and sexual morals also create barriers for sexual responsible behavior and place these children at risk. The solutions to dealing with irresponsible sexual behavior lie primarily in the areas of good sex education, efforts to build self-esteem, decision-making skills and social skills training. This program will give guidelines to evaluate the degree of unhealthy sexual behaviors and review intervention strategies to teach sexual responsibility.

   ”The Choking Game“: Asphyxiation Games    Bill Stein

    Hundreds of children are dying every year from playing dangerous asphyxiation games.  The course is designed to help identify and answer questions people have about this activity, and the consequences that can happen to those who ”play“.  This presentation will also cover why kids get involved and how to convince them to stop.

  Getting Started   FYLIP

    "Getting Started" is a panel discussion involving Foster Alumni and Foster Youth Life Investment Partners (FYLIP) staff discussing what vital information needs to be gathered before youth leave the foster care system.  The discussion will also include tasks that need to be accomplished if at all possible before leaving to go out on their own.

   Ethics: Sexual Exploitation by Health Care and Human Service Professionals Part II -   Patti Koo

    Continuation of Part I      This session lasts till 4:45pm     

4:15- ADJOURN

Saturday, Jan 24, 2009

9:00     REGISTRATION

10:00-11:30am

Adults

  What Anger is and What Rage Is    Rene Bourassa

     How to recognize and understand the difference between anger and rage. Participants will also learn about domestic violence and where it starts and where it comes from.

  Communication Anchored in the Truth   Jeff Cotton

  Contrary to the popular nursery rhyme that ‘Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me’, words have a profound impact upon us. Many of the children in our care were wounded, if not devastated, by the words they heard spoken... or hungered to hear spoken. This intriguing training will present a unique perspective for using communication as a vehicle to create space for the truth to arrive.

Youth

Do You Know What I Like About You?.... EVERYTHING!!    Gregg Catalano 

 The more positive your self esteem is, the more successful you will be at dealing with the challenges life throws at you.  Join Gregg in this high energy, activity based session as he utilizes dozens of games and activities designed to help you develop a more positive self concept and discover how to become the winner you were born to be!

 Business Etiquette; Why Your Image Matters Nancy Underwood Long  Pat Hoffman

   We will cover the following important skills:  First Impressions, Voicemail Manners, What Rudeness    is Costing You, Winning Telephone Etiquette, Working with the Disabled, Top 12 email Mistakes, Five Stumbling Blocks to Successful Networking, How to Dress for Success.

11:30-LUNCH

1:00-3:30pm

Adults

    Self Harm: Beyond the Blood, Behind the Scars  Kathy Cunningham                        

     This is a multimedia presentation geared toward audience participation on the subject of the rapid rise in the number of teens using self harming behaviors as coping skills to deal with everything from anxiety to  abuse. The audience will view clips from a video that shows people who are cutters and hear their stories in their words. Additionally, new info on the phenomenon will be included. Participants will receive info on what to do about it and what not to do.

   Allegation Resource     Lana Freeman

    The goal of this training is to provide foster families with information on important issues concerning allegations raised during the investigation process. It may be used as a resource to network and to raise awareness on this issue. It will also provide steps to protect families from allegations and the resulting nightmare. It is important to note that information will not be completely accurate due to differences in states and resources but many things will be a resource of help and benefit to all foster     parents.

Youth

    What Anger is and What Rage Is    Rene Bourassa

    How to recognize and understand the difference between anger and rage. Participants will also learn about domestic violence and where it starts and where it comes from.

  Getting Started    FYLIP

    "Getting Started" is a panel discussion involving Foster Alumni and Foster Youth Life Investment Partners (FYLIP) staff discussing what vital information needs to be gathered before youth leave the foster care system. The discussion will also include tasks that need to be accomplished if at all possible before leaving to go out on their own.