Foster Parent Conference

The fall conference will be held Friday, September 20 and Saturday, September 21, 2024. This is a VIRTUAL conference and free to attend. Additional schedule information to come. Conference attendees will be able to receive up to 12 hours of training credit throughout the weekend.

We are excited to present two keynote sessions for this year's fall conference. 

Friday, September 20, 2024: 9:30 AM-12:00 PM Central/10:30 AM-1:00 PM Eastern

TBRI Next Level - presented by Katie Rinaudo, Karyn Purvis Institute

Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) is holistic, evidence-based, and has been used for more than 20 years to equip caregivers to meet the needs of vulnerable children and youth.

In this session, we will discuss the model TBRI, how it helps us understand trauma-behavior, and how to respond in a healing way that actually changes behavior. We will briefly cover its three principles of Empowering and Correcting, while taking a deep dive into its most central principle of Connection. We will first cover the attachment cycle and how it is harmed, explore patterns of attachment to understand ourselves better as caregivers, and then discuss practical ways that safe, healthy adults can rebuilt and reconnect with both children and teenagers.

Attendees will receive 2.5 hours of training credit. This session fulfills trauma and therapeutic training hours.

Saturday, September 21, 2024: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM Central/10:00 AM-1:00 PM Eastern

Lying, Stealing, and Raging - presented by Barb Clark, Families Rising

Children and adolescents who have experienced trauma have unique brain wiring and are often at a mixture of developmental ages. Typical consequence-based behavioral strategies are often not effective and can lead to further trauma and impact the relationship between the adults and children/adolescents. Participants will learn new approaches to use with children and adolescents who have trauma histories which will help you to understand them better and improve communication and relationships. The strategies we will cover are recommended for in-utero trauma such as FASD and also for trauma they may have experienced after birth. We will specifically cover the Big 3; lying, stealing and raging.
     • Explore why consequence/punitive based approaches are not effective with youth who have trauma histories
     • Identify trauma responsive approaches which promote connection and relationships
     • Understand the neurobehavioral aspect of challenging behaviors
     • Learn concrete ideas for responding to challenging behaviors

Attendees will receive 3 hours of trainng credit. This session fulfills trauma and therapeutic training hours.