B1 - It’s a Package Deal: Your Child, Their Trauma - This three hour class will address how trauma affects the developing brain, beginning in utero through early childhood. We will discuss the impact of trauma on child development, attachment, emotional regulation and provide a lens with which to see and understand behaviors as manifestations of trauma experiences. Practical parenting solutions provided!
(Also approved for social worker CEUs.)
About the Trainer: Denise Leffingwell, MSW, LCSW is currently the Senior Director of the Education Center at The Adoption Exchange in Denver, Colorado. Denise coordinates, manages and provides training across Colorado, also to the seven member states of the Adoption Exchange and across the country. Denise’s previous experiences include supervising Community and Home Based Services through a mental health center, providing direct services and clinical support to pre and post-adoptive families through a mental health center in collaboration with the local Department of Human Services (which included co-facilitating all of the counties pre-adoption trainings for three years), was an ongoing caseworker and has been a therapist specializing in foster care, kinship and adoptive families. Denise has worked in the social work arena for over 13 years.
B2 - Generation X, Y & Z - Toxic Culture of Teens: Relationships and other “Risky Business” - If you are the parent, foster parent, relative caregiver, grandparent or any other adult who has teens in your life, this class is for you. Chances are, that your ideas about dating, sexuality, peer relationships and risk taking don't match up very well with the “reality” of what teens walk through on a daily basis. Today’s teens are often developing more quickly physically, less quickly mentally and emotionally, and are inundated with the media and peer influences of “early mental sexualization”. They also live in a time where violence and daily stress are increasing and taking a toll on teens’ abilities to make healthy decisions in a world that is full of pressure to “fit in” and succeed. This class will examine the complex world of teen relationships today along with the risky behaviors that sometimes have tragic results. Topics covered will include: teen dating, teen sexuality, teen dating and sexual violence, bullying and cyber-bullying, teen suicide, school-related violence, general violence and work ethic. This class will not only identify trends and issues but seek to provide strategies for reducing risk and helping teens to have more healthy relationships overall. (Also approved for social worker CEUs.) CLASS FULL
About the Trainer: Mike McGuire and his wife Christie are licensed foster and adoptive parents. Mike has provided many trainings throughout the state on a variety of topics for foster/adoptive parents. Mike has also facilitated a variety of educational groups relating to relationships, parenting and communication. He works for the Dept. of Corrections as a Probation/Parole Officer and currently coordinates the Cerro Gordo County Community Drug Court Program.
B3 - Creating Cultural Connections: Connections Are Critical
(This is an all day course, participants can attend all day or only the AM or PM session.)
The focus of this training is geared towards helping parents understand and respect the various cultures of foster children. The training provides realistic and relevant ways in which parents can create meaningful cultural connections with children in their care. We explore creative ways for cultivating connections, opening doors for two-way communication and enhancing our ability to competently confront challenges.
About the Trainer: Tommy Ross and his wife Melinda have been licensed foster and adoptive parents for over twelve years. He has over twenty years of experience in the social work field, along with sixteen years of experience as a licensed minister and five years of experience as a licensed and ordained pastor. Tommy has facilitated trainings for Life Works Counseling Services, parenting classes for the Child Abuse Prevention Council, staff trainings on group facilitation for PACE, group trainings on parenting skills, life skills and career planning for Gateway Recovery Center and has done group and individual training on child welfare, empowering parents and general leadership.
B4 - What You Need to Know When Caring for Drug Endangered Children - This class is for caretakers of children who have been exposed to illegal drugs or the abuse of prescription drugs. Children may have been exposed during pregnancy or they may have been affected by their parent’s drug use, either from direct exposure to the drug use or from the effects that the drug use can have on a parent’s ability to care for their children. This class will review the possible effects that drug exposure can have on children’s health, development and behaviors. (Also approved for social worker CEUs.)
About the Trainers: Dr. Beth Schmitz has worked at Orchard Place-Child Guidance Center since 1995, providing outpatient individual, family and group therapy to children and adolescents from 3 to 19 years of age. She frequently provides psychological evaluations of children and adolescents to assist with clarifying their diagnostic and treatment needs. Dr. Schmitz also provides parent therapy as well as consultation and education to groups of parents and professionals on a variety of topics. She has consulted with the Polk County Drug Endangered Children Alliance for several years and has provided evaluations to children identified through this group as well as parent education sessions directed at birth, foster and adoptive parents of drug endangered children. Dr. Schmitz helps to plan and conduct a yearly regional training for professionals involved with drug endangered children.
Jennifer Sleiter has worked at the Regional Child Protection Center at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa since 2004. She has worked as a Pediatric Nurse and as a Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner since 1995. At the Regional Child Protection Center, she assesses and treats children that are dealing with issues of abuse and neglect. She also cares for Drug Endangered Children including babies that were exposed to illegal drugs through their mother’s use during pregnancy and children who have been environmentally exposed due to their caregiver’s use. This also includes children who are in homes where methamphetamine is being manufactured. She is also a member of the Polk County, Jasper County and state Drug Endangered Children Alliance. Jennifer has extensive community involvement serving as one of the medical representatives on local multidisciplinary teams reviewing child sexual abuse cases and general case consultation.
B5 - Mandatory Child Abuse Reporter Training - This is the state approved Mandatory Reporter class required for foster parents to complete within the first year of licensure, and then every five years thereafter. In addition, the Foster Allegation Information Resource (FAIR) program will be discussed. This is an IFAPA program that provides information and support to foster parents who have had an allegation of abuse made against them.
About the Trainer: Diana Nicholls-Blomme, RN, has over 30 years of experience in the fields of child and dependent adult abuse training and reporting, including development of multi-state employee orientation and training programs. Diana staffs the Abuse Education Review Panel for the Iowa Department of Public Health, screening curricula applications, assiting in developing curricula, obtaining approved education, assiting professional boards and agencies and training mandatory reporters.
B6 - CPR & First Aid (Part 2 of 2)
(This is an all day course, participants must attend the full day in order to receive credit.)
