C1 - Helping Children Cope for Parents: How to Reduce Trauma During Placement Moves - This three hour training helps foster and adoptive parents work with children to reduce the fear, anxiety and trauma of adjusting to a new placement. Come learn the answers to these questions: What are the impacts of loss and multiple placements on a child’s development? What are the special needs of children who are placed or moved on an emergency basis? What is the best timetable for planned transitions and what can a parent do to help a child understand the placement process and deal with their fears and anxieties? What steps do you need to take in the first weeks and months of placement to help reduce the unintentional trauma caused by a child’s transition from one home to another? (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.
C2 - Adoption Assistance and Adoption Tax Credit - In this session, you will learn the basics of adoption assistance for children adopted from foster care. Topics include eligibility, benefits, taxes and more. Participants will receive state specific information and will come away with concrete information and strategies to better advocate for foster and adopted children with special needs. There will also be an overview of the Federal Adoption Tax Credit.
About the Trainer: Josh Kroll is the Project Coordinator of the Adoption Subsidy Resources Center, a program of the North American Council on Adoptable Children. He has worked at NACAC for 13 years, 11 years as a Program Assistant to the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center and 2 years as Project Coordinator. While working with the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center, Josh gained an extensive knowledge of federal and state laws and policies that he draws upon to answer thousands of inquiries from parents, workers and administrators.
C3 - Creating Social Success for Asperger Youth - Foundation
(This is an all day course, participants can attend all day or only the AM or PM session.)
This session will introduce the pervasive developmental disorders referred to as autism spectrum disorders. The session focuses on Asperger Syndrome Disorder (ASD) and covers characteristics, symptoms, treatments, and tools to create social success for youth with Asperger Syndrome Disorder. (Also approved for social worker CEUs.)
About the Trainer: Monica Ryan-Rausch, MSW, LMSW, QCSW has been serving children, youth and their families for over 25 years. Monica currently works at Four Oaks in the Cedar Rapids location. Monica has been with Four Oaks for 18 years. She has been a youth care worker, shift supervisor, therapist, case manager and a program coordinator with a residential treatment setting. Monica currently oversees the Autism Spectrum Services at Four Oaks and oversees an afterschool program for Middle School and High School youth who have Asperger’s and PDD-NOS. Monica completed her education at Clarke University of Iowa, and she is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Autism Spectrum Disorders at Penn State.
C4 - Attachment & Trauma: Strategies for Positive Change - This presentation will focus on the importance of attachment to preadolescent and adolescent development. Individual treatment issues for these children will be discussed. A focus on developing strategies that promote a positive therapeutic community in foster care, adoptive homes, residential facilities and school settings. A discussion on the criteria for foster homes for attachment disordered children will be given. We will also look at the issue of how to facilitate removals and also facilitate placements of these children. We will leave ample time for questions regarding youth and their dilemmas in foster care. Families will be able to develop an understanding of attachment needs for youth, identify and discuss trauma issues related to adults in the children’s world, provide strategies that can be used in treating attachment disorder youth, and understand criteria for facilitating placement of attachment disorder youth. (Also approved for social worker CEUs.)
About the Trainer: Bruce Buchanan, A.C.S.W., B.C.D., Clinical Social Worker, is the past chair of the Iowa Board of Social Work Examiners, and is in private practice in Des Moines at Wadle & Associates. He is a clinical consultant for eight human services agencies in Central Iowa, a family therapy consultant for the Greater Des Moines Child Abuse & Neglect Council, and a Diplomat in Clinical Social Work. Bruce is a Past-President of the Association of Social Work Boards. He is also the former Clinical Chair of the Exam Committee of the Association of Social Work Boards. He continues to be a form reviewer for the ASWB exam. He is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics. Bruce is a nationally sought after trainer and lecturer in the areas of child and adolescent therapies, reactive attachment disorder youth, social work ethics and residential treatment programming. Bruce was the recipient of the Iowa Chapter of NASW Social Worker of The Year for 2001. He was the recipient of the “Star of Excellence Children’s Service Provider” award given by Magellan Behavioral Care of Iowa for 2008.
C5 - 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.
C6 - CPR & First Aid (Part 1 of 2) CLASS FULL
(This is an all day course, participants must attend the full day in order to receive credit.)
IFAPA’s CPR and First Aid class is designed to give you the confidence to respond in an emergency situation with skills that can save a life. IFAPA’s CPR and First Aid training classes are presented by CPR and First Aid certified trainers and have been approved by DHS as an approved training for foster parents. All newly licensed foster homes must be certified in CPR and First Aid within their first year of licensure and every three years thereafter.
About the Trainer: Mike Cormier is the owner of CPR Central in Des Moines. He is certified to teach CPR and First Aid through the American Heart Association. Mike has also worked as a fire-fighter/paramedic at the Indianola Fire Department for 11 years and has been on the State of Iowa Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) since 2007.
