The following classes have been approved for Social Worker CEUs. When registering please indicate that you need Social Worker CEUs.

A1 - Lifelong Issues in Adoption - This three hour class provides an overview of the seven lifelong issues in adoption from the perspective of the adoptee, adoptive parent, birth parent and siblings.  While every family experiences the themes differently, it is important to acknowledge they are a normal part of participating in an adoption. These themes surface in different ways at different times as the people involved progress through different developmental milestones and life transitions. In other words, the way a child would define these issues will change as the child grows and develops - just as their understanding of the world changes. Having this awareness can help you be prepared to best meet the needs of your child and your family. 

A2 - Generation X, Y & Z - The Toxic Culture of Teens: The Impact of Media and Technology - Today’s pre-teens, teens and young adults walk every day through a culture that has become increasingly toxic. They face personal, familial, social and societal issues that often result in risk taking, danger, loss and sometimes tragedy. This presentation will focus exclusively on the “feeding” of this toxic culture by technology and media including television, movies, music, video games and internet. Participants will gain awareness of how technology and media affect communication, development, “early mental sexualization”, violence and more. Participants will be able to personally examine the evolution of technology and media and the “good, the bad and the ugly” elements that have resulted.

A4 - Mood Disorders in Children and Teens: What does it Look Like and What Can We Do? - This training will focus on the  description of various mood disorders in children and teens such as dysthymia, major depression, atypical depression, and bipolar disorder and how they differ from normal sadness, irritability, and moodiness.  We will also talk about best practices for assessment and treatment of mood disorders in childhood and adolescence and the advantages and disadvantages of diagnosis and various treatment methods.  Participants should leave this workshop with a basic understanding of what mood disorders might look like in children and teens and what to expect from a thorough and appropriate assessment and treatment approach.

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!

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. 

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. 

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?

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. 

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.

D1 - Transitioning From Foster to Adoptive Parenting - This three hour training has been designed for foster parents and kinship parents who are moving towards adoption of children in their care, as well as the professionals who support them. The focus will be on providing information to help parents anticipate role and emotional changes that occur on the journey to adoption. These changes affect both the family and the child or children. Handouts and a tool box of relevant approaches and questionnaires, and important information on adoption assistance will be provided. 

D3 - Creating Social Success for Asperger Youth - Practical Approaches
(This is an all day course, participants can attend all day or only the AM or PM session.)
This session will expand on the foundation session of Asperger Syndrome Disorder (ASD). The focus will be more detailed information about the disorder as well as practical approaches to work with youth in this population. 

D4 - Bipolar or TDD - Trying to Understand the Difference - This workshop will discuss the diagnostic criteria for both Bipolar Depressive Disorder in youth and Temper Dysregulation Disorder with Dysphoria. Research has shown that a significant number of youth who have been diagnosed with bipolar actually suffer from TDD. It’s a diagnosis that needs to be understood as well as discussed in terms of interventions for children in foster care as well as birth homes. Prepare for some lively discussion around a very provocative subject.