Conference tracks are indicated at the end of workshop descriptions.

Advanced workshops for experienced professionals are also identified in workshop descriptions.

Monday, April 16
Workshop Series A, 1:00 - 2:45 pm
Workshop Series B, 3:15 - 5:00 pm

Tuesday, April 17
Workshop Series C, 10:15 am - 12:00 pm
Workshop Series D, 2:15 - 4:00 pm

Wednesday, April 18
Workshop Series E, 8:30 - 10:15 am
Workshop Series F, 10:45 am - 12:30 pm


Workshop Series E
Wednesday, April 18
8:30 - 10:15 am

E1 Strengthening Parent Education Collaboration in New York State. Susan Perkins, Council on Children and Families

A New York State partnership has formed to support the availability of effective (evidence-based) parenting education programs across the state. The project is based on a portion of the state’s Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) plan, with the goal of increasing opportunities for all families of children from birth to age five (beginning during the pre-natal period) to gain the knowledge, skills, confidence and social supports needed to nurture their children’s health, safety and development. This session will inform experienced professionals and invite their input and feedback about the project, which is spearheaded by the Council on Children and Families/Head Start Collaboration Project, the NYS Children and Family Trust Fund, Office of Children and Family Services, the State Departments of Education and Health, and Prevent Child Abuse New York. Organization & Mission Support. Advanced Level: Experienced Professionals

E2 Abduction and Internet Safety—Today’s Online Child. Daniel Dowd, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island

This workshop will address the most commonly used lures in the abduction of older children. It will also address Internet safety, including: Social networking sites such as MySpace.com; cyber bullying; monitoring children online; protection; reporting; and dangerous new technologies and viruses that are putting our children at risk. By the end of the workshop participants will: 1) Identify 15 commonly used lures with older children; 2) Learn of dangerous Web sites; 3) Learn “leetspeek”—an online language used by teens; 4) Learn of dangerous new technologies and viruses; 5) Learn about cyber bullying and what to do about it; 6) Learn how to protect children and report offenses. Middle Years/Adolescence

E3 What’s Up? Girl Talk: A Comprehensive Approach to the Prevention of Relational Aggression Among Young Girls. Debra Chaykin Brandwein, CAPS (Child Abuse Prevention Services)

This workshop for educators, parents and mental health professionals engages participants in a lively and interactive demonstration of CAPS’ multifaceted and comprehensive approach to the prevention of relational aggression among girls, including: selection and training of volunteers and mentors who deliver programs; school staff development; a parent workshop; and the hallmark of their efforts, “What’s Up? Girl Talk,” a workshop for 7th grade girls. Participants will have the opportunity to consider the impact, both current and future, not only of girls’ behaviors toward each other, but the behaviors of the adults in girls’ lives that may be contributing to the cycle of relational aggression. Middle Years/Adolescence

E4 What and How Family Workers Learn that Helps Empower Families. Katie Palmer-House, Cornell Empowering Families Project

What knowledge and skills do workers learn? What types of learning experiences facilitate their learning? Workshop participants will learn and discuss the findings of a case study that uncovered workers’ perceptions of empowerment and the types of knowledge and skills they utilized with families. Four types of learning experiences helped workers learn how to help empower families. The study’s findings suggested three developmental stages facilitated workers’ learning over the duration of their employment. Participants will learn about types of knowledge and skills that help empower families, and learn some ways that workers and agency leaders might enhance learning opportunities for family workers. Personal/Professional Development. Advanced Level: Experienced Professionals

E5 From Research to Practice: Age 3 Findings from the Evaluation of Healthy Families New York (HFNY). Kimberly DuMont, NYS OCFS, Eunju Lee, Center for Human Services Research University at Albany

The presenters will describe the design of and recent findings from a randomized trial of Healthy Families New York. Content: 1) The role that program evaluation can play in informing policy and program decisions; 2) The background, goals and methods of the current evaluation including: evaluation design and data collection efforts, different methods and measurement instruments; 3) Study results, including findings concerning quality of parent-child interactions and maltreatment indicators, employment, welfare receipt and level of education, maternal, mental health, access to health care, and child well-being. Examples, graphics and handouts included. Questions will be encouraged and the audience will be asked to draw parallels between the study results and what they observe in the field. Early Childhood

E6 Treating Generational Trauma through Traditional and Alternative Methods: Parent and Grandparent Support Groups and Yoga. Linda Mockler LMSE M.Ed., Uni Junn-Krebs LMSW, and Victoria Chiu, University Settlement

Participants will learn to facilitate support groups for primary caregivers and to incorporate the practice of therapeutic yoga to remediate the effects of trauma. Yoga aids traditional therapy methods by accessing and releasing stored emotions in the body. The workshop will include: 1) Overview of group process; 2) Running parent support groups; 3) The importance of cultural consideration and facilitating grandparent groups; 4) The impact of trauma on the family system; 5) Yoga for children: poses, breathing practices, and guided visualization. Family Issues & Crises

E7 A Pregnant Woman Never Drinks Alone: Addressing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Margo Singer, NYS Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Services, Dianne O’Connor, NYS Children’s Coordinated Service Initiative Tier III Member and NYS Foster and Adoptive Parents Association

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is an umbrella term for those birth defects caused by maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. With an incidence rate of approximately one in 100 live births, FASD is the leading cause of mental retardation and is 100 percent preventable. This presentation will provide an overview of FASD: terminology, myths, causes, affects of alcohol on the developing fetus, brain research, statistics, the importance of early diagnosis, diagnostic criteria, and the primary and secondary disabilities caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol. Includes: strategies and interventions to help children and adults living with an FASD; alcohol screening tools that are helpful in working with at-risk women in different settings, and a review of prevention and treatment resources to assist professionals in many disciplines including child welfare, the courts, and maternal and child health care systems. Hands-on strategies for working with an individual with an FASD will be the key focus of this presentation. Family Issues & Crises

Presents a review of the potential legal issues confronting grandparents and other relative caregivers, and the legal rights of kinship families and the special rights of grandparents. Issues include seeking to become a caregiver and enabling caregivers. Offers information about resources so that service providers are well informed and can identify potential issues and direct caregivers to applicable services. Topics are court actions against parents, against state child welfare agencies; laws recognizing caregivers, their authority over children, keeping children in stable homes, financial assistance, and targeted programs across New York State and related state, regional and local resources. Rochester Family Center’s kinship program will be presented as a model for startups. This program recently was funded by New York State to provide a statewide information and referral system for kinship caregivers. Family Needs & Support

F1 Providing Therapeutic Supervised Visitation for High Conflict Families: The Positive Parenting Plus (PP+) Initiative. Helen Woodbury and Jacqueline Otero, The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

Participants will learn the components of a therapeutic supervised visitation program that utilizes parent coaching and an intensive parent workshop series to help parents develop and repair relationships with their children. The model presented includes a strong focus on building relationships with all parties involved, including the custodial parent, noncustodial parent and the child(ren). Learn how to use components of this model in your current practice, where helping parents develop their parenting skills is a service goal. An overview of the parent education curriculum will be reviewed. Participants will learn how to help parents transfer the information learned in the parent education workshops to the actual visit with their children. Strategies for coaching parents in a supportive, collaborative style also will be reviewed. Family Issues & Crises

F2 Who Would Have Known? Childhood Sexual Abuse. Laurie Schaible and Suzanne Strauss, Survivors Network of NYS

Sexual abuse is committed more often by people we know than by people we don’t know and is an unavoidable headline in the newspapers and on TV. Concerned parents can feel both overwhelmed and confused and would like to know what they can do. This workshop will include: 1) Sexual abuse definitions and historical significance; 2) Sex offenders—types and motivations; 3) How it happens: lures, grooming, opportunity, 4) The victims—facts and impacts; 5) Response and treatment—legal and medical resources; 6) Prevention—steps for parents to take. Participants will gain comprehensive knowledge, learn new strategies and receive resource information for additional learning and support. Community Building/Social Change

F3 Promoting Fatherhood Through Dads’ Groups.
Bill Perry, Peter Guarino and James Trainor, Lourdes Parents and Children Together

The Lourdes Parents and Children Together program has been successfully running a dads’ group for three years. The Fatherhood Advocates will discuss what they have done to make the group a success and how other programs could incorporate this model into their own program. The audience will experience first hand many of the aspects that the Fatherhood Advocates use within their own group, including humor and inquiry in a non-confrontational setting. Participants will attain knowledge in: Promoting an environment of trust through confidentiality and a non-confrontational setting while still allowing open discussion; Establishing topics that are relevant and important through input from the diverse group; Using activities that are separate from the dads’ group to develop rapport and cohesion among the dads; Empowering dads to establish guidelines and structure for the group setting. Early Childhood

F4 Read All about It! Looking Beyond Today’s Headlines to Address Trauma Through Restorative Practices and Fennell’s Four Phase Treatment Model. Patricia Fennell and Jon Rice, Albany Health Management Associates

Pick up any newspaper and you’re likely to read about youth violence—youth harming others or being abused and neglected. Abuse victims, perpetrators and associated parties often find it difficult to find a pathway toward healing, even after the violence is over. Fennell’s highly practical and empirically validated Four Phase Model adds to this framework, providing philosophical and practical steps toward reparation in the aftermath of school shootings, community violence among youth, or violence that affects our youth today. These combined models can provide a robust map for those finding their way in the aftermath of crime and harm, and can have a significant impact on preventing the harm that is omnipresent in our world today by educating our youth and adults to resolve inevitable conflicts in healing and nonviolent ways. This seminar will offer an introduction to the concepts, research and cutting-edge frameworks within these models, applicable within schools, service agencies, families and communities. Family Issues & Crises. Advanced Level: Experienced Professionals

F5 Empowering Children to Spurn Emotional Bullying: Words Do Hurt Me. Elizabeth Yennie, The Retreat Inc.

This workshop will explore ways that parents, teachers, and youth leaders can empower children so that the effects of emotional bullying are minimized. We will explore the reasons students initiate bullying, why some students appear to be immune to it, and how important it is for adults to take words seriously. Emphasis will be on how to teach children the tools to deal with bullying, to empower both the victims and the bullies of emotional bullying so that meaningful dialogue can be achieved. Middle Years/Adolescence

F6 Making the Most of Family Visits in Foster Care: Coaching Parents, Strengthening Connection and Moving Towards Permanency. Catherine Lewis, The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

Parents whose children have been placed in foster care are typically sent to parenting skills classes to learn new skills. Translating what is learned in the classes to the actual visit with the children can be challenging. Intense feelings, limited time and limited space often create an atmosphere at family visits that increases stress and pain rather than promotes connection and healing. Frustrated caseworkers often observe parents struggle to reconnect with their children, wondering why the parent is not utilizing the information learned in the parenting classes. This workshop will provide caseworkers/social workers with parent/ coaching skills aimed at helping parents meet the emotional needs of their children during the family visits. With transparent goals actively being worked on, social workers and parents can better assess what needs to occur next in order for the children to move out of foster care into permanent homes. Family Issues & Crises

F7 Grantseeking on the Internet - 2007. Susan Kemp, Susan Kemp Consulting LLC

This workshop will help grant seekers understand the importance of having a strategic plan to organize their funding search efforts. It will also teach grant seekers how to locate local, state, federal and private grant information resources on the Internet. Participants will learn how to develop a master plan that focuses on their upcoming funding needs, based upon their individual organization and the program’s they operate. As a result of developing the plan, they will be able to find the best potential funding source(s) for their organization. Organization & Mission Support.

F8 Nurturing Relationships. Wendy Bender and Pam Balmer, Prevent Child Abuse New York

Prevent Child Abuse New York has worked closely with Victor Bernstein, Ph.D, to foster and enhance the relationships between parents and children, home visitors and parents, supervisors and home visitors and between team members. Along the way, many participants have noticed how these principles and strategies have also enhanced the relationships they have in their personal lives. This workshop will review those principles and offer opportunities to practice strategies that will help you enhance your relationships, both in and outside of work. We’ll talk about and learn the skills to: 1) Identify the difference between caretaking and nurturing in your relationships; 2) Understand how stress impacts your ability to be nurturing; 3) Keep nurturing, even when stressed. Personal/Professional Development