Session Info
P1 Catching Kids Before They Fall
Location to be Determined
Jim Sporleder, Trauma-Informed Coach/Consultant, Children’s Resilience Initiative
Traditional discipline methods have lost their impact. Many of the disruptive behaviors we see in our schools are students impacted by trauma and toxic stress. Using new approaches, educators can play a major role in helping students change their life path to one that brings fulfillment and purpose. In this session, participants will learn a new approach that is backed by evidence-based research and that the foundational core of implementing a “Trauma Informed Model” is caring adult relationships. Participants will also leave with basic strategies to help a student de-escalate, self-regulate, and stay connected with their learning and with their teacher.
P2 Handle with Care
Location to be Determined
Andrea Darr, Director, WV Center for Children's Justice
Chad Napier, Prevention Coordinator, Appalachia HIDTA
This session offers innovative best practices for helping to mitigate the negative effects experienced by children’s exposure to trauma and highlights a promising initiative (Handle with Care) between schools/child care agencies, law enforcement and treatment providers. “Handle with Care” provides the school with a “heads up” when a child has been identified by law enforcement at the scene of a traumatic event. Schools are responding with interventions to help mitigate the trauma and mental health providers are co locating at the school to provide services. Handle with Care programs promote safe and supportive homes, schools, and communities that protect children, and help traumatized children heal and thrive.
Closed Workshop: Critical Steps to Becoming a Trauma Responsive School
Location to be Determined
Jim Sporleder, Trauma-Informed Coach/Consultant, Children’s Resilience Initiative
This session will teach the participants the “how to” in becoming a trauma-informed school. Participants will learn the basic concepts of implementing a trauma-informed school culture and how to become a fully trauma-responsive school. Learn how these critical steps have the power to improve behavior, increase attendance, raise academic achievement scores, and improve graduation rates. This session will introduce the Student of Concerns Model that is a powerful system for tracking our most struggling students with intentional positive adult interventions and action plans. It will also cover the current research that defines the difference between “doing trauma-informed practices,” versus “embracing trauma-informed practices as who we are as a person, as a school, and how we interact with those we come into contact.” The participants will walk away from this session with the critical steps they need when returning back to their schools/districts to begin experiencing the significant outcomes that naturally come with this new mindset.
A1 & B1 Creating a Calm Room for your School
Location to be Determined
Jodi Grove, Trauma Coach/Behavior Specialist, Edison Elementary School
Ms. Grove will walk participants through the purpose of the calm room, focusing on the importance of student challenges being regulatory based, not behaviorally based, thus, making/creating a clam room, that much more important. She will also inform participants on how to successfully set up a calm room, what the structure looks like (i.e. calm kits, breathing, self-regulation strategies with adult guidance), positive outcomes/success stories of implementing a calm room, how to keep track of calm room data, etc. Throughout the session, she will be sharing her experiences with students of trauma and the positive effects the calm room has had on each child that has entered the calm room. She will walk participants through the makings of the calm room and show them visual examples of what the space could look like as well as how to play a proactive role in helping children cope with trauma and build resilience through relationships and teaching of self-regulation. Her hope is that participants will walk away eager and ready to create/implement a calm room at their school and have a deep understanding of why and how the calm room is a necessary and essential tool for any child/school.
A2 & B2 The Common Thread Beyond ACES: Trauma-Informed Care
Location to be Determined
Kathy Szafran, President and CEO, Crittenton Services, Inc.
This session will focus on understanding the correlation between adverse childhood experiences and the need for trauma-informed care. What is trauma-informed care? What is a trauma-informed school? What does it take to be trauma-informed?
A3 & B3 Connections Between Growth Mindset and Protective Factors
Location to be Determined
Dr. Christine Schimmel, Associate Professor, WVU School of Counseling
Teaching students to approach school and life from a growth mindset is gaining momentum in many schools across the country. Research demonstrates that teaching students a meaning making system such as a growth mindset can assist in compensating for the negative effects of traumatic events to which our children are often subjected. This session will help participants at all skill levels understand the connections between growth mindset and the protective factors that help children develop resilience. Additionally, this session will provide participants with a number of creative ideas that can be used as universal and targeted interventions to assist student in developing a growth mindset and resilience.
A4 & B4 What will they remember
Location to be Determined
Barbara Tucker, Coordinator, Adolescent Health Initiative, WV DHHR
This session relates the The Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets of Youth, to Barb's own childhood in a rural coal community during the 1960s and 70s, her experiences as a teacher in public education to our roles in dealing with children on a daily basis. Using humor, storytelling, soft data and practical research, her mission is to help her audience realize the impact of our place in the lives of students in our community.
A5 & B5 I Yell because I Care: Trauma’s Impacts on Extended Families and Implications for School-Based Trauma-Informed Practice
Location to be Determined
Dr. Marianna Footo Linz, Psychology Professor, Marshall University
This session will focus on understanding the characteristics of close-knit extended families that include the weave of intergenerational trauma into their functionality of their system. Research supports the utility of strong extended families ties in improving child developmental outcomes for children in low income and high risk environments, as well as those from marginalized social groups. However, when intergenerational trauma becomes part of the picture, this may challenge the school system in terms of intervention with a child demonstrating educational or behavioral needs. The session will present a model for understanding the family system and suggestions for effective intervention will be discussed.
A6 & B6 Creating Culture: Why it Matters in the Midst of Trauma
Location to be Determined
Dr. Justin Bowers, Lead Pastor, New Community
Those working the frontlines with children and youth who have experienced trauma face tremendous challenges. Rather than survival, this session is about thriving as a culture-creating leader. We will talk about the art of creating healthy and healing cultures in our schools, organizations, and families.
A7 & B7 Trauma and Treatment
Location to be Determined
Kristine Buffington
This session will give an overview of Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as an effective treatment modality for in-school use in the treatment of children experiencing learning, behavioral, and relationship difficulties as a result of traumatic stress.
A8 & B8 Toxic Stress: Pathways to Self-Care
Location to be Determined
Dr. Michael Brumage, Assistant Dean, WVU School of Medicine
Compassion fatigue, burnout, and loss of performance are all symptoms of toxic stress in our lives, especially among first responders. Even the way we frame stress can be problematic. This session discusses the mental and physical effects of toxic stress, provides a new view of how we look at stress, and offers one proven means to mitigate it used successfully on first responders, professional athletes, WVU football players, and Special Forces: mindfulness. We will discuss what it is, what it isn’t and why you should know about it.
A9 & B9 Healthy Grandfamilies: A New Community
Location to be Determined
Bonnie Dunn, Extension Specialist, West Virginia State University
This program model provides resources to grandparents who are providing a valuable service to society through their sacrifices on behalf of displaced grandchildren. Grandfamilies represent the fastest growing type of household in the U.S. Grandfamilies have many unmet needs, including financial, healthcare, legal, childcare, parenting, family relationships, and mental health concerns. This session will enlighten the listener about a 3-year collaborative pilot project, which started October 1, 2015, between the West Virginia State University Extension Service and the Department of Social Work. Stories will be shared about the many challenges the 120 families that have graduated from this program are facing.
A10 & B10 Why it’s More than Just Saying No: How the Brain Responds to Opioids
Location to be Determined
Barry Ball, United Methodist Church
Persons suffering from addiction make no sense to those of us who have not suffered with this disease. Why would anyone choose to shoot up with heroin and risk death, prison or follow on diseases instead of being a productive member of society? The answer begins in the very basic parts of our brain. This session will help participants better understand the brain physiology that allows opioids to take over a person’s life. By better understanding how the brain reacts to opioids we can help to end the negative stigma that has hampered our community’s response to this epidemic.
A11 & B11 On the Front Lines: Ten Things you Need to Know about Abuse, Online Safety, and Mandatory Reporting
Location to be Determined
Robert Peters, Senior Cyber and Economic Crime Attorney, National White Collar Crime Center
Learn the key indicators of abuse and trafficking, best practices for responding to abuse, and recent updates to mandatory reporting legislation. This workshop, presented by a former prosecutor, will review peer-based and offender-based online threats to students such as cyberbullying, solicitation, sextortion, and sexting, and how to respond to them.
A12 & B12 Mandated Reporting
Location to be Determined
Rebecah Carson, Centralized Intake Director, WV DHHR, BCF
While everyone is concerned about child abuse and neglect in their communities, certain groups of people are more likely to have the opportunity to recognize and report abuse and neglect. This session will help mandated reporters understand the definitions of child abuse and neglect and address what information is needed to report. We will review procedures for reporting and provide an explanation of what happens after a report is made.
A13 & B13 Trauma Informed Schools: One District’s Journey
Location to be Determined
Dr. Rikki McCormick, Director of Special Education, Lincoln County Board of Education
ACE Study. Opioid epidemic. Drug-endangered children. Extreme behaviors. Public schools are facing challenges that they have never before faced. In an effort to support the whole child, Lincoln County Schools is now in year four of becoming trauma-informed/trauma-sensitive to support the needs of the entire child.
A14 & B14 I’ve made the report, now what?
Location to be Determined
Lt. Mark Davis, Chief Investigator, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office
In this session, we will be identifying and discussing what constitutes making a CPS referral and the law that requires it to be done. We then explain what CPS does once the referral is made and assigned (the steps they take to investigate the case, time frame, and whether or not it requires law enforcement attention). We will explain the chain of investigative process from once the referral is made to the conclusion of the case. Not all cases require police involvement and we will explain how CPS logs and monitors the case referrals. MOST IMPORTANTLY... we emphasize how Handle With Care is used by law enforcement with the school system and how it plays a part in child case referrals that require investigation by the police.
A15 & B15 Emotional Intelligence through Movement and Meditation
Location to be Determined
Jeannie Harrison, Founder and Director, Karma Yoga Institute
This session will cover the basics of emotional intelligence (EQ), the ability to process emotions and build healthy relationships. You will learn about this vital skill set and its applications in schools - techniques that you can use with your students to reduce stress and anxiety, increase calm and focus, and improve performance for everyone in your classroom, all while upping your own EQ! Jeannie Harrison is the founder of Yoga for Emotional Intelligence (Yoga EQ), a Social and Emotional Learning program taught in schools, recovery centers, and corporations.
A16 & B16 WV Drug Trends
Location to be Determined
Chad Napier, Prevention Coordinator, Appalachia HIDTA
The primary focus of this session will be new and emerging drug trends across Appalachia. These drug trends present an increasing threat to children. This session will include information on the abuse of these substances by caregivers, which could result in more ignored, abused, and abandoned children. The education of professionals from a variety of disciplines about these ever-changing drug trends will increase the likelihood that the indicators of abuse of new substances can be identified earlier, thus diminishing the threat to children.
A17 & B17 Suicide Safe: Recognition and Response
Location to be Determined
Barri Faucett, Director, Prevent Suicide WV/ASPEN
In this session, attendees will be introduced to the most recent data concerning suicide in specific high-risk populations; critical assessment parameters of the recognition of at-risk individuals; dialogue on how to identify and refer at-risk individuals; and Apps relevant to prevention and intervention efforts for both at-risk individuals and providers. The purpose of the session is to increase the willingness and capability of participants to interact with at-risk individuals in providing for appropriate dialogue and a wide array of resources pertinent to suicide prevention and intervention and mental health promotion.
A18 & B18 Trauma 101 – Part 1 and 2
Location to be Determined
Holly Glick Sly, Children’s Services Clinical Director, FMRS Health Systems, Inc.
Kim Pack, Children’s Services Administrative Director, FMRS Health Systems, Inc.
Trauma 101 is a 3-hour session that provides a general overview of psychological trauma and the effects on children of all ages and adults. After this session, participants can be expected to understand the sources of potential trauma and complex trauma of individuals served by child serving systems; impact of trauma on emotional and behavioral functioning; principals of trauma-informed systems; and ways to decrease the possibility that those seeking services and staff experience trauma.
A19 & B19 Where in Upshur County can I Find . . .
Location to be Determined
Laura McDaniels, Child Advocate, Mt. CAP, Inc. Child Advocacy Center
This session will introduce BOE employees to the work of the Upshur County Child Abuse Task Force/ Multidisciplinary Investigative Team, and the Mountain CAP Child Advocacy Center's Forensic Interview process and services. Available community resources will be introduced in order for each school to explore creating a safety net for trauma affected students, including the importance of trauma therapy and when/ where it is most effective and appropriate.
B20 Why are you here?
Location to be Determined
JoDonna Burdoff, Behavior Specialist, WV Department of Education/ODTP
It is well documented that one of the major challenges in working with young people today is addressing behavioral issues. It can be easy for teachers to forget how powerful they are to our students. In this presentation, Ms. Burdoff shares real life examples explaining how you can be the most important person to a student. She will also share with you a framework for understanding challenging behaviors and some practical strategies to support positive behavioral change.
Upshur County Handle with Care Conference
August 8, 2019 | 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
Buckhannon-Upshur High School
270 BU Drive, Buckhannon, WV 26201