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Recent Updates from Louisiana Supreme Court:
- Resolution 606 addresses anti-black racism and its impact on families in child welfare.
- Court Improvement Program’s CIP Cafe’ offers free, monthly educational opportunities for child welfare practitioners.
- Child in Need of Care Trial Skills Building Training for Louisiana Attorneys – Next Session is September 16, 2024 in Alexandria. Sign Up Now!
Important Information
Child Abuse Prevention – Outreach Toolkit 2024 - National Child Abuse Prevention Month: April 2024 Whether by proclamation, through social media, with graphics, or through other means, spreading the word about child abuse prevention lets your community know they can take action to strengthen families and help them … Read More
Child Welfare Law Specialist Certification - Child Welfare Law Specialist (CWLS) certification is a professional achievement that signifies an attorney’s specialized knowledge, skill, and verified expertise in the field of child welfare law. The specialization area is defined as “the practice of law representing children, parents … Read More
Louisiana CINC Benchbook - The Court Improvement Program of the Louisiana Supreme Court, Louisiana Judicial College, and Pelican Center for Children and Families is delighted to announce the publication of the Louisiana Child in Need of Care Benchbook for Juvenile Judges. The Benchbook project is a … Read More
Upcoming Events
Trainings will provide in-depth discussion of topics relevant for providing developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive, care for children involved with the child welfare system.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will be able to understand the importance of self-awareness in providing care for children involved with child welfare.
- Participants will be able to discuss and identify roadblocks to practices that encourage self-awareness and self-care.
- Participants will be able to identify how they can best engage in self-care practices and encourage this for the children in their care
This Training will provide an overview of QPI including rationale for implementation and benefits to children and families. Vignettes and interactive case discussion will be used to illustrate real life applications of QPI principles.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will understand the basic concepts of power and control in intimate partner relationships.
- Participants will be able to differentiate between tolerable and toxic stress and the impact that this has on child development.
- Participants will understand ways that exposure to domestic violence impacts child behavior.
- Participants will learn parenting skills to support children in their recovery from exposure to domestic violence.
Presenter(s):
- Melissa Middleton, Ph.D
- Devi Miron Murphy, Ph.D
- Letia O. Bailey, LCSW
The Bureau of Family Health is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Louisiana State Nurses Association. LSNA Provider No. 4003257. The event planners and presenter(s) have no relevant financial disclosures. Nurses must attend the entire event and complete an evaluation to receive continuing education (CE) Award.
The activity has been submitted for approval to the LA Department of Health, Office of Public Health, Bureau of Family Health for 2 hours of General Social Work Continuing Education. The LA Department of Health, Office of Public Health, Bureau of Family Health is an authorized approval organization of the LA Board of Social Work Examiners. Presenters have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Social Workers must attend the entire event and complete an evaluation to receive continuing education (CE) award.
The views expressed by the presenter(s) do not represent the opinions or policies of Louisiana State Board of Social Work, Louisiana State Nursing Association, the Bureau of Family Health, or the Louisiana Department of Health.
Children experience grief over the loss of their families when they come into foster care, similar yet more challenging, then they do through divorce or death. There are many unknowns within the complicated family dynamics of each situation. We can help them understand and heal through caring conversations, story-sharing, and creative projects like memory boxes or journaling.
Upon completion of this course, participants will:
- Learn the stages of grief that are common to all situations regarding loss.
- Discover why loss in foster care is more complex and if unresolved can lead to lifelong problems.
- Obtain tools to utilize with children to help them address their grief in healthy ways.
Participants will learn how to make creative projects that help children and teens reflect on their unique personality, establish a personal motto, and create a vision for their future. Specifically, they will learn to make a Name-Poem (acrostic poem) OR a rhyming poem, a Coat-of-Arms OR a totem pole as well as a Vision Board. These projects are fun for people of every age and help promote self-esteem. The training session will show samples, demonstrate how-to make each project, and explain the importance of these tools for personal growth. Foster parents will be able to teach these techniques to the children in their homes far into the future. A supply list incorporating items you have at home will be supplied during the session
Upon completion of this course, participants will:
- Learn how creative activities can help their foster children build their self-esteem.
- Learn teachable activities by practicing them during the workshop session.
- Discover new ways to connect and create a deeper bond with the foster children in their care.
While each of the Child Development workshops can be taken independently, taking them as a series gives a detailed perspective on the growth and development of children ages 0-12. Each session includes important milestones that typical children achieve and the warning signs that they are falling behind. The sessions also include activities that you can do with the child to help them thrive. All sessions highlight the unique challenges that children in foster care may face as a result of being abused or neglected, born with addiction or fetal alcohol syndrome or attachment problems. All workshops include discussion time, reflection time, and case studies.
In addition to developmental milestones, warning signs and activities, The Infant – 3 Years Old session includes info on failure to thrive, shaken-baby syndrome, delays vs disabilities, and early intervention.
Upon completion of this course, participants will:
- Learn about the important milestones between birth and three years of age. These milestones represent typical development in language, learning (cognitive), physical movement, and social/emotional growth.
- Learn about early warning signs that may signal early delays, disabilities, or lack of attachment.
- Become familiar with famous theories and studies on the effects of separation, difference between delays and disabilities, and specific conditions such as failure to thrive, fetal alcohol syndrome, and shaken baby syndrome. Participants will learn the short and long term ramifications of early abuse and neglect.
- Learn how to help infants and toddlers thrive.
A healing Lifebook is much, much more than a photo album. It provides an opportunity for a child to give context to their life by understanding their roots and how they came into the child welfare system. It contains fun pages such as their likes and dislikes and dreams for the future – and also pages that list their various placements, court hearings and health history of family members.
This workshop will present information on how to create a Lifebook that will become a cherished treasure for an entire lifetime. It will discuss why lifebooks are so important, and how difficult information can be presented in a thoughtful and healing manner. Participants will also have an opportunity to create a few Lifebook pages about their own life! Registrants will be provided an All About Me Lifebook Kit after completing the training.
Upon completion of this course, participants will:
- Become aware of why lifebooks are particularly important to children in foster care.
- Understand the elements of a lifebook and critical information important to include in it.
- Learn how to create lifebook pages using templates or by designing them in a manner that includes narration, photos, and mementos.
This course builds on theories of attachment and moral development. It provides tools and exercises to help foster parents and caregivers help children learn how to discern and practice integrity, honesty, kindness, and other behaviors that will help them grow and function in society. Participants will share personal experiences, ideas, and learn how to utilize ethical dilemmas as a learning tool.
Upon completion of this course, participants will:
- Learn how children acquire morals and values.
- Learn how to identify unanticipated teachable moments.
- Be able to implement and design family activities which demonstrate various virtues.
This workshop will provide opportunities for children and adolescents to bond with their foster families in diverse ways. This session will focus on foster families discovering more about what each individual person’s interests are as well as finding commonalities. We will discuss different types of art, explore varieties of music, and express ourselves with storytelling. We will practice some fun sing-alongs and create artwork that shows a different side of ourselves. A supply list incorporating items you have at home will be supplied during the session.
Upon completion of this course, participants will:
- Include foster parents, foster children and other children in the home. Everyone will engage in virtual group activities together with other foster families.
- Learn and experience the benefits of using different creative methods.
- Have the opportunity to laugh together, to create together, and to get to know each other on a different level.