Calendar

Mar
26
Thu
Breaking the Cycle: Addressing Trauma, Identity and Structural Influences in CW Training – Mar 2026
Mar 26 @ 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Breaking the Cycle: Addressing Trauma, Identity and Structural Influences in CW Training - Mar 2026

CWLA is pleased to present a virtual training opportunity for social work and human service professionals that provides participants with a research-informed, reflective look at how identity and adverse life experiences interact to shape families within child welfare systems. Although identity categories are socially constructed, their influence on laws, policies, and relationships has enduring effects that contribute to uneven outcomes across service settings.

 

Participants will examine how life circumstances linked to structurally based experiences can persist across generations and institutions, and how historical and structural factors affect children and families. A framework grounded in trauma awareness and responsive practice will guide discussion and practical strategies for fostering healing and resilience.

TRAINER:

Deborah Wilson Gadsden, LSW, MSW, MHS, CWLA Director, EIB & Permanency Standards Project

REGISTER HERE

 

Nov
19
Thu
Unseen Beginnings: Adoptive Parents’ Lived Experiences Raising a Child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Nov 19 @ 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Unseen Beginnings: Adoptive Parents’ Lived Experiences Raising a Child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Parents who adopt a child often do so without a complete knowledge of the child’s early developmental history, including prenatal alcohol exposure. This training session presents the findings of a qualitative research study that explored the lived experiences of adoptive parents who unknowingly adopted a child later diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Through these parents’ narratives, the session will illuminate the emotional, relational, and systemic challenges they faced. The session will also highlight strategies for supporting children with FASD, including hands-on approaches that enhance co-regulation, strengthen external structure, and reduce cognitive and sensory overload in home, school, and clinical settings.

Trainers:

Ira J. Chasnoff, M.D., an award-winning author, researcher and lecturer, is President of NTI Upstream and a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. He is one of the nation’s leading researchers in the field of child development and the effects of environmental factors on the developmental trajectory of children and adolescents.  Dr. Chasnoff’s work encompasses community approaches to the integration of behavioral health services into primary health care, the schools, and the other multiple systems that serve children and families.

Christine Schmidt, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist who has specific interest and expertise in working with youth and families impacted by prenatal substance use and pre- and post-natal trauma. Most recently, Dr. Schmidt co-directed a three-year grant designed to help address the impact of secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma on professionals working with youth in the child welfare system. Dr. Schmidt has been a member of NTI Upstream’s training faculty for over 15 years and provides consultative psychological services to administrators, caseworkers, and other professionals.

 Amy Groessl, PhD, a licensed clinical social worker, brings extensive expertise in treating children and adults with complex trauma histories, neurocognitive challenges, attachment disorders, and adoption-related issues. She is based in Chicago and provides psychotherapy, clinical supervision, and consultation through her private practice.  Dr. Groessl has been with NTI Upstream’s Training Faculty since 2016.  She is also a Core Faculty member at the Institute for Clinical Social Work, where she teaches courses on qualitative research, trauma, attachment theory, and neuropsychology.

Sue Green, OTR/L, has practiced as a pediatric occupational therapist since 1987, culminating in over three and a half decades of knowledge.  Currently, Sue is the Pediatric OT/PT supervisor at The Chautauqua Center, Inc in Jamestown, NY, providing early intervention, preschool and pediatric outpatient services to those who need it most. Sue has been a member of NTI Upstream’s senior faculty since 2023, providing education and training to healthcare and social service professionals who share a common goal of enhancing positive outcomes for the children and families they treat.

REGISTER HERE