PRE-CONFERENCE
Make the most of your time at Symposium by attending one of three dynamic Pre-Conference Workshops!
Select the Pre-Conference Workshop option of your choice during Symposium registration. The Pre-Conference Workshop fee is $129.
Trauma-Informed Leadership: The Balance of Compassion and Accountability
The concepts and principles associated with trauma-informed care have received extensive attention over the last ten years. Trauma-informed practices have been designated across multiple types of service systems, including child welfare, mental health, juvenile justice, and substance abuse, among others. To date, the primary focus has been on supporting the organization and its employees to utilize a trauma-informed approach with the clientele served. However, considering recent national and global events, a broader trauma-informed leadership approach at an organizational level is warranted. This presentation is designed for leaders across roles who want to empower and engage the current workforce. Drawing from the literature on effective leadership, implementation science, and trauma-informed care principles, this presenter will highlight the principles of trauma-informed care and provide strategies to integrate these principles into their leadership practices. This presentation is designed for leaders at all levels. *This program does not qualify for NBCC credit.
Presented by: Lisa Conradi, PsyD
Lisa Conradi, PsyD, is the Executive Director of the Chadwick Center for Children and Families in San Diego and a leadership consultant. She founded Conradi Consulting, LLC, located in San Diego, CA. She has multiple years of experience in the field of child trauma and in supporting service systems in their efforts to become more trauma-informed. She has authored and co-authored various publications on trauma screening and assessment practices, creating trauma-informed systems, and presented nationally on innovative practices designed to improve the service delivery system for children who have experienced trauma.
Breaking the Taboo of Helping Children and Adolescents with Problematic Sexual Behaviors
You can easily make a significant positive difference in the life of children and adolescents…who initiated problematic sexual behaviors (PSB) with other children. Child abuse professionals at Children’s Advocacy Centers, with multidisciplinary teams, and throughout communities all know these children and teens though many don’t what, if anything, they can do as individual disciplines or as members of a team to respond effectively to stop the PSB and help all the children and families involved. Research on children and teens with PSB is clear that the vast majority will not have persistent PSB because they generally respond very positively to intervention. Child abuse professionals of all kinds have a role in helping these children and teens, the child recipients of their PSB, and their families get the help needed to ensure safety and well-being for everyone. This in-depth training will educate participants on the research of children and teens who have or had a PSB in a way to support accurate conceptualization of cases to inform professional responses (e.g., placement decisions, contact between children, treatment, and support for caregivers and families) and support community change to better serve these children, teens, and families.
Presented by: Andrew Monroe, LCSW and Jimmy Widdifield, Jr., MA
Andrew Monroe, MSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center where he has been employed since 2020. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Auburn University and a Master of Social Work from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL. Mr. Monroe has experience working with and developing programs for youth with problematic sexual behaviors, as well as trauma survivors in urban and rural settings, and oversees rural health initiatives for the National Center on the Sexual Behaviors of Youth. He is trained in and provides several evidence-based treatment models, including Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Problematic Sexual Behavior Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Mr. Monroe is a clinician in the Treatment Programs for Children with Problematic Sexual Behavior – School-Age and, also, Adolescents with Illegal Sexual Behavior Program.
Jimmy Widdifield, Jr., MA, is the Project Director of the national Training/Technical Assistance (TTA) Grant for Child Abuse Professionals at the National Children's Advocacy Center. Mr. Widdifield is an experienced TTA provider in child maltreatment with specific experience with children and adolescents with problematic (including illegal) sexual behavior, the recipient children, and their families; LGBTQ+ youth; and supporting multidisciplinary teams that investigate child abuse and neglect. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Oklahoma who is trained in several evidence-based treatments that address childhood adversity and trauma.
Educate, Advocate, & Activate with BLOOM365: A teen-centered model to prevent and respond to interpersonal violence
In this session the presenter will explore BLOOM365’s teen-centered model to meet the urgent and growing need for comprehensive dating abuse and sexual violence prevention and response programming in schools and youth serving organizations. Participants will learn practical strategies, grounded in research-based practices and prevention theory, to help them cultivate a teen-centered and trauma-sensitive environment that fosters empowerment and resiliency for young people who have experienced or witnessed interpersonal violence. The presenter hopes to alleviate the time and effort it takes to develop and test new curricula and resources by utilizing BLOOM365’s essential teen specific victim advocacy and education curricula to help the young people you serve increase healing, safety and well-being. *This program does not qualify for NBCC credit.
Presented by: Donna Bartos, MPA
Donna Bartos founded BLOOM365 in 2006 as "Purple Ribbon Council to Cut Out Domestic Abuse," a grassroots volunteer-led movement to break the silence, break the cycle and save lives from domestic violence. In the early years, Donna mobilized a national network of stay at home moms to raise awareness and funds through "purple" themed "Girls Night Out to Cut Out Domestic Abuse" events at salons and spas and "Rock the Purple" concerts at Hard Rock Cafes to benefit, support and empower children orphaned by domestic violence. In 2010, she developed "Are you blooming or wilting?" a research-based root cause prevention education tool which remains the foundation of our mission, vision and work to this day. Donna has over 25 years experience in non-profit management, program development, marketing and fundraising. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from McDaniel College and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Grand Canyon University.