Friday, 11:30am CST
Trauma Free World | Trauma: Tools to Help You Be FOR Healing in Your Home
In order to care for our children well, we need to understand trauma and its effects on behavior. This session will provide an overview of trauma and tips for addressing challenging behaviors while also helping your child come to know they are seen, heard, and valued. Participants will walk away with practical parenting tools that will equip them to be FOR their children and FOR their healing.
Jason Johnson | Reframing the Journey: Seeing the Good Through the Hard
Foster and adoptive parents face a unique set of challenges and circumstances that must be filtered through the lens of God’s truth. This session will help you “reframe” thinking through those experiences along your journey in a helpful and sustaining way. Whether you’re just now considering getting involved in foster care or you’ve been on the journey for quite some time, you’ll walk away encouraged, refreshed, and inspired to take your next best steps forward.
Scott Watters | Understanding the Attachment Needs of Teens and Young Adults
Parenting teens and young adults can be one of the most challenging seasons of a parenting journey. Scott Watters takes an attachment perspective to navigating the relational needs of young people in the adolescent phases of life (ages 10-30) and how we might best support them as they form new and independent attachments. Questions are most welcome in this session!
Jocelyn Sutton | Is it Sensory Processing or is it Behavior?
Using sensory strategies to help kids with emotional regulation, attention, and learning is more than providing a few fidgets and taking movement breaks. This presentation will look at interconnections between sensory processing challenges and trauma, specifically related to emotional regulation. It will be jam-packed with practical suggestions for utilizing sensory strategies in the home to support regulation, minimize stress, and stay connected.
Kayla North | Let's Have a Conversation: Talking to our Kids About Their Story
Talking to our kids about their stories can be really intimidating. We know we need to, but how do we start the conversation, how much do we tell them, and how do we help them navigate the really hard? In this session, we will give practical tips for navigating those conversations with compassion and confidence.
Flip the Script: Foster and Adoptee Q&A | John Gibson, Brandy Leyva, Derek Hamer
In order to support our children well, we need to understand their experience. In this session, you will hear firsthand accounts from the voices of adopted and foster persons, as they take a deep dive into issues such as identity, grief and loss, and more. You will be both encouraged and challenged.
Dr. Ira Chasnoff | Getting a Correct Diagnosis for your Child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Children prenatally exposed to alcohol face increasing neurodevelopmental challenges as they grow and develop, but most often they are misdiagnosed and placed on numerous inappropriate medications. This session will provide an approach to diagnosing children within the fetal alcohol spectrum and describe 5 strategies parents can use to guide their child’s assessment in order to come to a correct diagnosis.
Friday, 12:30 pm (Lunch & Learn)
Replanted: Faith Based Support for Foster and Adoptive Families (Lunch & Learn)
Support is key for the foster and adoptive journey. Did you know that Replanted is more than just a conference? We also help churches, organizations, and individuals build emotional support groups in their community for parents and children to heal, connect, and thrive. Join us for this info session as we discuss the Replanted small group model.
Friday, 1:30 pm
Cindy Lee | Attachment: Being FOR it, Even When It's Hard
Attachment is the blueprint for how each of us engages in relationships with others. Trauma impacts our children’s ability to foster healthy attachments with others and our attachment style is important as well. Understanding your attachment style and the attachment style of your child gives you tremendous insight into the dynamics of your relationship. Once this knowledge is gained, effective strategies for deeper connection and respect can be implemented, helping us to be FOR attachment, even when it is hard. This session will focus on helping you understand the attachment style of you and your child, and discuss some strategies for potential change.
Jason Johnson | Healthy Rhythms, Healthy Souls: Tending to the Deepest Parts of You
We can’t give others what we don’t have. Sometimes this journey depletes us and we’re left feeling like we have nothing left to offer - to the children and families we serve, to the process, to our families, and to ourselves. We’re spent. This session is intended to offer practical, simple, and implementable ideas you can take back home that will help you establish healthy rhythms and practices focused on tending to the depths of your own soul on a regular basis.
Daryl And Sara Van Tongeren | Finding Meaning in the Midst of Unanswered Questions
Life has a tendency of being different than we imagined. And many times, we’re left with questions and lack clarity about how things will turn out in the future. How do you find meaning and flourish in the midst of unanswered questions and an uncertain future? This talk explores practical steps to cultivating a rich, meaningful life amid grief and loss.
Scott Watters | Nurture Group Experience
Nurture groups can be amazing tools for connection, self-regulation skills, and proactive teaching. Participants will engage in a nurture group setting while learning skills for using these groups in their own setting.
Ryan and Kayla North | Better Together: Staying Connected when Parenting Kids with Trauma Histories
Parenting vulnerable children can often bring many relationship problems to the surface. In this session, we will look at what we each bring to the relationship and why we might be struggling to stay connected to each other.
Justin Black | Redefining Normal: Generational Trauma to Generational Success
What happens when generational trauma becomes normal and accepted in the lives of foster youth? Scripture describes this brokenness as “generational sin.” We must seek to help youth and families heal not only from physical and mental wounds, but also from the heavy spiritual burden many families carry. To stop the cycle, we must reconnect youth to their original purpose and identity.
Meredith Shuman | Fighting the Stigma When Things Go Wrong
Living with disrupted adoptions, residential care placements, undesired reunifications, loss, relinquishing your foster care license, primary/secondary trauma...raising kids from hard places takes its toll. We know it is all too easy in those moments to give into the stigma of the voices around you, or even those in your own head. But beauty lies in the reality that there is strength in deep places of survival. There is hope in our Savior that understands suffering. You are not alone. Learn practical ways to process and heal by fighting isolation with community, fighting despair with faith, and fighting fear with action.
Friday, 2:45 pm
Encouragement FOR the Journey: A Panel with Jason Johnson, Mike Gallagher, Justin Black, Daniela Coats, and Derek Hamer
What is it like to be FOR every part of the process, every part of orphan care, every part of your families story, and every person in your children’s story? This panel will bring a wealth of experience, knowledge, and faith to the table. How can we be FOR, the same way that our God is FOR us all and FOR every part of our journey? You will be both encouraged and challenged.
Trauma Free World | Responding to Extreme Behaviors
How do we respond to behaviors including: meltdowns, lying, stealing, sleep difficulties, and aggression. This session will focus on practical steps for how to support children exhibiting extreme behavioral challenges due to their trauma experiences while also exploring how you as a parent can experience hope and healing.
Susan TeBos | What Teens Need: The C.A.R.E Dare for Parents
How do we know what our teens are thinking and feeling? They barely know themselves. And what if we did? Would it make a difference? Join author and adoptive mom Susan TeBos, in this interactive workshop and find out what teens are thinking and how it can change the way you interact with them on a daily basis.
John Gibson and Scott Watters | How to Navigate Sibling Separation in Foster Care
Sibling separation in foster care can be confusing, complicated, and emotional for everyone involved. How can you support your child through this loss? From the perspective of a former foster youth and mental health professional, this session will: (1) explore how to maintain sibling bonds, (2) honor the loss a child has experienced, and (3) provide time for Q&A.
Chuck Hagele | The Link Between Trauma and Technology Addiction
Our kids are desperately trying to meet their needs, many times using technology. However, they continue to struggle with anxiety, depression, loneliness, self-regulation, and appropriate relationships. This session helps us become curious about underlying needs and fosters developing skills and resources to meet those needs.
Ryan and Kayla North | The Beauty and Reality of Open Adoption
Navigating the world of an open adoption may seem overwhelming. In fact, you may have more questions than you have answers. The reality is that open adoption is beautiful and messy. Join us in this session as we unpack the messy and beautiful parts of open adoption from our own experience as well as years of experience walking with families.
Pam Shepard | Therapy Modalities: How do I choose?
The advancement of brain and behavior sciences have led to an exciting increase in the ways we can evaluate and help our kids. The sheer number of therapies and treatments available can be overwhelming. This session will contain an overview of various therapeutic modalities, as well as tips on finding the best fit for you and your family.
Saturday Early Bird, 8:00 - 8:45 am CST
Kathy Boger | Moses, A Study of Trauma In The Bible And How You Can Lead Through It
This morning devo will take us to the story of Moses and explore the early childhood trauma he likely experienced and how it may have affected his behavior as an adult.
Ryan and Kayla North | Connected Parenting and the Heart of God
Connected parenting reflects the heart of God. The foundational principles of having healthy relationships can be found in the pages of scripture and should be applied in all of our relationships. The more we learn about trauma-informed care, the more we see examples in the pages of scripture.
Saturday, 10:45 am
Cindy Lee | Making Sense of Your Worth
This session is designed to help people experience positive self-worth and secure attachment in relationships. Self-worth is a strong foundational component of who we are as humans and how we show up in the world. Our belief in our own value (or lack thereof) has huge implications in our personal and professional lives. Without awareness, our self-worth affects our behaviors, our relationships, our boundaries, our aspirations, our ability to lead, and, for some of us, our healing.
Adam Hodge | Experiences and Reflections on Transracial Adoption: An Interview Based Research Study
This workshop will report on the results of an interview-based research study that explored the experiences and reflections of transracial adoption from an adult adoptee perspective. Themes identified across interviews will be reported, along with a discussion regarding how these findings may help to improve family/relational experiences in transracial adoptive families.
Tabitha Goldsmith | How to Release Anxiety While Managing a Home
This is for the parent who wears all the hats. School, work, appointments, therapy, hospitalizations, court hearings…the list is endless! I will teach you a very simplified approach to managing emotions in real time. With tangible examples and take aways to apply NOW, in order to create a more peaceful home for everyone.
Daniela Coats | Taking the Next Step: Supporting My Birth Child
Birth kids in foster families hold a unique position within the home. In this workshop, parents will reflect on their family atmosphere and roles. Daniela will discuss resources available for birth kids in foster/adoptive families, as well as ways that parents can continue to support and meet the needs of their birth children.
Trauma Free World | Self Care: A Holistic Approach
It is so easy to forget our own mental, physical, and emotional health on the journey of life. This session will explore holistic self care using the Compassion Continuum and practical ways to consider adding self-care to your week to keep yourself in the game.
Jillana Goble and Jennifer Bracken | Q&A: Healthy Relationships with Biological Families
Foster care is about more than just taking care of a child, it’s about playing a part in the healing of a family. This breakout will address the foster parent’s role in building, strengthening, and repairing relationships with biological families. Jillana and Jennifer will share their own personal experiences and share practical steps and ideas for foster parents looking to grow in building relationships with biological parents.
Erin Bouchard | Practical Steps for Navigating the Crisis Spiral
When your family is in crisis, it’s often all you can think about. You move into survival mode. But the key to successfully managing a crisis begins long before you are in crisis. In this workshop, Erin Bouchard will teach you about your child’s spiral. She will equip you to identify and manage all aspects of your child’s regulation spiral.
Saturday, 12:30 pm (Lunch & Learn)
Tamekia Swint | African-American Hair Care Basics & Braiding
Hair is central to the care of your child. Come learn about the connection between hair and culture and the development of a healthy identity. Learn black hair care and skin care basics. Ask your questions and see a hair braiding demo!
In Chicago
Be a part of our live audience at The Compass Church in Naperville, IL with teaching, worship, breakouts, pampering, connection, and more!