Building Hope for Children Conference 2019 Sessions

This session addresses the role of the medical home in building health and well-being in the community as well as ways the medical home can help prevent child abuse and neglect and improve resilience in families. The pediatric office is often seen as a safe and non-judgmental environment where problems can be presented, which makes it an effective way to connect families to needed resources.

This workshop provides space for participants to discuss child sexual development and how to foster a meaningful connection using techniques that can be modeled in the home and classroom. Participants will examine the impact of language and messages received about sexuality, and they will gain the knowledge and skills to nurture healthy sexual development by providing accurate, non-shaming, and developmentally-appropriate information about sexuality.

When considering optimal health for children, most public and social health practitioners do not consider the role of childhood obesity and its consequences on the children affected. This session will review examples of protective and inclusive factors for all children that focus on Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) strategies to create healthy environments that can HEAL families and build hope for more positive child health outcomes.

This healing training process engages participants where they are, guiding them through our shared history, the consequences of inequity, and providing tools for transforming how we live and work together across human difference.

Learn about the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P), an evidence-based public health approach focused on building safe, stable and nurturing environments through the development of positive parenting strategies. This system of interventions has multiple delivery modes and differing levels of intensity to address the diverse needs of families. It is designed to provide the support needed to give caregivers the confidence and skills to be self-sufficient and manage future parenting problems independently.

According to national statistics, five million children witness domestic violence each year in the U.S., and nearly 10 million children are involved with bullying. Is there a connection? This presentation will discuss similarities and differences between bullying and domestic violence, as well as the impact the two behaviors have on children’s well-being. Making the connection and working to prevent both may be the beginning step in dealing with these public health problems.

This workshop, which will feature small group discussions, will focus on the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) program, a new approach to policing in distressed urban environments. The mission is to enhance the safety and security of residents by developing positive police-community relationships through sports and educational programs, prevent crime in collaboration with community members, and utilize long-term problem-solving.

This workshop educates participants about data, statistics, warning signs, risk factors and protective factors concerning suicide. Learn how to have conversations about suicide with someone who might be at risk or has expressed thoughts about suicide. It also will cover how to respond if an individual confirms thoughts about suicide, including resources and next steps.

Take a deep dive into understanding why police can be a valuable asset when seeking to strengthen community resilience and identify challenges to developing effective police-community partnerships. Serve and Connect is igniting positive change by using evidence-informed strategies for collaboration and systems transformation. Family-serving professionals can help re-imagine this relationship in a way that generates positive outcomes in marginalized communities.

As Children’s Trust trained and educated others on the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), it worked to develop a model for mobilizing prevention and promoting well-being. The Empower Action Model is currently being piloted in three counties, and in this session, participants will learn about the model and hear from coalition members who have been participating in the work to gain examples of how the model can be applied to everyday life.

This workshop will explore the Child Welfare Information Gateway website and its free resources and services, including publications, state statutes, manuals databases, and the research library. It also will highlight the 2019 Prevention Resource Guide: Strong and Thriving Families. Participants will work in small groups to discuss various child welfare-related scenarios and the protective factors associated with those scenarios.

With a mix of lecture-style information and experiential activities, this session is designed to lead attendees on a journey to becoming better resilience builders. Learn strategies shown to build resilience in children and families, as well as in ourselves. The ultimate goal is for participants to identify new ways to serve in a trauma-informed way and form a plan of action to implement in the work environment.

Toxic stress results from severe unmitigated chronic stress during childhood and can have damaging effects on learning, behavior, and health across the lifespan. Health Outcomes from Positive Experiences (HOPE) offers research-based principles based on the positive childhood experiences that form the cornerstone of preventing, mitigating, and healing from toxic stress. This presentation will highlight the evidence laying out the four key kinds of experiences that form the basis of HOPE.

Using a fun approach based on the iconic film, “The Wizard of Oz,” this session will share ideas to help you be more effective in your public policy advocacy and media strategies to promote child well-being, strengthen families, and prevent child maltreatment. It also will review policies identified by the CDC’s Essentials for Childhood initiative that are linked to reductions in child maltreatment. Learn lessons from a successful statewide grassroots campaign in West Virginia to end child poverty.

Fact Forward and Darlington County First Steps have focused for four years on the implementation and evaluation of a set of prevention strategies that provide age-appropriate, medically-accurate, evidence-based sexual health education programs and services to teens throughout the county with funding and support from The Duke Endowment. Presenters will share examples of strategies to mobilize community support.

This workshop will feature the Phoenix Connect Program, a grant-funded initiative focused on providing therapeutic interventions to Greenville County’s juvenile detention facility adolescent population. Presenters will cover the details of interventions utilized (bio-psycho-social assessments, court summary reports, ACE score tracking, group therapy, psychoeducation, trauma-informed officer training) and will share research highlighting the program’s results.

Many programs are steadily producing outcomes but rarely stop to understand how the processes implemented impact their outcomes. To understand if the desired outcomes are being produced in the most efficient way, programs must evaluate their processes. Attendees will learn essential process mapping concepts, participate in hands-on experience, and conclude with tools to improve their workflow. Stakeholders will have discussion on when implementing such an improvement method would benefit their work.

This workshop will describe the development and delivery of a streamlined school-based health promotion initiative run by the Bradshaw Institute for Community Child Health and Advocacy within Prisma Health. The Institute has been working to build more responsive schools by serving Greenville County's highest-need children from preschool to high school, providing students with health education, physical activity opportunities, health care services and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) support.

Community health workers (CHW) are trusted members of their communities helping others navigate systems, connect to resources, and address challenges they are facing. With roots in Latin America, Africa and Native American communities, they often act as bridges between communities and systems, providing greater cultural understanding. Attendees will develop a more thorough understanding of the CHW scope of practice and engage in dialogue around how to utilize the CHW model to build strong and resilient communities.

This session will take you on a journey through the Carolinas Collaborative grant to address adverse childhood experiences (2016-2018). The grant included eight pediatric residency training programs in the Carolinas. Prisma Health started a program called the No Hit Zone and worked with the West Greenville Community and the Julie Valentine Center to hold Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) classes in the community over an 18-month period. Learn the outcomes of a controlled study by Furman University on the grant’s impact.

With a three-year recidivism rate of over 70 percent for youth who are prosecuted and found guilty, lack of reintegration supports upon release is a significant contributing factor. Juvenile offenders face a number of barriers when attempting to reintegrate back into society due to personal struggles and challenging home environments. This workshop will facilitate discussions about the best ways to address how to incorporate community resources to provide more holistic representation for youth involved in various social systems.

This workshop will provide an overview of infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) principles. Participants will learn about South Carolina's IECMH Competencies and Endorsement® system, a nationally-recognized, evidence-informed system of standards. These serve as a quality assurance mechanism that verifies professionals are using best practice skills and reflective work experiences that consider the impact a child’s early experiences have on health and well-being.

A focus on building protective factors for parents is key for those who want children to thrive. When parents are engaged as equal partners, with a willingness to understand and help meet their unique needs, the best outcomes can be achieved for children and families. Through discussion and small group work, this interactive session will introduce participants to a Parent Engagement and Leadership Assessment Tool to measure how effectively their organization is engaging parents and identify how engaged they want parents to become.

Learn how to model and share concrete strategies and concepts related to mental health, physical health, and communication skills in this innovative workshop. Take the opportunity to collaborate with Enrique and fellow attendees for both your work with children and adults as well as your own self-care. Come ready to hear stories of challenge and success while learning how to create your own journey to healing and wholeness.

Ever feel like a 3-year-old is getting the best of you? Or wonder how a 14-year-old is pushing your buttons so successfully? Whether you’re in a classroom or a living room, staying cool and not taking it personally when faced with everyday irritating behavior is easier said than done. This session will examine a model for conceptualizing both the underlying reasons for children’s behavior and the real reasons adults sometimes struggle to respond effectively. You’ll receive practical strategies to help navigate day-to-day living.

Discussion in this session will focus on early brain development research that investigates how conversational turns impact two regions of the brain critical for language. Participants also will learn of a study that confirms the amount of talk with adults experienced by babies and infants in the first three years of life is related to verbal abilities and IQ in adolescence. A case study of Cherokee County has led to implementation of a variety of early literacy initiatives, including a LENA Start program.

The Institute for Child Success released the 2019 South Carolina Early Childhood Data Report, which highlights over 80 indicators of child and family well-being across four domains: family environment, physical health, emotional well-being, and cognitive development. This session will share key findings related to South Carolina’s young children (prenatal to age 8) as well as how the state compares regionally and nationally. Presenters will take an in-depth look at data sources utilized for the report and how attendees can access it to support their own work.

This interactive session will cover the importance of building resilience within families to alleviate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Participants will learn characteristics of resilient families, how families can build resilience, and how resilience helps reduce the likelihood of ACEs within families. Participants will also evaluate their own resiliency and identify ways to increase it.

A focus on building protective factors for parents is key for those who want children to thrive. When parents are engaged as equal partners, with a willingness to understand and help meet their unique needs, the best outcomes can be achieved for children and families. Through discussion and small group work, this interactive session will introduce participants to a Parent Engagement and Leadership Assessment Tool to measure how effectively their organization is engaging parents and identify how engaged they want parents to become.

Learn about an innovative approach to address the social/emotional needs of students that is culturally sensitive, individualized, and responsive in nature. The model utilizes restorative, instructional and reflective interventions. Learn about the planning stages, the implementation, the challenges, and the successes of this approach to reach the whole child, which requires a shift in culture and new way of thinking. Rather than following a restrictive disciplinary model, it compassionately considers how to correct behaviors while also keeping a student in school.

This presentation will describe how the Bradshaw Institute for Community Child Health and Advocacy’s School-Based Health Center (SBHC) team partnered with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, the Prisma Health Mobile Health Clinic, and Greenville County School District to build health and well-being by providing Tdap vaccines to rising seventh graders. Presenters will provide an overview of the how the Tdap project developed, and they will include an analysis of statewide immunization data with a specific focus on Tdap compliance rates.

This interactive training is designed to provide working professionals with information that allows for increased cultural competency and humility. It can be utilized to strengthen internal organizational inclusivity as well as address the needs and strengths of the communities in which they engage. Specifically, this training outlines the strategies implemented by PASOs, which focuses on the state’s Latino community. It incorporates statistical, demographic, culturally- and linguistically-appropriate social norms, barriers to access, immigration history, and language issues.

Studies illustrate that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are widespread in justice-involved youth and related to recidivism, with research demonstrating that 90 percent of juvenile detainees reported having experienced at least one traumatic event. This session explains the Juvenile Arbitration Program, a community-based program that provides fast-track accountability for first-time youthful offenders charged with committing a nonviolent crime. Using a strengths-based approach, youth are diverted from the formal justice system to an arbitration hearing conducted in their communities.