Empowered to Connect 2018 Conference Simulcast
Join us at First Baptist Church of Whitney Point (Directions) for The Empowered To Connect Simulcast. The Simulcast is a two-day live video conference that features practical teaching in a safe and supportive community as we work to equip families, churches, and professionals to better serve children impacted by adoption and foster care. It features Trust-Based Relational InterventionⓇ (TBRI) methods developed by Dr. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross from the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development, to help bring attachment and connection in families. The content is ideal for adoptive and foster parents, those considering adoption or foster care, and those who are serving and supporting others, including social workers, agency professionals, church staff and ministry leaders, counselors, and therapists.
Cost: $30 includes breakfast, full lunch, snacks, & workbook.
REGISTER NOW:
To register, click the ‘add conference registration’ button below to display shopping cart. Enter number of registrants under quantity and press ‘enter’. Click the ‘check out with PayPal’ button to go to PayPal site to make payment and complete registration.
If you are unable to register online, please email us at info@walkministries.org with the number of registrants and their names. You can then make a check out to Walk Ministries, Inc and mail it to First Baptist Church of Whitney Point, P.O. Box 242, Whitney Point, NY 13862.
Questions: email Marsha at info@WalkMinistries.org or call/text Marsha at 607-345-1354
LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF THE EMPOWERED TO CONNECT CONFERENCE
● To help understand the specific needs of the whole child, the principles of empowering,
connecting and correcting, and practical steps that can help children heal. This is
accomplished by: helping parents see their children with ‘eyes of compassion’;
understanding the needs of the whole child; and offering hope from the scientific
research that all children can heal if their parents are insightful and equipped.
● To provide an in-depth look at the impact of trauma on children, including effects in their
brain development, neurochemistry, sensory processing, attachment behaviors and
ability to self-regulate. Presenter will review a wide range of research that gives insight
into development deficits that impact “children from hard places,” but also focuses on
helping parents/caregivers to see beyond maladaptive behaviors to the “real child”.
● To encourage the parent to look at their adult attachment style and his/her motivations
and expectations in helping his/her child develop a secure attachment. This session will:
help understand the impact the parent’s own history can have on the relationship;
provide parent’s insights and skills to help them begin to process their own histories;
challenge parents to focus on what they bring to the parent-child relationship.
● To provide a summary of attachment and key attachment research, focusing on the role
of attachment as the foundation for the parent/child relationship. This session will also
focus on helping parents/caregivers understand how to rebuild and repair ruptured
attachments for “children from hard places”.
● To present an overview of how sensory processing and neurochemistry is affected in
“children from hard places.” Specifically, this session will focus on: signs of sensory
processing deficits and disorder; strategies to effectively respond to and deal with
sensory processing issues; research relating altered neurochemistry in “children from
hard places.”
● To offer insights, strategies and tools parents need to achieve effective behavioral
change in their children while promoting lasting connection and healing. Conference Schedule (subject to change)
SCHEDULE:
Day 1 – Friday, April 13th 9:30-9:45 — Sign in & Continental Breakfast 9:45-10:00 –Walk Ministries Welcome
10:00 to 10:45 AM – Welcome and What is TBRI®?
10:45 AM to 12:00 PM – A Paradigm Shift Part 1 (led by Daren Jones)
12:00 to 12:15 PM – Break with snacks
12:15 to 1:15 PM – A Paradigm Shift Part 2 (led by Daren Jones)
1:15 to 2:00 PM – Lunch Provided – Deirdre Ballard from Hillside and Susan Rausch from AGAPE will be presenting information on the Regional Permanency Resource Center 2:00 to 2:15 Walk Ministries Announcement
2:15 to 3:30 PM – Connecting: Attachment is Developmental (led by Dr. Casey Call)
3:30 to 4:30 PM – Connecting: Healing Through Relationships (led by Dr. Casey Call)
4:30 to 4:45 PM – Break with snacks
4:45 to 5:55 PM – What About You? (led by Ryan and Kayla North)
5:55 to 6:00 PM – Closing Remarks
Day 2 – Saturday, April 14th 9:30-10:00 — Sign in & Continental Breakfast
10:00 to 10:15 AM – Welcome
10:15 to 11:15 AM – Empowering: Preparing the Body and Environment (led by Sarah
Mercado)
11:15 AM to 12:00 PM – Empowering: Meeting Sensory Needs (led by Sarah Mercado)
12:00 to 12:15 PM – Break with snacks
12:15 to 1:15 PM – Correcting: Recognizing the Need Behind Behavior Part 1 (led by
Daren Jones)
1:15 to 2:00 PM – Lunch Provided – “Introduction to Neurofeedback” Presented by Dr. Adriana Steffens, BCN and Thomas B. Bolton, MS of Mind Matters Regional Neurofeedback Centers
2:00-2:15 — Walk Ministries Announcements
2:15 to 3:30 PM – Correcting: Recognizing the Need Behind Behavior Part 2 (led by
Daren Jones)
3:30 to 4:30 PM – Advocating For Children (led by Dr. Casey Call, Ryan and Kayla
North)
4:30 to 4:45 PM – Break with snacks
4:45 to 5:45 PM – Panel: Where Do I Start? (led by all speakers)
5:45 to 6:00 PM – Closing Remarks
***You may choose to attend ONLY Friday or ONLY Saturday, but the cost will remain the same. Please send us an e-mail or note it in the notes section when you register if you’re only planning to attend one of the days. (approved social workers must attend both days).
Daren Jones
Daren Jones is a Training Specialist with the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development. Daren
began his career as a behavior instructor of a therapeutic day treatment program serving
children and youth who could no longer function in a regular academic school setting. After
serving as a behavior instructor, Daren decided to obtain his Masters in Social Work from
Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. Daren also obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Social
Work from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He has spent the past 12 years serving
youth and families within residential and foster care settings as a direct-care worker, residential
group home supervisor, Licensed Child Care Administrator, and trainer. Daren currently resides
in Fort Worth, Texas with his wife, Katie, and two children.
Casey Call, Ph.D.Casey Call is the Assistant Director at the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development, and a passionate advocate for vulnerable children and families. Her responsibilities include research,
training, and outreach connected to Trust-Based Relational Intervention®. Casey also teaches,
advises, and mentors TCU students in the Child Development undergraduate and graduate
programs. Casey is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor and is a registered Circle of
Security® parent educator. She has also received training in Theraplay® Level One and in
scoring the Strange Situation Protocol. Casey has earned advanced degrees in elementary
education, counseling, and developmental psychology. She is passionate about bringing
trauma-informed interventions into systems of care, especially educational systems. Casey is
married to Brian, a lieutenant in the Fort Worth Fire Department. They have two children and
reside in Fort Worth, TX.
Sarah Mercado
Sarah Mercado is a Training Specialist with the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development (KP
ICD) at TCU. As training specialist, Sarah’s main focus is instructing professionals working with
children who have experienced trauma, in Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®). Sarah earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Sweet Briar College in Virginia. She began her career as a direct care staff working with adolescent boys living in a Residential Treatment Center (RTC).
After serving in the RTC for several years, she shifted her focus to foster care, where she was
Regional Director for a foster and adoption agency. Sarah spent 20 years serving youth and
families within residential and foster care settings as a direct-care worker and trainer before
beginning her work with the Purvis Institute in May 2016. Sarah lives near Austin, TX with her
husband, AJ, and their two girls.
Dan and Terri Coley
Dan and Terri Coley are Show Hope founding board members who live in Franklin, Tennessee.
Dan also serves on staff at Show Hope as the Senior Director of Programs and Growth
Strategies. Terri serves on staff in pre and post adoption support. They have served as foster
parents for more than 40 infants and birthmothers, and have adopted children domestically and
internationally. Their family is multi-racial and includes children with special needs. It is their
heart’s desire for every child to have a family. Through personal experience, they have come to
know the importance of understanding the challenges and needs of children from “hard places.”
Dan and Terri are committed to helping educate and prepare families for the adoption journey
and empowering them with the tools to help children heal while maintaining healthy families.
The Coleys have nine children and ten grandchildren.
Ryan and Kayla North
Kayla and Ryan have six children through birth and foster care adoptions. They began their
foster care journey in 2004 with the hope of adopting a baby. God quickly showed them that
foster care was a ministry—not just to the children in care, but to their families as well. Following
their calling, they have opened their home to close to thirty foster children. Ryan serves as the
Executive Director of Tapestry, the Adoption and Foster Care Ministry of Irving Bible Church.
Kayla recently left the classroom, after a decade of teaching third grade, to stay home with their
seemingly always growing family. They are Empowered to Connect Parent Trainers and write
about the blessings and challenges of their parenting journey at One Big Happy Home and The
Ryan Blog, and contribute to both Empowered to Connect and the Tapestry blogs.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
The Empowered to Connect Conference is a wonderful opportunity for professionals to receive
continuing education credits to use towards their licensing requirements.
“ I just really appreciated the comprehensiveness of TBRI Ⓡ . It overlaps with some of the training
I have had in play therapy techniques and books I have read about topics such as sensory
processing disorders and attachment, but TBRI Ⓡ ‘s approach is unique in that it teaches parents
how to heal trauma in the brain with specific interventions. I’m so excited to have found it. I am
excited about what God will use me to do with what I have learned in the future!” — Social
Worker in East Brunswick, New Jersey
Continuing education approvals for the 2018 event are pending.
PROFESSIONALS: The Empowered to Connect Conference has previously been approved for 11 hours through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), though we cannot guarantee any approvals for the 2018 event. Please note that
simulcast viewers seeking NASW credit will be required to complete a post-test and receive a
score of 80% or above to receive a certificate.
Registration for the credits:
Each professional interested in receiving hours and a professional certificate is required to
register and pay a separate fee at www.etccontinuingeducation2018.eventbrite.com . Please do not pay for continuing education unless you are positive that NYS has approved the simulcast. Professionals will pay the registration fee for attending the simulcast AND go to the above link to pay for the professional certificate.
PARENTS: Adoptive and foster parents in need of documentation for training or continuing education hours will receive a separate certificate each day. We will need to sign the certificate, but the parent will be responsible for noting which sessions were attended. It is at the discretion of each agency to award credit for the conference. If an agency has questions about the conference content, they can contact Show Hope at etcconferences@showhope.org.
