33rd Annual Child Welfare Workshop
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
8:15 am - 3:15 pm
Maryland Theatre, 21 South Potomac St, Hagerstown
Washington County DSS Staff: Do not register online. Contact Barb Shevokas.
Brook Lane Staff: Do not register online. Submit a Training Request form signed by your supervisor along with the required documentation.
7:15 am - 8:15 am Check-in, Continental Breakfast, Exhibit Visitation & Networking
8:15 am - 8:30 am Opening Remarks (check-in desk closes at 8:30 am)
8:30 - 9:30 am General Session (all attendees)
Wonder Words: Using the Power of Language to Help Kids Learn and Thrive
Frank Kros, MSW, JD, is the Founder and CEO of Kros Learning Group. He is a career child advocate, who has served as a childcare worker, child abuse investigator, children’s home administrator, consultant, professor, attorney, writer and speaker. The spoken word is the primary tool adults use to educate, motivate, and positively influence kids’ social and emotional health. In the challenging environments emerging from our pandemic experience, the need for language strategies that build helpers’ impact on learning, behavior and emotional state have never been more important.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn how common phrases adults use with youth obstruct emotional safety and how to modify those phrases to build trust and confidence
- Learn how kids develop their intrinsic motivation and what language strategies boost that motivation
- Learn behavioral feedback strategies that balance empathy with accountability Learn how to use their words to help kids leverage self-talk to strengthen their personal resilience
9:45 am - 10:45 am Session I (choose one on the registration form)
A: Helping Families: Strength Focused Engagement & Working Together
Jenny McFarland, LCSW-C, is a clinical social worker with over 25 years of experience developing and implementing programming to assess the strengths and needed support of children with mental health, ASD and developmental delays in a home, school, inpatient and outpatient setting.
- Identify three levels of engagement
- Recognize opportunities for family engagement
- Explore the importance of each family’s unique story
B: Childhood Anxiety: How to Address and Support
Rida Faridi, LCPC, is a licensed clinical professional counselor treating young people at Brook Lane’s North Village outpatient location as well as at Washington County Public Schools as a school-based therapist.
- Discuss current trends in anxiety
- Recognize signs and symptoms of anxiety in children
- Learn strategies to support and help children better cope with anxiety across different settings
C: Understanding Opioid Use, Pregnancy & Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Laura Sheffield-Bishop, LCSW-C, is a social work supervisor at the Washington County Health Department Division of Behavioral Health Services.
- Identify the impacts of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)/neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) on the health, behavioral health, and child welfare systems
- Discuss issues and treatment barriers common to pregnant women who misuse opioids
- Describe strategies to effectively respond to the needs of pregnant women with opioid use conditions and their children
D: Engaging Neurodiversity: How to Keep It Fun
Jenny McFarland, LCSW-C, is a clinical social worker with over 25 years of experience developing and implementing programming to assess the strengths and needed support of children with mental health, ASD and developmental delays in a home, school, inpatient and outpatient setting.
- Understand the importance of clear communication with neurodiverse individuals
- Identify strategies to promote neurodiversity in classrooms
- Identify ways to celebrate neurodiversity
E: De-escalating the Overstimulated Child
Larry Lipsitz, M.Ed., director of Intensive Positive Training Program, LLC. His area of expertise includes Positive Behavioral Supports, Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
- Be able to list three forms of over-stimulation
- Be able to explain how to identify an individual’s personal behavior pattern or “tell”
- Be able to state three self-awareness techniques
F: The Disturbing Trend of Synthetic Drug Use & Other Substances
Alicia Snoots, LMSW, is a supervisor with the Child Protedtive Services Intake and Assessment Unit.
Agent Brian Hook is a member of the Hagerstown Police Department and is currently assigned to the Washington County Narcotics Task Force.
- Name some of the common synthetic drugs and other substances being used locally
- Discuss the signs, symptoms and behavioral indicators of drug use
- Discuss the impact of substance use on the development of newborns and children
G: Helping Children Cope with Grief and Loss
Maria Reed, M.Ed., is the Bereavement Care Supervisor for Hospice of Washington County.
- Learn general grief education, including developmental responses and childhood grief considerations
- Learn about best practices and ideas of how to best support children and families who are grieving the death of a loved one
- Learn about the scope of bereavement care services with Hospice of Washington County, including how to connect families to services and calendar of anticipated events
H: De-escalating the Overstimulated Child
Larry Lipsitz, M.Ed., director of Intensive Positive Training Program, LLC. His area of expertise includes Positive Behavioral Supports, Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
- Be able to list three forms of over-stimulation
- Be able to explain how to identify an individual’s personal behavior pattern or “tell”
- Be able to state three self-awareness techniques
I: Empathy & Parenting: Engaging Parents with Their Child’s Mental Health
David Rodriguez, LGPC, is the Operations Director for Potomac Case Management, Inc. He has a master’s degree in professional counseling
- List techniques that can be used to avoid power struggles
- Utilize the steps in the Think-Feel-Do Cycle
- Apply the principles of developing empathy in a healthy, mutually respectful therapeutic relationship
J: Promoting Change in Parenting Behaviors: Motivational Interviewing & Adult Learning Dave Schultz, PhD, is an associate professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Dr. Schultz focuses on social and emotional development in infancy and early childhood.
- Understand the principles of motivational interviewing
- Learn specific communication techniques that facilitate conversations about changing behaviors
- Understand the principles of how adults best learn to change behavior
K: Kinship Care: Strategies for Assisting Families Raising a Relative's Child
Ligia Teodorovici, LCSW-C, is a child welfare supervisor with the Washington County Department of Social Services.
- Explain the difference between providing informal kinship care vs. relative or non-relative foster care for the caregiver
- Discuss the effects of kinship care on the mental health of the caregiver
- Employ intervention strategies to assist caregivers and minimize caregiver stress
L: Play Therapy: The What, The Why and The How Terri Lancaster, NCC, LCPC, RPT-S, is a play therapist and the Outpatient Services Coordinator with The Mental Health Center of Western Maryland.
- Outline the overall objectives of play therapy
- Discuss four basic play therapy skills for working with children
- Use basic play therapy techniques to help children build a better sense of self
Deadline is March 24, 2023 or when maximum number of participants (350) is reached.
Cancellation Policy: A $10.00 processing fee will apply to all cancellations. To receive a refund, cancellation must be made in writing and received no later than 5 pm on Friday, March 24, 2023. No refunds/credits will be made after March 28, 2023 or for no-shows on the day of the program.
Continuing Education Credits
Note: To receive a certificate of completion and continuing education credits, attendees must be on time and attend 100% of the program. Brook Lane is solely responsible for all aspects of the program. Program will provide 5 clock hours; partial credit will not be awarded.
For specific details regarding available CEUs, print a copy of the pdf (link located at the topic of this page).