Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy & the Vulnerable Child

Tuesdays, May 27, June 3, 10, 17 & 24, 2025
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm Eastern Time

CWLA is pleased to partner with Dr. Ira J. Chasnoff, the Founder & President of NTI Upstream, to bring you the vital training series Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy & the Vulnerable Child. We are also grateful to James Bell Associates for their generous sponsorship of the series to support greater participation.

This training series will explore the biological and environmental factors for children and families that impact the ultimate development of children affected by prenatal substance exposure, provide an overview of family- and school-based intervention strategies that can promote long-term growth and development of this high-risk population of children, and address the role of the child welfare system in ensuring best outcomes for all families and their children affected by prenatal substance exposure.

Each training session is a stand-alone learning opportunity. Participants are welcome to register for one or multiple sessions.

Working with Traumatized Children

Wednesdays, June 4, 11 & 25, 2025
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern Time

CWLA is pleased to present the three-part virtual training series that features the publication Working with Traumatized Children – A Handbook for Healing. Now in its third edition, Working with Traumatized Children has been updated to include new strategies and approaches for caregivers and others responsible for meeting the needs of children who are vulnerable.

Participants will gain a strengthened capacity to:

– Define what trauma is and differentiate it from stress
– Provide examples of trauma symptoms in children and adults
– Describe how trauma can impact children’s brains
– Advocate for the provision of safe environments when working with children and adults who have been affected by trauma
– Provide examples of how systems can be traumatizing or retraumatize people
– Explain the importance of understanding the vagus nerve when working with families and children who have been affected by trauma
– Express why self-reflective practices and supervision are important when working with this population

Training registrants will receive an electronic copy of Working with Traumatized Children, Companion Workbook which supplements the virtual training sessions. Training registrants are also eligible to receive a 30% discount on the purchase of hard copies of Working with Traumatized Children – A Handbook for Healing, Third Edition and Working with Traumatized Children, Companion Workbook.

InstruMENtal: Recognizing the Importance of the Male Role in Child Welfare

Monday, June 23 & Thursday, June 26, 2025
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET

For the past several years, CWLA has been gathering information from males within child welfare – resource and kinship dads, direct staff, managers and supervisors, and community members –asking why many men in the field often feel overlooked and under-utilized. Based on the nationwide and international feedback we have gathered from public and private agencies, CWLA is pleased to announce our new two-part training series which highlights the important role men in child welfare play in the recruitment, assessment, and engagement of the children and families they support. A sense of belonging and feeling heard can impact resource parent recruitment, staff retention, and overall organizational culture.

Using CWLA’s 4 A’s framework, this learning opportunity will address the following objectives:

• Raise Awareness of the importance of the male role in child welfare
• Acknowledge the challenges and explore opportunities for enhancement
• Identify Action steps that can be taken to support staff members, resource parents, and community partners
• Emphasize the need for Accountability from an individual, agency, and community perspective

Using Engagement and Data to Provide Appropriate Care for Children and Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Health Challenges

Thursdays, July 17, July 31 & August 14, 2025
1:00 – 3:00 pm Eastern Time

Determining how to provide appropriate care to children who have intense behavioral and emotional needs can be complex and challenging. When behaviors are difficult to control or efforts to address these complex needs in home or community-based care are unsuccessful, the result is youth are admitted into congregate care.

The goals of this training are to address the processes used to determine referrals for behavioral health care for children and youth by looking at the referral and decision-making processes, access processes, and briefly the infrastructure needed.

The training will also address the specific needs of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and substance use disorders, access opportunities for youth who might otherwise have entered Juvenile Justice programs, keeping youth close to home by developing interventions based on data in their own communities, and expanding low cost options and strategies to focus on behavioral and emotional challenges while also taking into consideration the social determinants of health.