Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy & Children Who Are Vulnerable 

Monthly, February 2026 – November 2026

CWLA is pleased to partner with Dr. Ira J. Chasnoff, the Founder & President of NTI Upstream, to bring you the essential training series Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy & Children Who Are Vulnerable.

This monthly training series will be held from February to November. It will explore the biological and environmental factors for children and families that impact the ultimate development of children affected by prenatal substance exposure and will provide strategies for family- and school-based interventions that can promote long-term growth and development for this high-risk population of children. Each of the monthly training sessions is a stand-alone learning opportunity. Participants are welcome to register for one or multiple sessions.

Training Topics Include:
• The Neurobiology of Attachment in Pregnancies Affected by Substance Use
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD): Understanding the Diagnosis
• Marijuana, Mother, and Father: A Public Health Perspective
• Behavior Belongs in the Brain: Moving Away from Blame
• Sensory Processing: A Continuum of Challenges for Children with Prenatal Substance Exposure
• Risk is Not Destiny: Behavioral and Educational Interventions for Children and Teens Affected by Prenatal Substance Exposure
• How Adults Can Interact with Children to Promote Emotional and Behavioral Regulation
• Sensory Diets and DIY Sensory Rooms for Home
• Building Stronger Bonds: Enhancing Parent-Child Attunement
• Unseen Beginnings: Adoptive Parents’ Lived Experiences Raising a Child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Fostering School Success: Supporting the Educational Needs of Children

Mondays & Wednesdays, October 19, 21, 26 & 28, 2026
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Eastern Time

Children and youth involved in the child welfare system may experience trauma and other disruptions that affect brain development, learning, attention, emotional regulation, and engagement in school. This training equips social workers, case managers, advocates, school counselors, educators, and other professionals with practical strategies for understanding these barriers, navigating educational systems, and coordinating supports that promote school success. Through a trauma-informed, collaborative approach, participants will strengthen their ability to build resilience, partner across systems, and advocate for educational experiences that recognize each child’s strengths, needs, and potential.

Participants in this training will learn to:

• Identify how trauma and child welfare involvement can affect learning, attention, behavior, emotional regulation, and school engagement, and apply trauma-informed strategies to support student success.
• Promote development of skills and conditions that foster resilience, regulation, engagement, and learning for children and youth across home, school, and community settings.
• Navigate educational systems and identify appropriate supports, services, accommodations, and processes for addressing the diverse educational needs of children and youth.
• Collaborate and advocate effectively with children, caregivers, educators, social workers, case managers, and multidisciplinary teams to address barriers and promote equitable access to high-quality educational opportunities.

Working with Traumatized Children

November 4, 5 & 13, 2026
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern Time

CWLA is pleased to present a three-part virtual training series that features our CWLA Press publication Working with Traumatized Children – A Handbook for Healing, Fourth Edition, newly released in 2026. As reflected by evolving research, this edition includes new information on trauma’s impact on the brain, essential practices for providers, an expanded chapter on trauma symptoms, and practical suggestions for creating safety. The training reflects these new additions and gives an overview of the first five chapters of Working with Traumatized Children.

Participants will gain a strengthened capacity to:
1. Define what trauma is and differentiate it from stress
2. Name the three essential practices of providers necessary for healing trauma in children.
3. Give four examples of trauma symptoms in adults and children.
4. Describe two ways trauma can impact the brains of children.
5. Explain the importance of providing for safety in working with adults and children who have been traumatized.
6. Provide several examples of how systems can be traumatizing or retraumatizing to individuals.
7. Articulate how knowledge about the Vagus Nerve can be helpful in working with families and children who have been traumatized.
8. Express why self-reflective practices and supervision are important when working with adults and children who have been traumatized.

How to Succeed Against Compassion Fatigue

November 18, 2026
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Eastern Time

The human services workforce is encountering many challenges related to recruitment, retention, and staff morale. A major factor contributing to these challenges is compassion fatigue – an unintended consequence of working in helping professions. External life factors can easily exacerbate commitment to day-to-day responsibilities, resulting in missed opportunities for support, and a lack of empathy for others.

Daily stressors can also impact on individual mental and physical health overall. When these variables are coupled with challenging or high-stress work environments, it can be easy for anyone to become increasingly overwhelmed. This may be seen in work performance, decision-making, and with peer-to-peer relationships.

Effective leadership practices, supervision skills, and support strategies can help prevent burnout and reduce staff turnover. Using CWLA’s 4 A’s framework, this training will focus on:

• Increase Awareness of the many challenges and contributing factors that can create/ exacerbate compassion fatigue in the workplace
• Acknowledge the complexity of these issues and the role supervisors can play in supporting self-evaluation and professional growth
• Identify Actions supervisors and individual staff can take to create a positive work environment and promote psychological safety
• Discuss shared Accountability to empower and support staff with a proactive approach to reducing compassion fatigue and identifying measurable progress

Collaborating with Faith Communities

December 2026 – January 2027

CWLA invites you to join us for a comprehensive training series focused on the newly published curriculum, Collaborating with Faith Communities, which utilizes the 2024 film “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” as a tool (free access).  

The training explores the foundational principles, practice elements, and core functions of faith community collaboration. Participants gain a deeper understanding of the important role faith can play in motivating individuals, fostering resilience and hope, supporting recovery from trauma, and promoting positive outcomes for families engaged with child welfare services.

Grounded in research and informed by best practices, the curriculum provides a strong theoretical framework while emphasizing the competencies necessary for meaningful collaboration. The training offers integrated scenarios from the “Sound of Hope” film, interactive discussions, self-reflection activities, and group exercises, to engage participants with evidence-based concepts that strengthen their ability to partner effectively with faith communities.

Each of the four (4) training sessions in the series is a stand-alone learning opportunity. Participants are welcome to register for one or multiple sessions.

Session 1: Faith (Religion and Spirituality) as a Motivator and Sustainer in Foster Care and Adoption 
Tuesday, December 8, 2026

Session 2: Faith in Spiritual and Religious Coping
Thursday, December 10, 2026

Session 3: Trauma and Forgiveness
Tuesday, January 12, 2027

Session 4: Partnering with Faith Communities
Thursday, January 14, 2026