Annual Conference
Agenda/Program Schedule
Wednesday, May 5th
8:00 - 5:00 Registration9:00 - 12:00 Pre-conference Institutes (Additional Registration of $60)
Young children and Trauma: Understanding the behavior of traumatized children in a supervised visitation context
Presenters: Jennifer Rhodes Psy.D and Robert Geffner, PhdTrack: Child Welfare
This workshop will help supervised visitors and their supervisors identify symptoms in trauma in young children and learn ways to handle this in a supervised visitation session. Discussion of child development and attachment will help supervised visitors understand how best to intervene non-intrusively n difficulty parent-child dynamics.
Bringing Back the Dads; Parenting Time with Non-Resident Fathers
Presenter: Karen JenkinsTrack: Fatherhood
Because women are typically the primary caregivers of children, consistent efforts by the Child Welfare System to involve fathers in parenting time have not always been made. However, in the past decade there has been a movement nationwide towards more father involvement in the lives of their children, which includes involving fathers in parenting time, as well as placement considerations, case planning, decision making, and service provision in child welfare cases. Research demonstrates when fathers are safely and actively engaged with their children better safety, permanence, and well-being outcomes are achieved.
6:30 - 7:00 Welcoming and Opening Ceremony
Jody Bittrich, Presdient SVNJoe Nullet, Executive Director, SVN
7:00 - 8:30 World Cafe - The 2010 SVN Annual Conference will kick off with an interactive plenary session during which attendees will process the most challenging issues of our work, directly with members of the SVN Board of Directors, presenters at this year's conference, and each other.
8:30 - 9:30pm Reception and light finger food
Thursday, May 6
8:00 - 5:00 Registration, Conference, Vendors7:30 - 8:15 Breakfast for New Members
7:30 a.m. - 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
7:00am - 8:00am YOGA
8:30 - 10:00 Workshops Session A:
What Does Being a "Mandated Child Abuse Reporter" Mean to SV ProvidersPresenter: Barbara Flory
Track: Child Welfare
This presentation is appropriate for all levels of provider experience. The former careers of some supervised visitation staff members may have prepared them for the many facets of working with children, including being a mandated reporter. Some staff, however, may have little or no past experience working with children. Those who are experienced may have knowledge of and understand their role as mandated child abuse reporters. For those who do not, this presentation is intended to cover basic information about the role and responsibility of a mandated reporter. Attendees will receive a handout that details the necessary steps to accomplish the reporting task.
Domestic Violence 101
Presenter: Chelsea Baldwin
Track: Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence is an epidemic that affects individuals from all ethinic and racial backgrounds, sexual orientations, economic status, social standing, physical and mental abilities, age, religion, and family background. This workshop will discuss the definition of domestic violence, the different forms of abuse, and the effect these types of abusive relationships have on children.
Judicial decision-making of supervised access orders in child custody disputes: patterns of court orders
Presenters: Judy Newman and Michael Saini
Track: Court Related
This workshop will present findings from a qualitative analysis of 127 judicial decisions in Ontario during a five year period. The purpose of the grounded theory of judical decisions was to examine the reasoning for making supervised access orders, reasons for dismissing applications for these orders, and an analysis of the patterns of case characteristics related to these decisions. Opportunity for active participation by the audience will enrich the discussion. This workshop will be relevant for judges, lawyers and mental health professionals struggling to decide on the best cases suited for supervised access.
The Caring Dads Intervention Program
Presenters: Rich Batten and John Holmberg
Track: Fatherhood
Although fathers perpetrate a substantial proportion of child abuse and neglect, they are seldom the focus child abuse prevention or intervention efforts. This presentation introduces the Caring Dads: Helping Fathers Value their Children program. Designed and researched by a team of academics and community stakeholders, this 17-week group intervention focuses on helping men end the use of abusive parenting, recognize attitudes that support healthy and unhealthy father-child relationships, and appreciate the impact of violence on children. More broadly, by promoting change among men and providing feedback to the broader intervention system, Caring Dads ultimately aims to improve the safety and well being of children
10:15 - 11:45 Workshops Session B
Title: Making Supervised Visitation Work as a Private PracticePresenters: Rob Straus and Joanne Karolzak
Track: Professional Development
This workshop will examine the issues facing individual providers in today's marketplace for SV services including:
1. Establishing a strong professional identity in a diverse community of providers. (How do I distinguish myself from the pack? How do I establish my expertise with referral sources? Would a credential help me?)
2. Meeting SVN Standards, getting the required qualifications. (Where are the training resources? How can I afford to do this? Is it worthwhile?)
3. Collaborating in the community. (Will agencies work with me? How do I establish a relationship with the Court? With the police for security? With domestic violence shelters and services? )
Father Time: Stories of successfully helping dads be there for their kids
Presenter: Rich Batten, Jerome Perkins
Father Time is not just that elderly bearded man, dressed in a robe, carrying a scythe and an hourglass ted amount of time that all dads have with their kids. You have the unique opportunity to help dads facing multiple barriers make the most of their time with their children. Participants will hear stories and practices to inspire and provide the tools to help men be the kind of dads their children need them to be. Stories and practices will come from the Colorado Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Program and will include information on creating a father-friendly environment, male help seeking behaviors, working with dads through supervised visitation and with incarcerated fathers.
Privacy, Confidentiality and Supervised Visitation: What Gives?
Presenters: Julie Field
Track: Court Related
Privacy and safety are linked. Given that linkage, and the critical connection that supervised visitation centers (SVC's) have to domestic violence victims and at-risk children, SVCs must implement practices that enhance safety while managing personal information of participants. Building upon the work of NCJFCJ, Lauren Litton, and learning from the experience of centers in Kansas, California, Illinois and Michigan, this exploration of privacy and confidentiality in reference to SVC's will provide practical steps for providing effective SVC services while protecting and honoring safety. Specifically, the session will identify the information management obligation of SVC's and analyze current confidentiality issues related to SVC's, including legal requirements and expectations of participants, courts, and community collaborators. As a result of this interactive workshop, participants will have available to them the necessary tools to develop individualized policies and procedures regarding internal documentation and reporting documentation.
Tuning In: Promoting the Parent/Child Bond
Presenters: Brenda Tully and Katheryn Lotsos
Track: Child Welfare
This workshop focuses on developing or enhancing the visit supervisor's skill of attunement: the process of entering into a harmonious or responsive relationship with the client. The intake process is key to gathering the information necessary to begin to assess the impact of the family dynamics on the child(ren), the where the child(ren) is developmentally, the visiting parent's ability to attune to the emotional, developmental, and behavioral needs of her/his child(ren), and how best to support and/or facilitate attachment between the visiting parent and child(ren). By practicing the skill of attunement during visits, visit supervisors are modeling for visiting parents how to notice and attend to their child's emotional states. Parents' ability to respond to the emotional states of their child leads to a greater understanding of their child's developmental process, the greater likelihood of holding realistic expectations of their child, and to facilitating stronger and healthier attachment between parent and child. Pre- and post-coaching offer the additional opportunities for visit supervisors and parents to discuss the ways in which parents attuned to their child, to identify what gets in the way of the parent tuning in, and to develop a plan for strengthening this skill and the bond between parent and child in next visit.
12:00 -1:30 Membership Luncheon and Keynote Address
Teri Dreussi-Smith: "Bridges Out Of Poverty-Implications for SV Providers"
Terie Dreussi Smith has served as Supervisor of Prevention Services at a community alcohol/other drug treatment and prevention organization for over nine years, and was instrumental in the organization's redesign of programs and services for prevention and early intervention clients from generational poverty. She also co-authored Bridges Out of Poverty; Strategies for Professionals and Communities. She is a former public school teacher with years of experience. Terie served as adjunct faculty for several colleges focused on empowering adult students transitioning out poverty. In her recent consultant work as a grant writer and social program manager for youth-based service agencies, community coalitions and schools, Terie assisted communities to embed Bridges Out of Poverty concepts in redesigning policies and services for families and youth in generational poverty.
1:45 - 3:15 Workshops Session C
Generating a Plan to Deal With the Threat of Parental AbductionPresenters: Kevin Albert and James Bailey, Esq
Track: Professional Development
This presentation will assist supervisors in developing plans to deal with threats of a parent taking a child and leaving against court ordered parenting time. We will discuss risk factors related to child abduction, as well as legal considerations when such a threat has been made.
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Goals:
- 1- to understand risk factors in parental abduction.
- 2- to either assess current safety plans regarding parental abduction or develop a plan to deal with parental abduction.
- 3- to increase awareness of legal issues related to parental abduction.
Presenter: Teri Dreussi-Smith
Track: Child Welfare
Following up on her plenary speech, one of the co-authors of the book "Bridges Out of Poverty" will explore in greater detail the intersection of poverty and supervised visitation and how programs can collaborate within their communities to increase the odds for families in crisis.
Understanding Methamphetamine and other drugs
Presenter: Lynn Riemer
Track: Child welfare
Drug abuse continues to be a major problem plaguing society today and is evident in the problems society is seeing regarding methamphetamine. The consequences of alcohol and drug abuse extend well beyond the individual user. It affects family members, friends, coworkers, businesses and the entire community. It results in premature deaths and serious illness and is the root cause of violence, property crimes and impaired drivers. Drug use comes at a great economic cost, one that is shared by everyone who lives and works in communities. The biggest victims of drug abuse are the children surrounded by it; they often are removed from homes, placed in foster care and can overwhelm the very system created to protect them. The abuse of illicit drugs, especially methamphetamine, places every person working in the public sector at risk. This workshop provides valuable training to help identify substance abuse and provide an understanding of how drug use affects all of us.
When DV Victims are the Visiting Parents
Presenter: Sharon Rogers
Track: Domestic Violence
This workshop will help providers think through the implications of supervising visits for a victim of domestic violence. Case study examples will be used to lead discussion on how rules and policies might be challenged when the visiting parent is a victim as well as how to avoid becoming part of any systematic abuse.
It is important to realize that victims of domestic violence are sometimes Court Ordered to visit their children in a Supervised Visitation setting. The need to provide safety for adult and child victims of abuse is central to providing supervised visitation, however, when the visiting parent is the victim of domestic violence, it may challenge a provider's policies and protocols. Most providers are set up with the expectation that all victims of domestic violence will be the custodial parent. The reality is that families have complicated paths that lead them to supervised visitation and the provision of safety from abuse must be examined in each case. It becomes clear that a one size fits all mentality does not work in supervised visitation settings. Case examples will lead to a discussion on how providers might best serve victims of abuse and control with safe supervised visits that maintain program boundaries and prohibit any potential for systematic abuse.
3:30-5:00 Plenary Session "Judge Jerry, SVN Court is in Session!"
In this special plenary workshop, Judge Jerry Bowles will preside over two mock trial sessions centered around visitation issues. Attendees will have the opportunity to question the actors while "in character" to understand how the outcomes depicted in the trials vary largely with different levels of collaboration and community education.
Jerry J. Bowles is a Circuit Judge in Jefferson County where he presides in the Family Court. Originally appointed by the Governor, he has twice been elected to his current seat. Judge Bowles is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. His experience includes his work as a Trial Attorney with the Jefferson District Public Defenders Office, private practice where he specialized in domestic relations law and general litigation and twelve years as a prosecutor in the County Attorneys Office where he initiated and served as the Director and Chief Prosecutor of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit.
6:00 -8:00pm Optional Site visit tours
Register for this optional tour of two local visitation programs: Family Tree in Lakewood AND Arapahoe County Social Services5:15 - 7:00 Base Camp Get Together!
Before exploring Denver after a busy day, relax with a beverage of your choice with other conference attendees.
6:00 pm Denver, On your own...
Discover Denver and surrounding area for fabulous dining, sightseeing and more!
Friday, May 7
7:00am - 8:00 am YOGA7:30 a.m. - 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Silent Auction begins and ends
8:30 - 10:00 Workshops Session D
Managing the Complexities of Supervised Visitation for Children in Foster Care: Understanding Trauma, Strengthening Connections, and Moving Towards PermanencePresenters: Brenda Tully and Katheryn Lotsos
Track: Child Welfare
Children in foster care are managing multiple traumas. These traumas include the primary trauma that precipitated their placement into care (i.e. sexual abuse, physical abuse, etc.), as well as the trauma of the separation from their primary attachment figures. These traumas lead to challenging behaviors that can become difficult to manage in a visitation setting. This workshop will enable participants to enhance the visitation process by understanding children's behaviors through a trauma lens. The workshop will share techniques, i.e. the decision dialogue and creating a collaborative relationship that will help to empower marginalized and disempowered parents and families.
Intake Processes that Account for Safety
Presenter: Ona Foster and Michelle Robinson
Track: Domestic Violence
This workshop will explore the process of providing intakes that account for safety for victims of domestic violence and their children. Case scenarios will be used to facilitate discussion during this interactive session about the challenges that arise with these cases as well as practices that serve to facilitate relationship building during intake with all members of the family in a way that balances the needs of both the provider and of the individual person seeking services.
As providers our work is often driven by a number of factors such as limited funding, heavy volume, and a myriad of tasks and forms to complete in a short amount of time. As we focus on the nuts and bolts of our job, we can sometimes lose sight of what mothers, fathers and children are feeling or experiencing as they come through our doors. The intake, also known as orientation, is an opportunity to lay a foundation that recognizes the unique needs of each family member and to set the stage for ongoing safety as families move through services. Participants will delve into ways of engaging family members during an orientation process that shifts perspective from what the center needs as a first priority to what families need as a first priority.
Working with the Courts Discussion Panel
Presenters: Panel scheduled to include: Judge Jerry Bowles, Referee Ann Lippanen, Judge Drew Ten Eyck
Track: Court Related
This panel presentation will expand on the SVN Livewire held in December, 2009. Panelists will discuss methods of building and maintaining relationships with the courts, challenges, successes and lessons learned. Additional topics to be covered include: keeping the courts engaged, how to increase referrals and ideas about developing methods of communication and sharing feedback. Participants will have an opportunity to submit questions to the panel prior to the presentation.
Fundraising for SV Programs
Presenters: Jody Bittrich and Teri Walker McLaughlin
Track: Professional Development
This interactive workshop will be facilitated by two former Presidents of SVN and will help participants learn innovative ways to use low cost and no cost techniques to promote your program and increase support in your community.
10:15 - 11:45 Workshops Session E
Parent Coaching in Supervised VisitationPresenters: Shannon Rios and Jeffry Postuma
Track: Child Welfare
This workshop will introduce you to parent coaching training. Parent coaching training has been developed for and implemented at a supervised visitation site in Minnesota. The reasons for parent coaching training will be discussed and you will be able to determine if this type of program could assist your parents in learning new skills to be better parents for their children.
Parents come into our programs for supervised visitation and they do not usually get the opportunity to enhance their skills. We have a captive audience and we believe that providing them with parenting skills while they are in our programs is the logical and important thing to do. Parents apply what they have learned from a coaching session directly in session. They also have homework that they do in between sessions (short journaling). Parents have reacted very positively to this skill-based parenting time program. This session will allow you to decide if parent coaching is something you should implement in your program.
Child Support and Supervised Visitation-Is there a connection?
Presenter: Katie Smith And Ray Washington
Track: Court Related
In this workshop presentation the facilitators will discuss the benefits of establishing collaborations between child support programs, fatherhood programs and supervised visitation providers. The participates will have the opportunity to understand how this collaboration can positively impact the physical and emotional well-being of the children involved. Participates will learn services that are available through existing fatherhood programs for both non-custodial and service providers. The facilitators will use lecture, story-telling, video and audience participation and feedback to create an interactive learning environment for participants.
The Impact of Batterer Violence on Children and Families
Presenter: Tracey Schlafer
Track: Domestic Violence
In this workshop presentation, the facilitator will walk through the characteristics of batterers and their family systems. The group will have an opportunity to look at the intersection of child abuse, domestic violence and trauma and their impacts on children at the different developmental stages. Participants will be taught different intervention strategies and safety planning ideas when working with children and adolescents. The training workshop will use lecture, power point, storytelling, video, small and large group discussion to create an interactive learning environment for participants.
"Supervised Visitation and Exchange Collaboratives: Strategies for Developing and Engaging Effective Collaborations"
Presenters: Kathy Stutzman and Heather Steinkamp
Track: Professional Development
Have you ever wondered how to get all of the key stakeholders and decision makers to the table to have a meaningful discussion about supervised visitation and exchange? Have you got all of the players at the table but don't know what to do to keep them focused on supervised visitation and exchange issues? Have you got a collaborative whose mission and vision has drifted from the original focus? Are some of the members of your collaboration running the group with their own agenda? Do you feel like you are having or attending meetings just to have or attend meetings? Come to this workshop to learn practical skills on developing successful supervised visitation and exchange collaborations.
11:45 -1:30 Annual Meeting and Luncheon
2:15 -3:45 Workshops Session F
Familyconnect: Promising Practices to Prepare For Family Visits that Build and Sustain RelationshipsPresenter: Wendy Wolff
Track: Child Welfare
A presentation summarizing lessons learned from a 3 year research and pilot project about family visits, trauma and attachment. We will have time to review the Familyconnect guides that were created as a tool to help prepare children, parents and foster parents for the family visit process.
Working With Military Families
Presenters:TBA
Track: Child Welfare
Discuss the unique dynamics of working with Military Families who require SV services.
"Opening the Door to Dads. Getting Dads involved it the Child Welfare System"
Presenters: Ken Sanders
Track: Fatherhood
Until recently fathers have been on the outside looking in when they found out their children had been placed in foster care. This is most notably the case when these dads are not living in the same home as their children. The evidence is clear that children do best when they can be placed with family or kin. We also know that fathers can be a great resource for their children. This workshop will discuss the ways in which dads can be engaged in the child welfare process and more importantly be connected to their children. The Center on Fathering is one of four sites nationwide that are demonstrating how facilitating increased engagement of the child welfare system with non-resident dads early on can create a productive partnership with previously unconnected fathers.
Creating low-cost appropriate therapeutic games/activities for use during non-custodial parent visitation
Presenter: Tracy Marschall
Track: Professional Development
"Self-Esteem" Sorry? "Getting to Know You" Jenga? Games and hands-on activities have long been used in therapeutic settings, either as part of a play therapy program or simply to create opportunities for communication less threatening or invasive for children than traditional talk therapy strategies. But professional therapeutic games and activities can be expensive, and few are developed specifically for the visitation environment its unique goals. This workshop will demonstrate strategies using manipulatives of all kinds (from soccer balls to board games, special card decks and 3-d models, this should be a lively workshop!) with children and families. Lessons learned will be shared by both the social work educator and students in preparation for future work in assisting in the development of a visiting program for current and formerly incarcerated parents. Bring your inner child and learn how you can develop games to support child-parent relationships during visitation.
3:30 - 5:00 Closing Plenary Session: "Guy Fi: The Fictions that Rule Men"s Lives"
Presented by Dr. Christopher Kilmartin, is a stage show/ lecture hybrid that addresses in humorous and engaging ways the ways that boys and men are encouraged to behave and experience themselves. Some of these pressures are related to relationship difficulties, physical and mental health problems, and violence. It is very difficult to resist a pressure that one cannot name, but once these fictions are exposed and understood, men are in better position to resist cultural pressure when it conflicts with other life goals. The point of view is "you are being lied to, and it is in your best interest to take a critical look at the lies and their implications for the quality of life for you and others with whom you interact."
Saturday, May 8th
Post Conference Institutes: 9:00 - 12:00 (Additional Registration of $60)
"Guy Fi Defiance"
Presenter: Dr. Chris KilmartinTrack: Fatherhood
A workshop on teaching masculinity and helping young men to negotiate cultural pressures. It is very difficult to resist a pressure that one cannot name, and yet masculine gender pressure is largely unexamined by most of mainstream U.S. Culture. This workshop is aimed at helping participants to understand masculine gendering at a deeper level and then use it in their work. The format will be mostly discussion.
Testifying In Court
Presenter: Marilee McWilliamsTrack: Court Related
Give information and examples of effective court room presentation, preparation and how to deal with cross examination. Discuss trial tactics and how to withstand an aggressive attorney. Allow for audience participation in the process of preparing for testifying in Court. Give examples of effective testimony as well as ineffective testimony. Allow for role playing with various types of questions and answers regarding fact patterns. Explain the court process and the necessity of witnesses for full information to be provided in dependency and neglect cases.