The Children’s Advocacy Center supports families through parenting education that builds on family strengths and promotes healthy family relationships. In addition, we offer family support through a variety of opportunities for social connections. Our services are provided at no cost and we offer limited childcare for some classes.
Description: The Strengthening Families Program Adapted for Parents & Caregivers Raising Children with Trauma is a program designed to support parents, improve family relationships, and reduce problem behaviors, delinquency and alcohol and drug abuse. We do this by providing a safe space for families to increase family communication and discuss topics that may be too difficult to have at home. Families will learn about the following topics that include considerations for raising children with complex trauma.
Strengthening Families Program (SFP) is a 12-week, one and a half hour class series, virtual or in-person, for parents and caregivers of children who have experienced trauma. The sessions address the following topics with considerations for parenting children with trauma:
Anna Loebe, Ed. D.
Description: What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience & Healing by Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey explore how what happens to us in early childhood influences the people we become. They challenge us to shift from asking, “What’s wrong with you?” or “Why are you behaving this way?” to asking, “What happened to you?” This 11-week series of two-hour sessions delves into ways to take the teachings of neuroscience and apply them to parenting practices. We look at ways to apply the five Protective Factors to build resilience and promote healing.
Anna Loebe, Ed. D.
Description: Parent Cafés are physically and emotionally safe spaces where people talk and listen to each other on topics that matter to them, such as the challenges and victories of raising a family, navigating landscapes of inequality, enhancing well-being, or being involved in the recovery process of someone they love. Through individual deep self-reflection and peer-to-peer learning, participants explore their strengths, learn about the Protective Factors, and create strategies from their own wisdom and experiences to strengthen their families. Below are the five Protective Factors:
While grief, trauma and loss are always part of the human experience, the pandemic and the social justice issues facing us have increased our collective experience, awareness, and the need to process. At the Children’s Advocacy Center and Be Strong Families, we know that communities are resilient and wise and that in the safe space created by the Café’s we can come together to support and assist one another with navigating and healing conversations.
Angela Sanchez
Description: Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action is a six-week, two-hour class series, virtual or in-person, for caregivers of children ages 11-17. Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action is a program that gives families critical tools for the challenging teen years: communication, conflict resolution, encouragement, and more. In addition, powerful information about preventing problems with drugs, alcohol, sex, and violence. The following topics are covered:
5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Angela Sanchez
The following trauma-informed classes are primarily for parents raising other people’s children, typically, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Biological parents whose children have experienced trauma may also attend.
Description: Remember the movie “The Wizard of Oz”? Like Dorothy, who was abruptly transported from her home by a tornado, children separated from mothers and birth families will experience disorientation, fear, and trepidation as they find their footing in a new environment. Beyond losing birth parents and familiar surroundings, they have left behind family celebrations, as well. This presentation addresses the effect of trauma on the affect and behavior of children around significant days of celebration, as these are reminders of the missing people, traditions, and rituals in their lives. Learn how to help your children through these times.
Description: If you are raising a child with trauma, do you find yourself challenged even though you chose and love the child? Can’t figure out why your child is calm and loving one moment and escalates all of a sudden? Reward and punishment parenting and logic parenting models not working for you? This presentation will introduce four prominent researchers and practitioners who can help you understand how trauma affects children’s development, learning, and behavior. Get started on your road to being a TRAUMA-INFORMED parent… while you sort and fold the laundry!
Description: This presentation will define “primal wound” as the wound of separation from the mother and its impact on the development of the child. It will explain WHY children and youth separated from birth parents may express challenging behaviors. These same behaviors may also be observed in children who are removed from birth parents and wind up in and out of homes while their parents work through a reunification plan. The behaviors may be manifestations of loss, abandonment, and grief. Parents and caregivers will be asked to consider viewing behaviors rooted in loss and grief through the lenses of bereavement and trauma. Ultimately, we can respond to children with greater compassion and understanding. In time, we can lessen stress and create more peace in our homes.
WHY children separated from mothers have challenging behaviors and how one adoptive mother began to understand the impact of loss, abandonment, and grief on behavior.
HOW to respond to behaviors rooted in trauma.
Description: Give yourself time to reflect on your role as a parent of children born to others. What are the crucible moments – the tests and challenges – that have the power to draw out the gold in our character? What do the heat and fires we walk through with our children teach us? If we are open to change, if we can live with unanswered questions, and hold onto hope, we become stronger, more resilient people. In doing so, we model these gifts of gold to our children
As we raise children, we often assume that children are capable of doing things that their brains and bodies simply cannot do yet. Learn how to reach children when they struggle with self-regulation by learning about the Neurosequential Model of the brain. Learn how stress, distress, and trauma get in the way of processing incoming information. Learn the three R’s for optimal connections that lead to peace and learning
REGULATE-RELATE-REASON.
Anna Loebe, Ed. D.
