www.latwc.org

Conference BasicsWhat is Together We Can? Who Attends Together We Can?

Schedule OverviewMonday, October 159:00 am—5:00 pm Registration Desk open12:00 pm Welcome, Luncheon and Opening Plenary Session 11:45 pm 100 Series Breakout Sessions1:45 pm Institutes (3 hours)3:30 pm 200 Series Breakout Sessions

7:30 am—5:00pm Registration Desk open8:30 am Plenary Session 210:15 am 300 Series Breakout Sessions12:00 pm Luncheon and Plenary Session 31:45 pm 400 Series Breakout Sessions3:30 pm 500 Series Breakout Sessions6:30—9:00 pm Annual Awards Night

7:30 am—2:00 pm Registration Desk open8:30 am Plenary Session 410:15 am 600 Series Breakout Sessions12:00—2:00 pm Luncheon and Closing Plenary 5

Tuesday, October 16

Wednesday, October 17

This is an annual multi-disciplinary conference that focuses on the children who have experienced abuse or neglect. These children may be in foster care, residential care, kinship care or have been reunited with their birth family. The Together We Can (TWC) conference will offer in-depth learning opportunities which address policy and practice concerns. We provide educational sessions for professionals featuring both

national and local experts.

The TWC conference is geared toward social workers, attorneys, judges, court staff, CASA volunteers and staff, foster parents, children’s advocacy centers, law enforcement, educators, faith-based leaders and

child welfare stakeholders—all working to make a difference in the lives of Louisiana’s abused and neglected children. An awards evening will be held on Tuesday to honor those who have

demonstrated commitment above and beyond on behalf of children.

We are happy to share this listing of the conference sessions and activities that are planned for the 16th annual event in Lafayette. We will have 5 plenary sessions and over 50 breakouts available. The conference will be held at the Cajundome. The conference is sponsored by a coalition of organizations that work to shape public policy, research and practice in child maltreatment and child welfare. We are welcoming many nationally recognized speakers this year to our faculty! We hope that you will join us to learn from them.

Annual Awards

Sponsor and Exhibitor Opportunities

In 2007, the legal and social work fields lost two people who were incredibly strong advocates for

children. We have chosen to honor Catherine Lafleur and Linda Christmas with awards within their areas of service each year. Both embodied the love, the passion and determination needed

to be a very special advocate for children. We hope you will consider nominating someone

special for the 2018 awards. The form and guidelines for nominations are on the

conference website.

Deadline for nominations: September 1, 2018

You are invited to join the conference as a sponsor and/or exhibitor for our 16th anniversary event. There are a variety of options available and the

earlier you confirm your participation, the earlier you will have your information listed and active.

We are pleased to announce that we will have a conference app this year and

exhibitors/sponsors will be featured on the app, along with your contact information. Go to the

conference website to download the exhibitor/sponsor brochure.

Click Here to Cast Your Vote

Exhibitor Links:Exhibitor/Sponsor Brochure

Exhibitor Agreement Form

Exhibitor Guidelines and Regulations

RegistrationConference Registration is Online.

Everyone Must Pre-Register! NO ON-SITE REGISTRATION!

During the registration process you will pre-select your workshops. We will print out your individualized schedule for you and include it in your check-in packet. Your registration includes materials, up to three luncheons, the evening reception and break refreshments.

EARLY BIRD RATERegister August 1st to Sept 7th 11:00 pm

Monday through Wednesday (Oct.15-17) $225 Monday and Tuesday (Oct 15-16) $195 Tuesday and Wednesday (Oct 16-17) $250

Monday Only (Oct 15) $105Tuesday Only (Oct 16) $125 Wednesday Only (Oct 17) $105

REGULAR RATERegister Sept 8th to Oct 5th, 11:00 pm

Monday through Wednesday (Oct 15-17) $275 Monday and Tuesday (Oct 15-16) $250 Tuesday and Wednesday (Nov 8-9) $250

Monday Only (Oct 15) $115Tuesday Only (Oct 16) $150 Wednesday Only (Oct 17) $115

REGISTER EARLY! Breakout sessions often fill quickly. Registration will close on October 1, 2018.Early Bird Rates expire on September 7th.

Last Minute Rates Available 10/6/18 to 10/10/18. Call us! 985.624.3514

REGISTRATION RATESRegister At: www.latwc.org

Monday, October 15th

101 Addressing Opioid Overdose: Understanding the Role of Prevention Presenters will be facilitated by Janice Petersen, PhD, Office of Behavioral Health Brent Ambacher, Office of Behavioral Health and Kayne Daigle, Office of Behavioral Health

102 Motivational Interviewing Angela Wood, PhD, Southeastern Louisiana University

103 Father Engagement Kevin Sherman Healthy Start New Orleans and Michael Gaines, PsyD, LCSW, BCD

104 Foster Parent Grief: A Special Kind of Sorrow Corie Hebert, PhD, Southeastern Louisiana University

105 Painless Parenting Stacie Leblanc, JD, MEd and Neha Mehta, MD, New Orleans CAC

106 How to Give Effective Courtroom Testimony Judge Ernestine Gray, JD, Orleans Parish Juvenile Court and Nzinga Hill, JD, Orleans Parish CINC

107 ICWA: What’s Happening with Indian Child Welfare Act? Judge Anne Simon, JD, retired and Karen Matthews, LCSW, Chitimacha Tribe

108 Self-Care and Adaptive Coping for Child Welfare Professionals Russell Jones, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Virginia Tech University

INS 1 Opportunities for Understanding and Responding to Adversity: Insights from the ACE Studies Paula Zeanah, PhD, University of Louisiana Picard Center and Alissa Luis, LMSW, LA Dept of Health INS 2 Undoing Racism: Race, Prejudice and Power Patsy Wilkerson, MA, Mosaic Group, INC, and Sharon Worthy, LCSW

201 Prevention Outreach Efforts to Address the Opioid Crisis Presenters will be facilitated by Janice Petersen, PhD, Office of Behavioral Health

Welcome - Together We Can Steering Committee MembersBig Mama’s Chair - presented by LaDonna Wattley, LCSW

Monday Breakout Sessions 100 Series | 1:45pm—3:15pm

Monday Institutes | 1:45pm—5:00pm

Monday Breakout Sessions 200 Series | 3:30pm-5:00pm

Monday Opening Plenary | 12:00 pm—1:30pm

Monday, October 15th

Tuesday, October 16th

202 CPS Transformation: Tiered Validity and Appeals Systems Shakira Herbert, MSW, RSW, DCFS, Lacy Simms, LCSW, DCFS and Lori Miller, RSW, DCFS

203 Working with Youth on Autism Spectrum Lisa Donze Jacob, LCSW, Mercy Family Center

204 Supporting Youth involved in Multiple Service Systems Stephen Phillippi, PhD, LSU Health Sciences Center

205 Building Futures: Supporting Sex Trafficking Victims involved with and Transitioning from Foster Care Services Lawrence Morgan, HP Serve

206 Connecting the Dots between Child Welfare and FINS ~ Louisiana’s Juvenile Status Offender System Lynette Adams, JD, Louisiana Supreme Court

207 Safety and Permanency Plans Mark Harris, JD, Pelican Center for Children and Families and Kim McCain, LCSW, DCFS

208 Supporting the Development of Coping Skills Russell Jones, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Professor of Psychology

301 Opening Doors: LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care Gerald Mallon, DSW, National Center for Child Welfare Excellence, Hunter College

302 How to Give Effective Courtroom Testimony (repeated) Judge Ernestine Gray, JD, Orleans Parish Juvenile Court and Nzinga Hill, JD, Orleans Parish CINC

303 Trauma Informed Response to Juveniles who have been Trafficked Stacie Leblanc, JD, MED, New Orleans CAC

Monday Breakout Sessions 200 Series | 3:30pm-5:00pm

Tuesday Breakout Sessions 300 Series | 10:15am—11:45am

Welcome - Together We Can Steering Committee Members & Marketa G. Walters, Louisiana DCFS SecretaryThe Children’s Bureau’s Vision for Child Welfare in the United States Presented by Commissioner Jerry Milner, DSW, Administration of Children and Families, David P. Kelly, JD, MA, U.S. Children’s Bureau’s

Tuesday Plenary 2 | 8:30am-10:00am

Tuesday, October 16th304 Racial Disproportionality and Disparity in Child Welfare Systems: A Louisiana Perspective Patsy Wilkerson, MA and Sharon B. Worthy, MSW, LMSW

305 Building Futures: Supporting Sex Trafficing Victims Involved with and Transitioning from Foster Care Services Lawrence Morgan, HP Serve

306 Foster Parent Code of Ethics Peggy Kirby and Irene Clements, LA Foster & Adoptive Parent Association

307 The Power of Partnerships for Family Reunification: Recovering Parents Panel will be facilitated by Richard Pittman, JD

308 Child Development: Identifying and Addressing Typical vs Challenging Behaviors for Toddlers Rebecca Mandal-Blasio, PhD, BCBA-D and Santino LoVullo, PhD, BCBA, LBA

309 Understanding the New Social Society of Today’s Youth: Text, Apps, Social Media & More LaTasha C. Watts, The Purple Project

310 Dealing with Grief and Loss and the Foster Care System LaDonna Wattley, LCSW

401 Understanding Child Welfare Practices through a Civil Rights Framework Carla Carter, US Department of Health and Human Services and Kevonne Small, PhD, US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

402 Opening Doors: LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care (repeated) Gerald Mallon, DSW, National Center for Child Welfare Excellence, Hunter College

403 Serving Our Youth: An Essential Guide to Working with Teens Leanna McCrea, DCFS and Erin Luquette, DCFS

Tuesday Breakout Sessions 300 Series | 10:15am—11:45am

Tuesday Luncheon and Plenary 3 | 12:00pm—1:30pm

Tuesday Breakout Sessions 400 Series | 1:45pm-3:15pm

Welcome - Together We Can Steering Committee MembersThe Role of Policy and Research in Maltreatment Trends — Russell Jones, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Virginia Tech University

Tuesday, October 16th404 Psychopharmacology for Child Advocates, Clinicians and Counselors Joseph Wegmann, RPh, LCSW

405 CASA and QPI: CASA and the Courts Role in Ensuring Excellent Parenting Panel will be facilitated by Carole Shauffer, JD

406 Fatherhood Engagement (Repeated) Kevin Sherman, Healthy Start New Orleans and Michael Gaines, PsyD, LCSW, BCD

407 The Power of Partnerships to Protect Children: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach During Joint Investigations A panel will be facilitated by Walter Fahr, LCSW, DCFS

408 Child Development: Identifying and Addressing Typical vs Challenging Behaviors for Children Ages 2 - 6 Rebecca Mandal-Blasio, PhD, BCBA-D and Santino LoVullo, PhD, BCBA, LBA

409 Introducing ALICE: The Financial Struggles of Families in Louisiana Sarah Berthelot, United Way of Louisiana

410 Social Work Ethics Tonyalea Elam LCSW, Southeastern Louisiana University (3-hour session – do not select 500 level session)

501 Professionalism for the Child Welfare Legal Field Franchesca Hamilton Acker, JD, Acadiana Legal Service Corporation 502 TPRs and Appeals – The Preparation of Pleadings and Evidence for Attorneys and Laypeople Kathy Lynn Cook, JD,MHAS Amla Advocacy Program

503 College Opportunities for Foster Youth: Overcoming Barriers and Providing Support Ashley Clayton, PhD, Louisiana State University

504 Lessons Learned Foster Parent Panel Panel will be facilitated by Barbara Calais, LA Foster and Adoptive Parent Association 505 NOWS the Time - Caring for the Infant with Neonatal Opiate Withdrawal Syndrome Meghan P. Howell, MD, FAAP, Tulane School of Medicine

Tuesday Breakout Sessions 400 Series | 1:45pm-3:15pm

Tuesday Breakout Sessions 500 Series | 3:30pm-5:00pm

Tuesday, October 16th506 Creating Safe Havens for LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care Stephen Dixon, JD, Children’s Rights, Dylan Waguespack, LA Budget Project, and Currey Cook, JD, Lambda Legal

507 The Power of Partnerships: Youth as Partners to Improve Transition Services in Child Welfare Systems A panel will be facilitated by Sonya Brown, LMSW, Project 18

508 Child Development: Identifying and Addressing Typical vs Challenging Behaviors for Tweens and Teens Rebecca Mandal-Blasio, PhD, BCBA-D and Santino LoVullo, PhD, BCBA, LBA

509 Normalcy for Foster Youth Peggy Kirby, Louisiana Foster Parent and Adoptive Association and Richard Pittman, JD, Louisiana Public Defender Board

Tuesday Breakout Sessions 500 Series | 3:30pm-5:00pm

Tuesday Awards NightOur annual awards night is held at Vermillonville in Lafayette, Louisiana. We will enjoy food, music

and entertainment as well as recognize those who have gone above and beyond for children.

601 How to Cope with Horrific Things including Child Death Amy Dickson, PsyD, LSU Health Sciences Center

602 Child in Need of Care (CINC) 101 Thailund Porter-Green, JD, Pelican Center for Children and Families 603 Preparing a Child for Court & the Court for a Child Justin Fitzsimmons, JD, SEARCH

604 Legal Ethics for Child Welfare Attorneys and Others Rebecca May-Ricks, JD, CWLS, MHAS

605 The Impact of Bullying Jeff Arseneaux and Sharon Delvisco, MSW, Team Dynamics

606 Kids and Substance Abuse: Prevention Basics Joyce Bracey, MEd, NCC, LPC, CADA Prevention and Recovery Center

607 The Power of Partnerships: Techniques and Strategies for Supporting Children during Transition and Removal Panel will be facilitated by Tonyalea Elam, MSW, LCSW, Southeastern Louisiana University

608 What Foster Parents Need to Know when Fostering Children with Infectious Diseases Teri Hrabovsky, One Heart NOLA

609 Understanding the New Social Society of Today’s Youth: Text, Apps, Social Media, & More (repeated) LaTasha C. Watts, The Purple Project

610 Immigration and Kids in Louisiana: What is Going On and What Can We Do? Kathleen Gasparian, JD and Leah Gasparian Spivey, Immigration

Welcome - Together We Can Steering Committee Members Resiliency: Growing up with Over 100 Siblings in South Louisiana Presented by Clair Babineaux-Fontenot, Bernhard Capital

Welcome - Together We Can Steering Committee MembersThe Darknet: What is it? How to Access and Navigate It - presented by Justin Fitzsimmons, JD, SEARCH

Wednesday Breakout Sessions 600 Series | 10:15am—11:45am

Wednesday Plenary 4 | 8:30am-10am

Wednesday Closing Luncheon and Plenary 5 | 12:00pm—2:00pm

Wednesday, October 17th

Lafayette Cajundome, located at 444 Cajundome Blvd., Lafayette, Louisiana.

Conference Accommodations: Refer to the conference website for a listing of all the hotel room blocks available with discounted rooms.

CLE and CEU (NASW-LA) credit applications will be filed for approval. Participants who attend all conference sessions can earn continuing education credits. There will be opportunities for credits in both legal and social work ethics and legal professionalism. Forms for legal professionals will be available onsite. CEU certificates reflecting hours earned are emailed after the conference. CLE credits are filed elec-tronically after the event.

Conference Location

CLE and CEU Credits

QUESTIONS? Call Team Dynamics 985.624.3514

Or send an email to susan@teamdynamicsweb.com.

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