Training Institutes 2012 - National Technical Assistance Center for ...

WORKSHOP #18 8:30 AM FRIDAY • 3:30 PM SATURDAY • TALLAHASSEE 1-2
Preparing Youth and Young Adults Who Have Experienced Trauma to be Advocates
for System Change
OBJECTIVES—Participants will learn:
1. To explain how trauma impacts youth and young adults doing advocacy work
2. To describe what youth and young adults need to know in order to protect themselves while effectively advocating
for system change
3. How to implement trauma-informed strategies to better engage, prepare, and support youth and young adults to
protect against potential re-traumatization
4. To discuss challenges and solutions from the experiences of a former foster care alumnus and an adult support
person who engages youth and young adults who have experienced trauma to participate in advocacy work at the
policy and system levels
This Workshop will focus on the impact of trauma on youth advocacy efforts and will provide a model of practice that will
provide strategies and practical considerations for safe and effective engagement and advocacy work. The strategies to
be highlighted are based on the Trauma-Informed Method of Engagement (T.I.M.E.) model developed by the presenting
faculty based on the experiences of foster care alumni who are advocates for system change in the areas of child
welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health, and the adults that support them. The strategies are aimed at increasing the
competency of advocates and adult support partners while decreasing the level of potential re-traumatizing situations.
Specific topics to be covered include in-depth strategies and examples of the T.I.M.E. four core practice considerations:
• Relationship—trust and rapport, trauma triggers, and safety plan
• Preparation—standard trainings, targeted messaging, and practice
• Support—logistical needs, individual strengths and needs identification, and situational considerations
• Reflection—debrief, trauma triggers check-in, and personal and professional development
The session will include an opportunity to engage in brief exercises and dialogue with other participants to increase peer
learning opportunities. The faculty team for the session will offer the perspectives of a foster care alumnus advocate and
a licensed clinical social worker who is also an adult support partner.
MODERATOR/PRESENTER: Eric Lulow, Youth Involvement Associate, Youth Involvement, National Federation of
Families for Children’s Mental Health, Rockville, MD
Debra Cady, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., Director of Child Welfare Policy, National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s
Mental Health, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, Washington, DC
WORKSHOP #19 8:30 AM FRIDAY • 3:30 PM SATURDAY • DESTIN 1-2
Our World, Our Words: Youth Perspectives on Cultural and Sexual Identity
OBJECTIVES—Participants will learn from youth themselves:
1. Strategies to work with youth who are of mixed identities
2. Approaches for talking with and treating youth with different sexual orientations
3. Challenges and solutions for addressing the needs of youth with diverse ethnic/racial cultures
4. Methods for maximizing success in working with diverse youth
This Workshop will focus on learning from youth with diverse identities about what has worked for them in systems of
care. The youth panel will describe their personal journeys as they sought to discover their cultural and sexual identities
while dealing with mental health challenges along with way. They will describe critical life challenges and events and
the people and supports that guided their path towards success. The youth will share strategies about what worked and
what didn’t work from the systems they were involved with, and how systems of care helped them achieve the goals
they set. They will also offer advice to parents/caregivers, professionals, and other youth and young adults about how to
best provide support and guidance for youth who are seeking to discover their cultural and sexual identities.
Training Institutes 2012
WORKSHOPS
79