Born to Thrive: Birth to Five Conference

Human service professionals and students recently joined Arizona’s Children Association for a day of professional development, exploring how individuals can brighten the futures of Arizona’s children.

Earlier this month, Arizona’s Children Association’s presented our first annual conference: “Born to Thrive: Birth to Five.” As an Arizona statewide leader on the challenges facing our families and the Birth to Five population, we recognized that this was a prime opportunity for us to share our expertise and review cutting edge trends on the topics of child welfare, foster care, behavioral health and neurodevelopmental research.

At the event, attendees had the opportunity to learn from experts in the field from both Arizona’s Children Association and partner agencies. The cofounder of New Directions Institute for Infant Brain Development (NDI), Dr. Jill Stamm, was the featured keynote speaker. Her presentation was titled: “Mindfulness in Parenting: Using Brain Science to Boost Our Skills.”

Conference sessions were divided along three tracks: Trauma Informed Care, Medical Integration, and Children with Systemic Involvement. Among the session presenters included Sara Rumann and Dianna Contreras from the Department of Health Services who presented on how substance exposure in utero can influence brain development. Richard Brubaker and Heidi Kaminski from Arizona’s Children Association presented on trauma-affected children and how to identify and manage associated behaviors. Marcia Stanton from Phoenix Children’s Hospital discussed the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES) and Dr. Melissa Johnson & Tallona Dixon from Arizona’s Children Association shared knowledge on other assessment tools for 0-5. Dr. Svetlana Sembrano and Ricky Dennis of Arizona’s Children Association, Nicole Valdez of Prevent Child Abuse Arizona, Ryan Krench of the Attorney General’s office and Dr. Julia Kelly of Maricopa Integrated Health Systems also covered additional topics, including medical integration, medication management, importance of attachment, the foster care process and the court process for kids in care.

                

"We were excited to present this day of professional development to students and human service professionals and we were thrilled with the community response to this event,” said Arizona’s Children Association President and CEO Denise Ensdorff. “This opportunity allowed those in the field, alongside Arizona’s Children Association, to share and gain new insights and information, helping us all improve our work with the children and families we serve.”

                 

A special thank you to all of our presenters and the agencies who teamed up with us to provide presenters for this great event!

                   

A very big thanks as well to the more than 200 conference attendees and to our Gold Sponsors: APS and Mercy Maricopa Integrated Care, along with our Silver Sponsors: Allegra, First Things First, and Child Crisis Center.

Stay tuned to our Upcoming Events calendar on our website for information on our 2015 conference!

Gold Sponsors:
Silver Sponsors:

Mission Accomplished! Reay's Road to 1 Million!

On April 25th, Reay’s Ranch Investors, LLC hosted their 6th Annual Charity Golf Tournament benefiting Arizona’s Children Association (AzCA) at Tubac Golf Resort and Spa. Thanks to Reay’s, the event and raffle sponsors and outstanding volunteers, the tournament continues to grow. This year, the tournament raised $66,731 for an outstanding six-year golf total of $324,059!

Reay’s currently owns and manages 39 retail sites which are located primarily in Central and Southern Arizona. Their sites include convenience stores and Subway locations.

 

In case you weren’t aware, the golf tournament is not the only way that Reay’s Ranch Investors has raised money for AzCA. In their eight year effort that started in 2006, their amazing customers have purchased $1.00 placards during placard drives, as well as, donated spare change during their many “Change for Children” drives. When you add these efforts to the proceeds from the golf tournaments, Reay’s has helped AzCA to “Protect Children, Empower Youth, and Strengthen Families,” raising a total of $1,045,334! 

      

To show their success in reaching their million-dollar goal, Reay’s presented AzCA with a giant million dollar bill to put on display at the corporate office.

                 

In appreciation for their continued support, AzCA President & CEO Denise Ensdorff presented Chief Operations Officer/General Manager Richard Couch and Reay’s employees with a trophy and plaque for the corporate office, along with plaques to be displayed at Reay’s locations throughout Central and Southern Arizona.

Prizes were awarded to the winning teams and sponsors were presented with awards for their support in making the event possible.

                

During the raffle, we were surprised with a visit from singer/songwriter/guitarist Steve McCarty from the Steve Miller Band. He auctioned off his personal guitar—signed by many legendary artists. The highest bidder was Richard’s wife, Janet! (Photo on right.)

      

Special thanks to Richard and Janet Couch and the sponsors: Northland, Arizona Fuel Distributors, Coca-Cola, Crest Insurance Group, Arizona Select Distribution, and McLane.