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.
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!
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