Faith Alliance Church in Sidney will be hosting the annual Empowered to Connect Conference on April 13 and 14.
The Empowered to Connect Conference is an annual event put on by Child Bridge Montana, a non-profit aimed at improving outcomes for children in foster care and the families who care for them. The organization has helped to connect 589 children in need of care with loving families to care for them, which has led to 70 adoptions by Child Bridge families.
The conference is led by staff at the renowned Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University, including the Institute’s Assistant Director of Education Dr. Casey Call. The conference includes Trust-Based Relational Intervention methods developed at TCU to help facilitate attachment and connection in families, especially for those children who have experienced trauma. “It is vital that caregivers, teachers, and caseworkers understand the impact of trauma on the brain of a growing child. Trauma can impact behavior throughout a child’s life, but with supportive, knowledgeable parents and teachers, children can learn to overcome and grow into healthy, productive members of society,” said Amanda Snodgrass, adoptive and foster parent and the local organizer for the conference. “As an adoptive and foster parent, Empowered to Connect gives me the understanding and tools needed to parent these children in a better way. As a teacher, I can see past children’s behaviors to understand some of the inner workings because of Empowered to Connect. All people interacting with children from hard places should come and learn from the best in the field during this simulcast,” Snodgrass said.
Empowered to Connect is designed for foster parents as well as ministry leaders, social workers, counselors, child care workers, teachers, paraprofessionals, and parents who seek better ways to connect with children, especially those in the foster care system. The event has been approved by the Office of Public Instruction for 14 renewal credits for teacher licensure, or split renewal units for attendance at only one of the two days.
The conference will be simulcast across the state, with additional locations in Libby, Kalispell, Butte and Great Falls.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. The cost of the event is $20 per person, which includes the course book as well as snacks, coffee and lunch on both Friday and Saturday. Childcare is provided, and children eat for free. Registration is required. Register at https://www.childbridgemontana.org/empowered-to-connect.html. Contact Amanda Snodgrass at 406-647-4970 with questions about the Empowered to Connect conference at Faith Alliance Church. The Church is located at 301 East Main, in Sidney.
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