Breakout Sessions
10:45 AM – 12:o0 PM
Session 1
Understanding Sensory Needs
Mike & Kristin Berry
Your child seems to lose control of their body, or have no spacial awareness. Maybe they avoid contact altogether. Why is this? It’s highly likely they have either a sensory input need, or they are sensory avoidant. How can you tell the difference? In this breakout, we’ll walk through different sensory needs and share practical strategies to build a connection with your child. In addition, tips for how churches and other ministries can support children with sensory needs will also be discussed
Life Through My Lens: Lived Experience of being a Vulnerable Child
Panel Facilitated by Deidra Smith
In this panel, individuals who grew up in vulnerable circumstances share their personal stories and insights from childhood. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of what truly supports—or harms—a child during difficult seasons and leave with practical perspective for better serving children today.
Parenting Teens from Hard Places
Beth Guckenberger
An honest and hopeful conversation about the challenges and victories experienced in afamily with fostered/adopted teens. Beth and her husband, Todd, have fosteredteenage girls for more than a decade and four of their adoptions were ofchildren aged 12, 15, 15, 17… This is a room where people will get you. We’ll explore together parenting perspective, choices, and heart stance thathelp cultivate healing and health over the long-run.
The Healing Power of Play: Rewiring the Brain Through Connection and Joy.
Dana Bowling
Trauma and attachment injuries disrupt a child’s sense of safety, trust and connection. But what trauma damages, play can help repair. Whether you’re a parent, therapist, teacher or caregiver, this session will equip you with practical, developmentally-sensitive play strategies that foster healing and connection. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of why play works-and toolkit full of playful interventions they can begin using immediately.
Where do I fit?
Hannah Stutzman
Do you want to make an impact in the lives of vulnerable children in Indiana, but aren’t currently called to being a foster parent or high capacity volunteer? Do you want to make a difference right where you are? Join us to learn how you can leverage your business, workplace, or church to serve those involved in foster care.
1:10 PM – 2:25 PM
Session 2
Freedom To Heal
Adam Dell
Dr. Adam Dell and his wife were foster parents in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Indiana. As a Board Certified Clinical Psychologist specializing in the treatment of trauma, Dr. Dell will review his most recent publication, Freedom to Heal: A Christian Clinician’s Guide to Treating Child Sexual Abuse and will provide practical insights for survivors and those who love them (parents, caregivers, clergy, and clinicians).
What I Wish I Would Have Known
Panel Facilitated by Deidra Smith
Learn from experienced foster, adoptive, and biological parents as they share what they wish they had known starting out and the hard-earned wisdom they’ve gathered along the way. They’ll offer insight into the ins and outs of the foster care system—details that often go unexplained but make all the difference. This panel provides practical guidance, honest reflections, and real-world perspective for anyone walking alongside children in care.
Leading Well at Your Church: Lessons on leading a sucessful ministry
Brandy Baumann
Leading a ministry, whether as a volunteer or church staff, is hard and sometimes confusing. This breakout session will focus on giving leaders tangible tools that will help them to grow in leading a FAM (Family Advocacy Ministry). Whether you are new or experienced in this ministry, this session will help provide ideas to overcome the obstacles many of us face while leading in the church.
When Life Feels Hopeless
Mike & Kristin Berry
Parenting children who have experienced trauma can bring deep joy… and deep heartbreak. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, what we long for doesn’t come to fruition, and we’re left questioning if hope still has a place in our story. In this honest and encouraging session, we’ll explore what it looks like to hold on when the outcome isn’t what we imagined and to rediscover purpose in the midst of pain.
TBRI Applications for Healthcare Settings
Hannah Stutzman
Building a foundation for felt-safety and connection in the healthcare sector, this session will explore principles of Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) as applied to the healthcare setting. This session will focus on practical applications and approaches both from a parent advocacy perspective and from a healthcare provider’s perspective.
2:35 PM – 3:50 PM
Session 3
I Can’t Take It Anymore: Finding Strength When Quitting Isn’t an Option
Clarkston & LaKendra Morgan
Raising or supervising children—especially those with special needs—can push even the most committed caregiver to the edge. In this empowering session, you’ll discover practical strategies and biblical principles to restore your focus, renew your strength, and navigate challenging behaviors with confidence. Attendees will leave with actionable tools to manage stress, build resilience, and create a healthier environment for both themselves and the children they serve.
Why Can’t You Act Your Age?: Understanding Scattered Development in Youth from Hard Places
Cindy Cramer
Your child is 14 but acts like they’re 5 in stressful situations and you wonder why they can’t just “act their age,” when in reality, they are! Every child develops in the 5 key areas – physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual – at different rates and often children from hard places have an inconsistent pattern of development. Drawing on personal and professional experience and recent research, we will spend some time discussing how trauma can impact a child’s development in these key areas and then we will dialogue about how to put what you’ve learned into practice at home in order to meet your child’s needs.
An Ounce of Prevention: The Value of Family Preservation
Lanna Blanchard
What if families could stay together if they had more support before abuse and neglect occurs? What if children could be protected in times of crisis without entering the child welfare system? What if it wasn’t shameful for at-risk parents to ask for help? The value of Family Preservation efforts in Indiana has a positive impact on children, families, the Church, and our communities. The Church is equipped to play a unique role in surrounding parents and children with the love and care of Christ. This session will include a presentation as well as a testimonial interview.
Navigating the Adoption Process and Adoption Subsidies
Grant Kirsh
In this session, we will discuss the legal process of adopting a child through the Department of Child Services (DCS). Topics will include when to hire an adoption attorney, the appropriate timing for filing the petition for adoption, understanding contested adoptions, finalizing your DCS adoption, processing name changes, obtaining new birth certificates, and securing new Social Security numbers for the children being adopted.
Effective Behavior Response and Emotional Regulation Strategies
Mike & Kristin Berry
How do you effectively respond when your child is in full meltdown mode? In this breakout session, we will discuss factors that cause certain behaviors and dysregulation. We’ll walk through specific applications and effective response strategies that can help a child emotionally re-regulate and bring calm to the chaos. Most importantly, you will learn how to build a connection with your child in the middle of big feeling moments.
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