Breakout Sessions
Breakout Sessions Schedule
There are three sessions throughout the day where you get to pick the session/topic you’d like to sit in on. View the different topics and speakers below for each session.
10:45 AM – 12:o0 PM
Session 1
Family Positive Language
Sarah Pfleeger
My course focuses us on how to identify common phrases and ideas in everyday life that assume a “normal” of family makeup. The goal is to change these phrases and assumptions in our vocabulary to that which includes all. Written from an adoptee’s perspective who is also part of a foster family, it uses personal experience as well as resources from Adoptions of Indiana to inform the teaching.
Psychological Flexibility: Insights from a Psychologist
Adam Dell Psy.D., ABPP
In this session, Dr. Dell will explore key principles from psychology related to flourishing. He will draw on 20+ years of clinical experience to introduce evidence-based practices.
Family Preservation Panel – Ways to support family preservation and reunification
Jess Degenhardt
In this session you will have the opportunity to hear perspectives and strategies for supporting biological parents who have children in the foster care system. Panelists will discuss real-life examples of reunification support, including communication with parents, maintaining connections for children, and navigating challenges along the way. Attendees will leave with practical tools to strengthen collaboration with biological families, along with a renewed sense of purpose in supporting not only the children in their care but also the families working toward reunification.
Working Beyond $$$: Developing and Launching Strategic Partnerships
Clarkston Morgan
Join us for an empowering session designed to provide actionable insights for launching or scaling your personal ministry, nonprofit or church organization to better serve children and families in foster care and adoption beyond your budget. Learn from experienced leaders about effective strategies, strategic partnerships, resource optimization, and community engagement to maximize your impact. Walk away with practical tools and inspiration to drive meaningful change and growth within your family, organization, and community.
A Child’s Hunger for Connection: Why They Resist what they need the most
Chef Kibby
Hunger is one of the most powerful forces on Earth – for good and for bad. The same force that keeps us alive and weaves our lives together can also isolate and divide us. This could not be more true for the child God has placed into your home. Chef Kibby (host of the Hunger for Connection Podcast) combines the latest in neuroscience and the study of our relationship with food with his personal journey as a caregiver to bring new insights into how a broader perspective of hunger can help you better understand the social, emotional, mental, and behavioral challenges faced by disconnected youth and how to use the food you serve to feed not only their bodies but also their hunger for connection.
FAM Basics
Ashley Edwards
In this session you will learn the essentials of engaging your church in caring for vulnerable children and families. No matter the size of your church or how you plan to engage, you will walk away with the best practices for laying a strong foundation of a model called Family Advocacy Ministry (FAM) and be connected with Hands of Hope for further resources and coaching.
1:10 PM – 2:o0 PM
Session 2
Fostering Unity & Collaboration across Diverse Churches
Dexter Harris & Corrie Vos
Kingdom over Castles: How collaboration accelerates gospel movement and care for the vulnerable. Many of us live lives of abundance, and yet the needs of our community persist. Join us for an opportunity to hear how several churches in Lake County, Indiana have started a collaboration around the cause of caring for vulnerable children. We will share how by working together and engaging the strengths of multiple churches and community organizations we have discovered there are more than enough resources to help fill in the gaps within our community.
Life in Limbo
Vanessa Wilkins
Life in Limbo is an interactive workshop that gives participants the opportunity to step into the shoes of birth parents, foster parents, and children in foster care, learning what it feels like to live their lives. It is an impactful experience that builds empathy for all affected by the child welfare system.
Adoptive Parent Panel
Gretchen Stanley
Adoption is a blessing and creates unique challenges. Come learn from both adoptive parents who have walked this journey, and a licensed therapist who specialized for over 30 years in Attachment Based Relationship Therapy. Adoptive Parent Panel – Gretchen Stanley
Handling Crisis in the Home
Mike & Kristin Berry
Opening your home to vulnerable children comes with unique rewards and challenges, and navigating crises can be one of the most difficult aspects of the journey. This breakout session will equip parents with practical tools and strategies to respond in times of crises while striving to maintain a stable, safe environment for all of the children in your home.
Mindful Parenting
Kelly Hamilton
Join Kelly and discover how personal attachment styles and compassion fatigue contribute to reactive parenting habits. Attendees will gain practical mindful parenting strategies to create purposeful moments of connection to themselves and their children, even in the midst of difficulty.
Nervous System Dysregulation: What to look for & how to heal
Nicholas Moore, DC
Unfortunately, we must accept that foster and adopted children have adverse experiences such as neglect, abusive care, disruptions and exposure to lethal substances. Every trauma (physical, chemical, mental) experienced can send these children into fight or flight with repeated and/or severe exposure forcing them into a constant elevated state. Brain Science tells us that being stuck or frozen in this heightened state over time can cause cognitive delays. In this session we will share non-invasive care and resources that allow the brain and body to come out of this heightened state and to heal.
2:15 PM – 3:30 PM
Session 3
Transracial Family Panel
Jana L. (Foster the Family)
Join us for a panel of experienced foster and adoptive parents, each sharing their journeys of caring for children from different racial and cultural backgrounds. The panelists come from various walks of life, and their stories reflect the challenges and rewards of transracial parenting, from fostering a sense of belonging for their children to navigating societal expectations and biases.
Life in Limbo
Vanessa Wilkins
Life in Limbo is an interactive workshop that gives participants the opportunity to step into the shoes of birth parents, foster parents, and children in foster care, learning what it feels like to live their lives. It is an impactful experience that builds empathy for all affected by the child welfare system.
Understanding Trauma & Post-traumatic Growth
Adam Dell
In this session, Dr. Adam Dell will discuss the impacts of trauma on children, adolescents, and adults. He will also introduce the concept of post-traumatic growth. He will offer insights from psychology and theology.
The Legal Process of Adopting a Child from DCS
Grant Kirsh
Adoption is complicated! This session will cover everything you need to know, and some common misconceptions, when it comes to adopting a child from DCS. We will cover the legal process, changes to that process over the last year, adoption subsidies, new birth certificates, name changes and new social security numbers.
When Trauma and Puberty Meet
Mike & Kristin Berry
Raising teens is a challenge on its own, but when trauma is part of the equation, the journey can feel overwhelming. This breakout session will explore the unique complexities of parenting adolescents who have experienced trauma and offer practical guidance on ways to support and guide your teen through this often difficult stage of life. This session is ideal for parents and caregivers seeking to strengthen relationships with their teens and navigate the challenges of trauma-informed parenting with compassion and confidence.
Connection Based Ministry
Kelly Hamilton
This workshop examines trauma’s effect on an individual’s emotional response and attachment style. It offers attendees strategies to create regulating church environments and patterns of ministry that help people form healthy connections to God and others.
Presenting Sponsors
