Session D

This presentation will engage participants in a discussion of how agencies can create a safety culture by moving away from blame and toward accountability. When agencies blame and punish staff, they believe that the agency and its employees are being held accountable for their actions. Years of research have shown that blame may decrease accountability, since it inhibits the ability of the organization to learn and improve. Better outcomes are achieved through removing barriers and providing supportive systems for staff within the agency. In this culture, psychological safety is promoted to create an environment where staff have a voice and systemic concerns can be discussed and acted upon.

Did you know that you don’t have to be born with specific traits or characteristics to be a good leader?  It’s true.  Most people think that good leaders are “born” with certain characteristics that give them this innate ability to lead.  The truth is that great leaders are good at what they do because they are self-aware, they work hard at understanding and developing themselves, they use their life experiences to give meaning to their lives, and probably most importantly, they let their lives speak to them and lead with authenticity.  During this presentation you will learn about the values that form the basis of authentic leadership, the five touchstones that build the interpersonal bridge of leadership, and the importance of self-awareness as a leader.

The Prevention Solution Model (PSM) is a survivor-led blueprint for service providers to reduce the risk of the commercial sexual exploitation of youth, particularly in congregate care, and enables programs to expertly wrap specialized care around ALL female-identified youth they serve ensuring that no exploited or high-risk girl slips through the cracks. This model is both gender specific and gender responsive and specialized for the most vulnerable youth. Participants will learn about the core tenants of the Prevention Solution Model and receive an overview of the nationally renowned, research-based My Life My Choice Exploitation Prevention Curriculum.

While trauma negatively influences the brain, mind, and body in many ways, humans are very resilient and often bounce back from adversity. Educating trauma survivors, bystanders, and supportive others with user-friendly, empirical evidence about stopping harm, healing pain, and changing lives can influence optimal development. This workshop will provide an overview of Practice Self-Regulation, a federally-recognized trauma-informed program using neuroscience-based multi-sensory activities to help the youth and families we serve develop potentially life-changing habits.

Community Based Care (CBC) is expanding in scope and location, and, there’s a new division overseeing CBC implementation. A lot has changed with CBC in the past year so please join this session to learn what’s new and how your organization can be a part of the growing and evolving CBC in Texas. In this workshop, participants will get a status update from the leadership of the SSCCs in Texas and hear how each SSCC is designing a unique approach to delivering quality foster care services in their own community. Additionally, they will look ahead and next steps for each CBC area and ways network organizations can be ready.

The workshop will provide information and outcomes gleaned from kinship information and training sessions hosted by the Coalition of Child Serving Sectors (CCSS) in Region 6. The presentation will include a brief background of the CCSS workgroup and description of the model used as a collaborative support for kinship caregivers. The session will cover the strengths and lessons learned, outcomes achieved thus far, and next steps for expansion of this model, as well as how it can be adapted for other communities to benefit kinship families statewide.