https://events.unitypoint.org/en/4P1dQRr7/g/e2AJfTj587/workshop-series-strengthening-families-using-a-racial-equity-lens-am-5a2j6f3eod0/overview
“The Blank Children’s STAR Center seeks to improve outcomes for child victims of abuse by providing educational opportunities for members of our professional community at no cost to attendees. The purpose of the Workshop Series is to impact the systemic coordination of services for children and families through increased professional knowledge and skills surrounding developmentally appropriate, child-focused interventions.
Intended Audience
The Workshop Series is intended for professionals involved in the child protection field including: Department of Human Services professionals, law enforcement, attorneys, victim advocates, medical and mental health providers, family service professionals, nurses, school-based professionals, and foster parents.”
Promoting Infant Mental Health in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
“The environment and caregiving relationships in the early postnatal period are critical to an infant’s development, with implications for physical, social-emotional, and neurocognitive development. Premature and medically vulnerable infants hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are biologically and neurologically more vulnerable and go through many stressors including some degree of separation from their parents, an intrusive and unnatural environment, and painful and distressing procedures. their parents, in turn, experience higher rates of psychological distress and can face challenges in establishing an optimal relationship with their babies in this setting. In this talk, Dr. Givrad will point out some of the ways we can think about promoting premature and medically vulnerable infants’ wellbeing.”
“Every spring parents and families begin researching and planning what their children will do during the Summer months. Everything from summer camps to fun events and activities. This is a 1-day event that brings all of these options under one roof. Families will attend, learn about their options, register, have fun, and more.
The entire day is free! Each vendor offers a free activity, there will be free programming throughout the day, explore everything the Valley Community Center has to offer, and have some fun taking pictures with our fun backdrop, the first 100 families (ONE per family) will receive a FREE swag bag.” They will also be offering a sensory friendly hour at the beginning of the day!
For the schedule and more information: https://desmoinesparent.com/des-moines-parent-summer-camp-fair/
“Participants will learn strategies to center parent and family voices in health equity efforts, better understand how to integrate and sustain parent and family leadership and hear from parent leaders who are helping to change systems. Participants will also identify strategies they could employ to increase parent and family participation in their work.”
Registration: https://zerotothree.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_djOebKiBQTCicIFuW1UhYg?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pardot&utm_campaign=01172024_SafeBabies#/registration
“Join Safe Babies as we discuss how early relationships set the tone for a child’s development. We will discuss best practices to promote responsive and nurturing early relationships and protective factors that can promote resiliency in the context of Safe Babies on the system and family levels. Learning Objectives: 1. Participants will gain insight into how all development occurs in a relational context. 2. Participants will gain knowledge regarding needs-based, trauma-responsive, and developmentally-informed practices.”
Registration: https://zerotothree.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SELEfx79RlO3D-n_rYdu3Q?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pardot&utm_campaign=01172024_SafeBabies#/registration
Walk the Include Resource Fair
Join the 4th Annual Awareness Walk and Resource Fair in Carlisle on April 20th! For more information, click here.
Uniting Resources Conference
Wednesday, February 7 | 8 AM – 4 PM
Registration Required
FFA Enrichment Center
1055 SW Prairie Trail Pkwy, Ankeny, IA 50023
Creating a collaborative path to children’s mental health.
Registration: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MJMP8B2
Join Iowa AEYC for the Spring Institute on May 3-4, 2024 at a NEW LOCATION! We are thrilled to be featuring Keynote speakers Friday and Saturday. (Join us either Friday, Saturday, or both days!)
Friday, May 3
Dealing with Challenging Behaviors: Innovative Tier 1 Strategies for
Classroom Teachers. Iowa AEYC welcomes Dr. Adam Holland for a 5hr
session on approaching challenging behavior by developing an
understanding of children’s motivation. With stories and examples from
his own time in the classroom, Dr. Holland will illustrate practical ways to
set up a classroom in order to reduce or eliminate challenging behavior and
provide strategies for how to handle it when it does pop up. The session
will include time for discussion and application as well as opportunities for
question and answer.
Saturday, May 4
A welcome from Dr. Amy Shriver about A Salve for Savagery: Coping with
Moral Injury
In the pursuit of shaping young minds, early childhood educators may sacrifice
their own well-being. The price of professional passion in the face of systemic
challenges can lead to burnout: a pervasive sense of exhaustion, helplessness, and
reduced efficacy. Furthermore, moral injury–when our deeply held beliefs or
actions are compromised–has the power to extinguish the burning flame that
guides our work with young children. When our core values clash with the
realities we face, it can dim the light that illuminates our path in early education.
This lecture explores the origins of burnout and moral injury specific to early
childhood education and presents mechanisms for prevention, management, and
healing. by fostering a culture of self-care, empathy, and community support, we
can create resilience amidst adversity.
