D1 - “Healing-Centered Schools: Understanding the Invisible Backpack”

Laura Adams, Founder and President, iCARE4 Adoptive And Foster Familie

Children spend most of their day at school, placing educators and school staff in a powerful position to become part of a child’s circle of care and prevention. Nearly 15% of students are impacted by adoption, foster care, or kinship care, with significantly higher risks for mental health challenges, school disengagement, and crisis intervention. This session explores how early relational experiences shape behavior, regulation, and learning, and how schools can strengthen prevention through caregiver partnership, connection-centered practices, and the Adoption & Foster Friendly Schools™ framework. Participants will leave with practical, hope-focused strategies they can use immediately.

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D2 - “Centering Well-Being to Transform Family Services”

Dr. Heather L. Fox, PHD, Senior Research Specialist, Northern Illinois University
Dr. Robin LaSota, PHD, Director of Translational Research, Northern Illinois University Psychology Department

Drawing on findings from Illinois DCFS’s Listen to Us participatory study, this workshop explores how child welfare and community organizations can ground services in the well-being of children, youth, and families. Participants will examine lived-experience definitions of well-being, reflect on how systems support or undermine thriving, and identify practical strategies for building healing-centered, family-focused practices that promote resilience, dignity, connection, and long-term well-being.

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D3 - “Until I Decide: Coaching Parents to Develop Meaningful, Safe, and Effective Discipline”

Brittany Watson, MSW, LSW, Youth Intensive Outpatient Therapist, Egyptian Public and Mental Health Department

Caregivers often assign discipline or punishment quickly, aiming for resolution when they are still emotionally charged following the incident. When a youth breaks the rules, it drives fear, insecurities, and assertive action to the surface, resulting in discipline that cannot always be meaningfully translated into a behavioral understanding the youth can grasp. This workshop will allow participants to explore a SMART foundation of developing discipline, and practice approaches for coaching parents to create well-developed and safe discipline practices in their home.

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D4 -“Implementation of a Universal Newborn Support System across Illinois”

Rowan Atwood, Policy Specialist, Start Early

Whitney Walsh, Director, Start Early
Erin Miller, Nurse Manager, Children’s Home Association of Illiniois

A Universal Newborn Support System (UNSS) is an approach that connects all families with a newborn to voluntary, short-term support and community resources during the critical weeks after birth. This session will provide an overview of the vision for implementing a Universal Newborn Support System across Illinois, including how it can strengthen families, improve access to services, and promote healthy outcomes for infants and caregivers.

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++ D5 - “Boundaries Are Self-Care: Preventing Burnout”

Julie Birky, LCSW, Mental Health Counselor & Educator, Julie Birky Education, LLC

Social workers and helping professionals are expected to give endlessly—but without boundaries, that comes at a cost. This workshop explores self-care through setting and protecting boundaries, using practical tools for work with clients, organizations, and ourselves. Participants will leave with realistic, guilt-free strategies to reduce stress, prevent burnout, and stay effective.

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++ D6 - “What If You Don’t Come Back?”

Tracy Patton, MS, Founder, Once Upon Some Messy Fun LLC

Families across our communities are living with stress, trauma, and uncertainty. For young children, the fear of separation from a parent—through deportation, immigration enforcement, incarceration, illness, or sudden absence—creates stress their developing brains cannot yet process. These invisible worries often show up as behavior: clinginess, sleep problems, regression, aggression, or “not listening.” This session explores how trauma and immigration-related stress affect early development and offers simple, relationship-based strategies to help children feel safe, connected, and resilient.