August
2019
30th Annual Conference News
Keynote Speakers Announcement
We are excited to share that Sue Badeau and Mia St. John will join us
 as keynote speakers at the 30th Annual NFFCMH Conference in Phoenix, AZ
on November 14th-16th. Learn more about Sue and Mia below.
Watch the clip of Sue above to hear about her family's adventures which inspired the toolkit she developed to support other parents and families.
Watch the interview above to learn more about Mia and her family's story which led her to become a mental health advocate for all families.
Schedule and Early Bird Registration
The outline of the conference schedule is posted. This month, the full schedule of workshops will be available and the conference app will go live. Look for those announcements soon.
Below, learn more about exciting all
day sessions that will be offered
on Saturday, November 16th.

Registration is open and early bird deadlines are as follows:
Exhibitors - August 31st
Attendees - September 30th
Special Saturday Training Opportunities
The following all day sessions will be offered at our 2019 Conference in Phoenix on Saturday, November 16th. Each training has limited space and requires preregistration. Participants who complete these training sessions will receive a certificate of course certification or completion, as appropriate, after the conference. You will have the option to sign up for one of the four sessions when you register for the conference. Please find descriptions and additional details below.

Note: These training sessions are part of the conference and ONLY
open to registered conference attendees.
Mental Health First Aid Certification Course  
Mental Health First Aid aims to increase mental health literacy and decrease stigma. This 8-hour course teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.

Mental Health First Aid takes the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about mental health and substance use problems by improving understanding and providing an action plan that teaches people to safely and responsibly identify and address a potential mental illness or substance use disorder.

8 Hour Course. Preregistration is required.
Certificates of certification will be provided electronically, post-conference.

Note: The course will begin at 8:30 am and end at approximately 5:30 pm. Participation will require missing the Saturday morning plenary.
Trauma Treatment for the Entire Family: A Step-by-Step
Family Systems Approach Training
It’s not easy when a practitioner only possesses the tools to treat the individual child and not the whole family. Implications of this dilemma are that families can become chronically stuck with no clear solution. Imagine leaving this workshop equipped with the essential tools to more effectively work with not just the traumatized child, but their entire family and community.

Join Dr. Scott Sells from the Family Trauma Institute , in this cutting-edge seminar as he teaches the concrete tools necessary to quickly engage the parent and child through "motivational phone calls,” along with how to use the top three tools from the Family Systems Trauma (FST) approach.

Participants will receive step-by-step tools and handouts that show how to work more effectively with both child(ren) and parents in families that have experienced trauma. Participants will learn how to help the family move from “How do you feel about the traumatic event?” to “What’s next in order to heal our wounds?”

6 Hour Session. Preregistration is required.
Certificates of completion will be provided electronically, post-conference.
The Parent Support Network: A New Model
for Peer to Peer Support Training
Recognizing that parents and caregivers need access to as much support as possible when their children are struggling with mental health problems, The Youth Mental Health Project developed The Parent Support Network, a volunteer-based program that offers peer to peer support for parents and caregivers. The Parent Support Network is a parent-driven, family focused program to provide parents who are concerned about their children’s mental health with a dependable and caring network, valuable peer support, and access to educational tools and peer recommended resources in their local communities.

This 6-hour training session is based on an innovative approach to youth mental health that will provide participants with engaging tools to help support parents, caregivers, and families. Anyone interested in learning how to become a Facilitator of parent support meetings or about the benefits of bringing The Parent Support Network to their own community will benefit from attending. Join Randi Silverman, Founder and Executive Director of The Youth Mental Health Project , and her co-presenter, Gabrielle Giacomazzo, Family Peer Advocate and Facilitator of The Parent Support Network of Western Suffolk, NY, to learn a new way to support families in a way that is informative, empathetic, and empowering.

During the session, attendees will also participate in interactive mock parent support meetings and learn how to use the social and emotional tools that are part of the program’s Conversation Toolkit for parents. Randi will review turn-key materials and methodologies for implementing and building The Parent Support Network program in communities. Finally, the session will end with an important focus-group conversation and assessment to gather feedback for best approaches to improving and implementing the program in a variety of communities.

6 Hour Session. Preregistration is required.
Certificates of completion will be provided electronically, post-conference.
Serving on Groups: Knowledge and Skills to Effectively
Serve on Systems Improvement Committees Training
Federal and state policy increasingly requires active participation of family and youth leaders at decision-making tables. Too often policymakers do not adequately prepare diverse family and youth leaders to take full advantage of these opportunities. Join this full day train the trainer session to learn how to present an interactive comprehensive training series on Serving on Groups that Make Decisions. Don’t sit on the sidelines…be part of the solution! (Training tools available in English and Spanish!)

This interactive, hands-on train-the-trainer workshop will provide participants with information, tools and resources on how to develop and implement policy leadership development for diverse families to participate effectively on advisory groups and task forces. Discussion will include how to recruit, train, engage, and support diverse parent leaders at policy tables using the Serving on Groups that Make Decisions curriculum. Trainers' guide including trainer notes, workshop outlines, and interactive training activities will be shared.
Participants will: learn the critical elements of recruiting diverse family leaders interested in systems change; review the curriculum including Section 1: Opportunities to Get Involved, Section 2: Types of Groups, Section 3: Processes Groups Use, Section 4: Tools Groups Use, Section 5: Tips and Strategies for Groups, Section 6: Understanding Data, Section 7: The Role of Families on Groups, and Section 8: Skills for Serving on Groups; identify methods to modify the material for diverse audiences; and learn how to deliver the curriculum to diverse parent leaders. The workshop will include presentation, brainstorming in large and small groups, and work group activities including completion and discussion of a trainer self-assessment and development of a “next steps toward implementation” action plan. A question and answer period will also be provided.

7.5 Hour Session. Preregistration is required.
Certificates of completion will be provided electronically, post-conference.
Legislation and Advocacy
See our most recent National and State Updates!
I t was a busy legislative season both nationally and in the states.
See our most recent updates below and visit our Legislative and Advocacy webpages for more news, tools and resources that can assist in your efforts to represent the voice of children, youth and families. If you haven't already, sign up to receive future
legislation and advocacy updates, alerts and calls to action.
National Slideshow
State Slideshow

Submit your state's advocacy and legislative updates to our
Legislative Liaison, Michelle Covington, at mcovington@ffcmh.org.
Webinars and Events
Reset Your Schedule for School: How to Create a Calmer, Happier, Easier Routine
Date: Thursday, August 29, 2019 Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm EDT

The transition from a less-structured summer routine to a strict back-to-school groove is rarely smooth. These rough mornings are often tied to executive function weaknesses. Once parents understand that children with ADHD don't have a solid sense of time, are easily distracted, and lack future thinking, they can work productively with their child to devise a smarter family schedule.

In this webinar, you will learn:
  • How to collaborate with your child to problem-solve and create a new morning routine
  • How to help your child develop “future thinking” and improve his/her sense of time
  • Emotional management strategies to help parents stay calm during the morning “rush hour”
  • Strategies to address sleep problems and nighttime routines
How is My Child Reading?
Date: Thursday, August 8, 2019 Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm EDT

This workshop focuses on helping participants understand terms that are used when discussing reading and writing. Learning the building blocks of literacy will answer the question, "How is My Child Reading?," and give parents the confidence to discuss reading scores with school staff. Don’t miss this workshop full of valuable information
on how students learn to read and write.
Amplifying Your Family Organization's Voice:
Social Marketing for Family-Run Organizations
Date: Wednesday, August 7, 2019 Time: 2:00-3:00 pm EDT

Limited budget for marketing; small staff who have multiple roles; not familiar with all of the tools; little time to focus on social marketing; and stressed to the max! If this sounds familiar to you, join expert presenters to get answers on the specific questions or challenges your family-run organization may have related to social marketing. This social marketing technical assistance is available to all family-run organizations.
Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences in Urban Communities
Date: Thursday, August 29, 2019 Time: 1:30-3:00 pm EDT

This webinar will address Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and the impact of social determinants and cultural influences in urban communities. Emphasizing clinical and community-based models, the webinar will highlight practical strategies that may be used to address (ACES) and trauma in children, youth and families while advancing health equity in systems.
Resources and Opportunities
From The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Keeping Kids in Families report examines how placements for young people in foster care have changed from 2007 to 2017. Using data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Casey finds that child welfare systems are doing a better job of placing kids in families. At the same time, racial disparities persist for kids of all ages and progress eludes teens in care.
To push for further progress, the four-page snapshot tells how states can leverage the federal Family First Prevention Services Act to prioritize family placement and high-quality, family-centered settings to support even better outcomes - and a brighter future - for kids in care. Access the full report here .
From C.A.S.E.
C.A.S.E.'s National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI) has developed two state-of-the-art, standardized, web-based trainings to build the capacity of child welfare and mental health professionals in states, tribes, and territories to effectively support children, youth, and their foster, adoptive, and guardianship families. Learn more in this video.
From Child Mind Institute
As stated in this article from Child Mind Institute titled Siblings Under Stress , "A child who isn’t the one with special needs, who seems to be doing fine - or may be acting as if he’s doing fine - may in fact be struggling, too. Here are some ways siblings might be affected, and things you can do to help them respond to the challenge in a healthy way." Read the full article here .
From Nationwide Children's Hospital
Nationwide Children's Hospital offers an informational tip sheet to help parents and caregivers limit children's screen time. In preparation for the new school year, read their suggestions here .s