Page 12 - Flathead Beacon // 4.6.16

NEWS
Building Connections with Traumatized Children
Conference for those in foster, adoption, and general childcare to focus on connecting with children “from hard places”
BY MOLLY PRIDDY OF THE BEACON
As of the end of February, more than 3,000 Montana children were in the state foster care system, the rst time the number has climbed over the 3,000 mark, and double 2008’s 1,500 level.
According to a report from the Associated Press, the amount of abuse and neglect cases in Montana’s district courts has skyrocketed, with 2,300 cases in 2015 com- pared to 1,600 in 2014.
In the Flathead, there are 161 children in foster care, according to statistics from the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. The need for more foster parents is immediate and constant, advocates say.
With that in mind, Child Bridge, a nonpro t organi- zation based in Bigfork that nds and supports foster and adoptive families for Montana children, will host the Empowered to Connect conference on April 8-9.
The conference is part of a nationwide telecast orig- inating in Memphis, Tennessee, and is designed to help anyone who works or interacts with children to better understand childhood trauma and how it a ects the brain, attachment, and e ective methods for behav- ioral change.
Dr. Karyn Purvis, director of the TCU Institute of Child Development and coauthor of the best-selling book, “The Connected Child,” will head the conference. Amanda Hiles Howard, assistant professor of psychol- ogy at Samford University, and Daren Jones and Henry Milton of the Institute of Child Development will join Purvis on the speaker panel.
Aaron Sco eld, Child Bridge’s community director, said the conference is designed to “help bring healing into children’s lives,” and is for foster and adoptive par- ents, those interested in becoming foster and/or adop- tive parents, biological parents, child welfare and social workers, teachers, church ministry leaders, and more.
“It’s for anybody who spends time with kids,” Sco- eld said. “And it’s very much for those considering fostering.”
The conference will take place over two days and will include 16 hours of expert training, lunch, snacks, and course materials. It can qualify as Continuing Educa- tion Credits for social workers or those working in early childhood elds.
All told, the two-day conference costs $20 with everything but CEC included, Sco eld said. Everyone who attends and nishes the conference will receive a
Aaron Sco eld, community director of the Flathead’s Child Bridge organization, speaks about the upcoming event on April 1, 2016. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
completion certi cate.
The simulcast will also be broadcast in Missoula and
Billings.
Child Bridge serves as a support and education sys-
tem for those already in the foster system and for those considering taking part. As a faith-based ministry, it is not an adoption or placement agency, but instead works with the state and youth organizations to help bridge the gap in support and funding using the “natural infra- structure of the church.”
“We don’t do any of the vetting, we leave that to the state,” Sco eld said. “We just simply pull them in and we maintain contact with them.”
Sco eld said the organization, which was founded by Steve and Mary Bryan of Bigfork, may be faith based and work closely with local congregations, but a certain faith system is not required to get involved.
“In our nonpro t, we serve people who are of faith or
not of faith,” he said.
When considering the need for more foster families,
Sco eld re ected on the most recent numbers of kids in the system, noting that the current statistic of 3,019 is considerably higher than the 2,600 kids in the system this time last year.
He encouraged those who may be interested or are already fostering or have adopted to check out the con- ference as a way to better connect with the children already in their lives, and potentially the children they may welcome into their homes in the future. More help means less burden on an already overloaded child pro- tection system.
“We want to support the state in everything we do,” Sco eld said.
For more information, visit childbridgemontana. org/empowered-to-connect.html.
mpriddy@ atheadbeacon.com
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