Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and the Minnesota Department of Human Services Child Safety and Permanency Division are co-hosting a symposium for social services professionals with a focus on Kinship Navigator Community Awareness and understanding the Family First Prevention Services Act. The two-day symposium with being held in the Great Lakes Ballroom at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Duluth, Minnesota on July 15 & 16, 2019.
Building kinship navigator awareness creates a better understanding of the needs relative caregivers have to support successful caregiving outside the formal child welfare system. Common kinship navigator goals include enhancing stability, often defined as safety and permanency, and ensuring the well-being of children at risk of formal non-relative placement such as foster care settings. The Symposium aims to provide timely education and resources related to mental health, chemical dependency, reunification, outreach and support of kinship caregivers and the children they care for, advocacy, plus two workshops on community outreach and resource mapping.
Symposium session topics include Mental Health Needs of Children and Caregivers, Early Childhood Education services, Chemical Dependency services for Parents, Kinship Navigator Program development, Kinship Caregiver Community Outreach and Support, Reunification of Parents and Children, and legal resources for kinship caregivers. Additional discussion workshops will cover the need for community outreach and support and community resource mapping.
The symposium presents a schedule of well-known subject experts who are recognized for their knowledge and experience, including Becky Lourey, former senator and Nemadji Research Corp., owner, and founder; Carly Anderson, Minnesota Department of Human Services, social service kinship navigator; Don Jarvinen, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC), Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College faculty, Chemical Dependency and Human Services; Govinda Budrow, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Early Childhood faculty; Michele Perron, Ph.D., LADC, clinical supervisor, Lionrock Recovery, Petaluma, California; October Allen, nonprofit business owner and founder; and Sunshine Day, Minnesota Department of Human Services, legal kinship navigator.
Preregistration is required. For more information, please contact Stacey Johnson, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Continuing Education Department, at 218-879-0775 or visit the Continuing Education page on the college website. Online registration is available here.