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Education and Webinars


Our team offers a variety of educational events and webinars designed to support parents and educate the public. Our goal is simple: It is to share our lived experience, observations, and knowledge on the impact of attachment disruption on children, families, and society. We explore the results of high cortisol levels during critical stages of brain development. the impact of broken trust and the resulting deceptive emotional lens which leads our kids to emotional dysregulation, relationship difficulties, and safety issues.  Survival brain function, "felt" disorganized emotions, alarm-rooted behaviors, chaos vs. comfort, sensory distortion and sensitivity, dysregulation as a coping response, fear and shame as an internal beacon, and more.

  Learn and grow with us as a means to meet your traumatized child's needs or to improve programs and inform systemic shifts. The goal is calm, effective parenting, healthier child outcomes, and parent voice informing change across child-serving systems. 

Live and Recorded Webinars, Live Forum discussions, 

(We are also available for coaching, mentoring, and public speaking engagements)

Parent Resiliency Workshop
The Next Series is Coming in Spring 2024.
(In person and Virtual.)

Highlight on Presenters

Dr. Langston, LMSW, RPT, a trauma-centered family and youth therapist, will explore the scientific link between brain development and relationships. Early trauma impacts brain development leading to, among other symptoms, impulsivity, and elevated survival response. The maladaptive behaviors that manifest can be complicated, but effective relational therapy for parents and the child can be critical. A discussion of therapeutic parenting strategies will follow.


As an attorney defending the rights of parents to secure appropriate, often complex behavioral healthcare and treatment for struggling children, Attorney Vincent understands parents need guidance. Attorney Vincent will discuss parental/ guardianship rights in a DCF investigation, pathways to accessing the highest levels of care, and what navigating child-serving systems entails. The goal is to find out how it all works.

JustUsLawGroup.org 

Therapeutic Parenting Tips & Strategies

Recorded Webinar

Parenting in the trauma trenches must be intentional, and consistent. Remaining emotionally and mentally centered, and calm in crisis situations is valuable and can be challenging. We are you. We walked this path and survived. Sharing the tips and tricks we used with you, in support of family integrity and healing, is our 'why'.

 

Learn about treatment models that helped and why. Find out more on trauma-competent clinicians and sources of funding to access therapeutic supports, helpful services, and community activities as untraditional support. Learn what role scheduled respite can play in your strategy and more. 

This course will be available in November 2023!

Public Speaker Engagement Bookings

Family Forward Advocacy CT Founders and ACTion Team members are available for public speaking and panel discussion engagements. To learn more or to discuss ​availability, please contact us.

Therapeutic Parenting Bootcamp

A Monthly LIVE Forum

 

A Family Forward ACTion Team member will join Co-Founders, Maureen & Cheryl, for a panel discussion followed by a Q&A. Attendees will be encouraged to submit questions in the chat. Monthly topics will vary and rotate, and will include:

  • Children's Behavioral Health Services Array Access: what they need, when they need it, and how to get it.

  • Child Welfare as a Clinical Services Doorway: what works and what doesn't

  • Juvenile Justice: The Default System

  • Special Education: categories, accommodations & cost

  • The Funding Shell Game: who pays for what and when

  • Policy Reform: your voice is a powerful tool

This event is offered via the Zoom platform.

Tap into our network of professional attorneys, advocates, clinicians, psychologists, social workers, and others.

 

A 70-minute panel discussion, 30-minute Q&A w/10 min break

First Friday of the month @ 4 PM

 

Space is limited to 12 attendees per event.

Reserve a seat in advance for a $15 discount. (See Shoppe page.)

Policy Reform ACTion Planning Course

Activate Your Voice 

Coaching for Parents in the Trenches: 

A Systemic Change Blueprint

Become a change agent, a credible and effective voice in your state. Passion and purpose are great, but you need a plan. Learn to set achievable goals, network, lobby lawmakers, build a coalition and inform state agency policies and practices to better support parents raising kids affected by brain disorders, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and other complex needs.


This is a "Get Started" course comprised of two  2-hour segments. It is offered on demand based on interest. Please email us to learn more.

Rep. John Larson

'12 Town Hall Meeting, W. Hartford, CT

Maureen w/ CT Rep. John Larson


'20 Wash. DC

ASFA Reform Rally-Connie Reguli, Kimberly Love, Maureen & fellow advocates

Policy Reform ACTion Planning Course

The Robert Haller Memorial Award for Outstanding Community Service

Maureen O'Neill-Davis, recipient of The Robert Haller Memorial Award for Outstanding Community Service '17, pictured w/Steven Hernandez, Exec. Dir., CT Commission on Women, Children & Seniors and Wendy Haller. wife of the late Robert Haller

Activate Your Voice

Coaching for Parents in the Trenches:

A Systemic Change Blueprint

Becoming a change agent is a journey. Our founders networked and trained for years to be bold, informed, and effective. Both became known in Connecticut for speaking out and gathering parent voices for a common goal: reform child welfare culture and policies where they intersect with high and complex need care access for children within the behavioral health care and special education systems.  


Passion and purpose are great, but you need a plan. Learn to set achievable goals, network, lobby lawmakers, build a coalition and inform state agency policies and practices to better support parents raising kids affected by brain disorders, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Trauma, and other specialized and complex needs.


This is an introductory "Get Started" course comprised of six 2-hour segments. Each segment will build upon the last and provide a robust foundation of information and skills to help you be heard, make the change you want to see, and shift agency culture in your state. 


This course is offered in Juky/August 2023.

Parenting is a natural act. But when it comes to advocating and therapeutic parenting of our traumatized kiddos, some human parents need a little coaching, mentoring, and support.

Parent Policy Reform Advocacy Coaching

Becoming a comfortable, effective public policy change agent takes time and planning. When starting out it can help to have a mentor to brainstorm with, help you organize strategies, and explore networking opportunities. FFACT Co-Founders had mentors. Now we're here for you.  

Therapeutic Parent Mentoring

There are days when parenting in the face of trauma makes you question your own sanity. Days when you feel like giving up. All you need is someone to listen who understands the struggles and can remind or reintroduce those strategies you know work, right when you need it. Maybe a system is failing you, your family or your impaired child, and you just need encouragement or to feel heard. We're just a call/text/email away.

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