Adverse Childhood Experience Implications for Policymakers and Practitioners
David Murphey, research fellow and DataBank director at Child Trends, will review the science of childhood trauma, and the prevalence of childhood experiences that can create it. Trauma, or toxic stress, can have lasting harmful effects on multiple body-systems, affecting lifetime health and well-being. Drawing on recently released data collected nationwide, the presentation will highlight implications for those who work with children and families, or on their behalf.
Time: 1 hour
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Advocacy for Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Children
This hour-long Texas CASA webinar was recorded in May of 2019 and features speakers Dr. Jon and Shelly Bergeron. Jon Bergeron is a clinical psychologist who specializes in working with foster and adoptive families struggling with attachment and trauma-related difficulties. Shelly Bergeron is the Statewide Family Services Coordinator in the Educational Resource Center on Deafness at the Texas School for the Deaf.
Time: 45 minutes
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An Overview of Children with Problematic Sexual Behavior
Presented by Amie Myrick of Family and Children’s Services, this webinar explores typical versus problematic sexual behavior in children, helps advocates differentiate between misconceptions truths about these behaviors, and identifies strategies to better serve children with problematic sexual behaviors and their families.
Time: 1 hour
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Be the One: In the Fight Against Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is modern day slavery and it is happening all across Texas to thousands of men, women, and children. This video, developed by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, provides an understanding of what human trafficking is and is not, identifies vulnerable populations that are more likely to be victimized by human traffickers, identifies indicators of human trafficking and methods of reporting to the authorities, and highlights actual cases of human trafficking prosecuted in Texas.
Time: 50 minutes
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Building Trauma-Informed Services for Children, Youth, and Parents Impacted by Domestic Violence
This is a 10-part recorded webinar series that can be accessed at any time. Topics include: Children and Domestic Violence, Caring for Others While Caring for Ourselves, Children Grow in the Context of Their Relationships, Understanding Children’s Responses to DV and Other Trauma, Responding to the Needs of Children and Families Impacted by DV, Engaging and Supporting Parents
Time: Various
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Center for Child Protection Series: Talking with Children about Safety from Sexual Abuse
Five important steps will be discussed on what it takes to protect children from abuse.
Time: 1 hour
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Child Sexual Abuse: What Investigators Need to Know
WI CAN Educational Series presents a one-hour video with Dr. Rita Ventura from Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin about what investigators on child sexual abuse cases need to know.
Time: 1 hour
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Conversations with Texas CASA
Conversations with CASA is an online series from Texas CASA that explores current issues and trends affecting child welfare, children and families in care and the CASA network.
Time: 15 minutes each
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Disorders in Children
Dr. Charles Hallmark, Grace Psychological Services, discusses anxiety disorders in children, including the different types and identifiers that parents can look for, along with a focus on anxiety in children with dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities.
Time: 1 hour
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The Effects of Prenatal Methamphetamine Exposure
In 2017, it was estimated that there were over 5,000 drug-exposed infants born in California. In this webinar, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center’s Dr. Lynne Smith discusses the effects of prenatal methamphetamine exposure including: effects on somatic growth and neurodevelopment and prenatal and postnatal environmental factors that influence the effects of prenatal methamphetamine exposure.
Time: 1 hour
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“Faces of Human Trafficking” Video Series
The series is intended to be used for outreach and education efforts of service providers, law enforcement, prosecutors, and others in the community. The series includes information about sex and labor trafficking, multidisciplinary approaches to serving victims of human trafficking, effective victim services, victims’ legal needs, and voices of survivors.
Time: Various
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The Family First Act: What Juvenile Justice Advocates Need to Know
The Annie E. Casey Foundation recently partnered with Casey Family Programs to host Implications of the Family First Act for Juvenile Justice Advocates, a webinar highlighting the services and resources that the landmark law provides to support youth involved with the justice system.
Time: 1 hour
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Hard Conversations: We are All Homeless
In this virtual installment of Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance’s Hard Conversations series, Willie Baronet, Stan Richards Professor in Creative Advertising, Meadows School of the Arts, SMU, showcased and discussed his ongoing We Are All Homeless project.
Time: 1.25 hours
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Kinship Care Professionals Training Series 
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services presents a 7-part recorded video series focused on working with kinship caregivers. Topics include family dynamics, loss, guilt, projection, hope, fantasy, and denial, loyalty, and comparison. Dr. Joseph Cumbley is a family therapist focused on kinship families, adoption, and sexual abuse and provides trainings and educations nationwide.
Time: 15 to 30 minutes each
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Inside Youth Mental Health: You Are Not Alone
Renee Shaw hosts this 6-part Kentucky Educational Television series that features people on the front lines of mental health and emphasizes the importance of healthy, supportive relationships in helping youth overcome mental health challenges. Topics include depression, anxiety, suicide prevention, trauma and toxic stress, stigma, youth advocacy, parental concerns and challenges, and the role of schools. Strategies within school settings to address mental health issues are explored.
Time: 30 minutes each
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Infants with Parental Substance Exposure
This webinar provides an overview the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital initiative to improve the quality of care of infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Dr. Matthew Grossman highlights research findings, including the methods and results of the hospital study published in Pediatrics. The interventions include non-pharmacologic therapies and a simplified approach to assessment for infants exposed to methadone in utero.
Time: 1.5 hours
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The Inner World of a Child with PTSD: Making Sense of Behaviors that Make No Sense
This webinar draws attendees into the world of children with PTSD in order to see, experience, and interpret the environment through the child’s eyes. As we know, abuse deeply influences how a child will relate not only to other children and adults, but to new situations like foster care and group homes. The aim is for CASA advocates to be better equipped to translate and unravel the complexities of an abused child’s behavior in order to build cooperation and a stronger rapport.
Time: 1 hour
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International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN)
Child Abuse and Children with Disabilities: Prevention & Protective Factors (1 hour)
Children’s Rights and Child Protection (1 hour)
Education and Learning in the Context of Abuse, Neglect, and Related Stressors (1 hour)
Neurobiology of Stress and Trauma in Children and Adolescents (1 hour)
Parental Burnout (1 hour)

National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative
The National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training is designed to enhance the capacity of Child Welfare Professionals to understand and more effectively address the complex mental health needs of children who are moving to permanency through adoption or guardianship or have already achieved adoption or guardianship. This training focuses on the knowledge, values and skills needed to understand and assess children’s complex needs; make appropriate referrals; develop effective case and treatment plans; support and adequately prepare children for permanency; learn skills and effective treatment models to ensure family stability and well-being. Select NTA for Child Welfare Professionals to create a free account with access to various modules and courses.
Time: Various
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National American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC)
Adoption Assistance and Eligibility Benefits (1.25 hours)
Improving Messages in Kinship Care, Foster Care, and Adoption (1 hour)
Parenting Tough Behaviors (1.25 hours)
Positive Identify Formation and Community Connectedness for Children and Youth in Transracial Placements (1.5 hours)

National Children’s Advocacy Center Online Training
Previously recorded webinars that offer information pertaining to multiple aspects of CASA cases can be found on the National Children’s Advocacy Center website and can be viewed at any time with no cost. On their website, you will be directed to create a login account to access the webinars. Click here to view available webinars.

New Data on Vaping and Teen Drug Use
Gen Z shows an overall decline in teen drug use, including non-medical use of prescription opioids, according to the 2019 data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. But that same data shows that vaping of both nicotine and marijuana is on the rise. Listen in as Dr. Emily Einstein, a Health Science Policy Analyst and Brian Marquis, a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) public liaison dive into the latest data from NIDA’s Monitoring the Future Survey.
Time: 1 hour
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Overcoming Uncertainty: A Conversation with ISF Former Foster Youth
For students who have recently exited the foster care system and aspire to continue their education, life can feel uncertain. How do I afford a meal plan? What if I lose my job and can’t afford to pay rent? Where will I sleep if I can’t be in my dorm room? You can meet the students who experience and overcome uncertainty. ISF Executive Director, Blair Ritchey, and a panel of our foster care students discussed how they are overcoming COVID-related challenges.
Time: 45 minutes
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Psychotropic Medication
This training explains Child Protective Services’ expectations for the safe and effective use of psychotropic medications by children in DFPS conservatorship. This training will help you to understand the expectations and policies regarding medications administered to children.
Time: 2 hours
View: Register here

Reducing the Risk of Child Sexual Abuse: A webinar with NCTSN
An hour and a half-long video on reducing the risk of child sexual abuse presented by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
Time: 1.5 hours
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Secondary Traumatic Stress/Compassion Fatigue: This is Hard AND We are Making A Difference
Secondary Traumatic Stress/Compassion Fatigue [STS/CF] is the emotional, physical, and personal response to frequent exposure to and empathic engagement with individuals and families struggling with significant challenges in their lives. It is often referred to as the “emotional cost of caring.” This webinar, hosted by the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare Information, explores STS/CF and other human services workplace stressors and how we can ultimately experience “compassion satisfaction,” which is the key to thriving in the midst of this difficult work that we do. Real-time, on-the-job strategies are examined, including self-awareness, self-regulation, emotional reflection, and the elicitation and amplification of good work.
Time: 1 hour
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Storytelling, Social Movements, and the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
Topics covered are: how revised and reconsidered communications can promote the message of prevention of child abuse and neglect, why the general public has not been as engaged by previous prevention messages, and how professionals in child abuse prevention are changing the way they tell their stories to inspire and motivate the public to take action.
Time: 1 hour
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Supporting Vulnerable Youth: Preventing and Combating Bias Based Bullying and Hate Crimes
The webinar, intended for youth justice professionals, increased participant understanding and awareness of bias-based crimes and bullying based on race, ethnicity, religion, body type, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability in schools, communities, and the broader society. Participants learned about ways to counter stereotypes and myths to promote respectful, inclusive, and safe environments for all students and the community at large.
Time: 2 hours
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TBRI® An Overview: Putting the Pieces Together
This short video explains the principles and concepts behind Trust-Based Relational Intervention®, a proven method for enriching the lives of at-risk, vulnerable children, adolescents, and their families. Trauma can impair language, sensory processing, and coping skills, and can lead to perplexing behaviors that are often mistaken for aggression or mental illness. This video features world-renowned experts who share research that documents how consistently positive experiences with loving caregivers can re-wire a child’s brain for lasting change.
Time: 40 minutes
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TED Talk: Everything You Think You Know About Addiction is Wrong
What really causes addiction? How can we overcome it? Johann Hari has seen our current methods fail first hand and began to wonder why we treat addicts the way we do.
Time: 15 minutes
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TED Talk: Why Domestic Violence Victims Don’t Leave
TED talk featuring Leslie Morgan Steiner telling the story of her abusive relationship, correcting misconceptions may people hold about victims of domestic violence and explaining how we can all help break the silence.
Time: 15 minutes
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TED Talk: The Unseen Toll of Childhood Adversity
Jose Avila presents a Tedx Tufts talk about his childhood experience with food insecurity and childhood adversity. He discusses the long-term impacts on physical health and mental wellness and shares the importance of mentors and trusting adults for children.
Time: 30 minutes
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Teen Dating Violence: Cyber Abuse, Social Media, and the Courts
Webinar hosted by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. With more teens than ever using social media to connect with their friends, it is important that courts stay abreast of the latest trends and techniques used to abuse. Moreover, with nearly half of middle school students reporting they were victims of electronic dating violence, this webinar provides a better understanding of teen culture and the role technology plays in teen dating violence.
Time: 1 hour
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Training Series: Coping With the Unique Challenges of Kinship Care
More than 139,000 children in foster care are living in kinship placements with thousands more are in informal kinship care arrangements. As child welfare systems increasingly prioritize placing children with relatives, the Casey Foundation has created a video training series — Coping With the Unique Challenges of Kinship Care — as a resource for kin caregivers and the child welfare workers who supporting them.
Time: 20-30 minutes each
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Trauma- Informed Care for Families Affected by Substance Use Disorders
The New England Addiction Technology Transfer Center (New England ATTC) has partnered with the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) to develop a web-based series on effective strategies, practices and policies addressing families with substance use.
Time: 1.25 hours
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Trauma Support Services Recorded Webinars and Courses
Trauma Support Services provides free training on topics related to trauma. Available courses include: Addressing Grief, Loss, and Trauma in Adoption, Trauma & Resilience in Adolescence, and Pandemic Helping & Healing, amongst others.
Time: Various
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Using Media Effectively with Young Children and Virtual Visitation
While in-person visitation is the best way to support families, it isn’t always possible during this emergency. Dr. Rachel Barr will share research on how to use remote and virtual communication to maintain and strengthen relationships. Dr. Barr is a professor at Georgetown University and has conducted research on media and young children for over 25 years.
Time: 1 hour
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Using Mindfulness with Children of All Abilities to Keep Connections Strong
Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontczak explores how adults (parents, teachers, therapists) can embed mindfulness into their daily routines and activities to meet the needs of children, including those who are on IEPs and/or who may struggle with self-regulation skills (e.g., attention, interaction, recall). She also discusses how mindfulness supports brain development and how to take what we’ve learned and share with families and other caregivers, particularly during times when group care and educational opportunities are closed for public health and safety.
Time: 1 hour
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Very Young Girls
Critically acclaimed by the New York Times and Film Festivals around the world, Very Young Girls is an expose of human trafficking that follows thirteen and fourteen-year-old girls as they are seduced, abused, and sold on New York’s streets by pimps, and treated as adult criminals by police. This film includes adult language and themes along with disturbing content and images.
Time: 1.5 hours
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Webinar Series: Trauma-Focused Interventions for Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence
Although research on trauma-focused interventions continues to grow, there are still only a limited number of interventions designed specifically for responding to the traumatic effects of domestic and sexual violence. This webinar series was designed to highlight some of these emerging and evidence-based approaches.

• Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for Survivors of Trauma: An Introduction
• Beyond Trauma: A Healing Journey for Women
• Beyond Anger and Violence: A Program for Women

Time: 1 hour each
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