This week is dedicated to increasing public awareness about the triumphs and challenges in children’s mental health and emphasizing the importance of family and youth involvement in the children’s mental health movement!

The theme for 2012 National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week’s Poster Contest this year was: Youth Overcoming Trauma.

The National Federation invites all our chapters and statewide organizations to use the week of May 6-12, 2012 to promote positive mental health, well-being and social development for all children and youth.  Join the National Federation in sending out the following messages:

• Mental health is essential to overall health and well being.
• Serious emotional and mental health disorders in children and youth are real and treatable.
•  Children and youth with mental health challenges and their families deserve access to   services and supports that are family driven, youth guided and culturally appropriate.
•  Values of acceptance, dignity and social inclusion should be promoted throughout all   communities for children, youth and families.
• Family and youth voice is a valued asset in determining appropriate services and interventions.

The National Federation will again sell and distribute green ribbons in preparation for Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week. Let us work together to exceed last year’s total of 150,000 green ribbons worn during Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week. Please plan your mental health awareness activities and share your ideas with all of us…send them to ffcmh@ffcmh.org.

Scroll through the different topic areas to the right and find a ton of great resources to help you plan for Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week 2012.

Please feel free to circulate this e-mail, and the attached information on the training, to others in your state who may be interested in attending Primer Hands On.

This training is designed to support your system of care initiatives by ensuring a network of key leaders who are trained in what it takes to design and implement effective systems of care. Based on Building Systems of Care: A Primer, 2nd Edition, by Sheila Pires, the training covers the structure, components, and elements of effective systems of care and the strategic processes essential to engaging partners in systems building. Please see the attached Primer Hands On Invitation for more details on the training.

Space is very limited, so we encourage folks who are interested to respond quickly. Please complete and submit the online Primer Hands On Interest Form by February 10, 2012.

Primer Interest Form link: https://www4.georgetown.edu/uis/keybridge/keyform/form.cfm?FormID=4379

We look forward to your response and interest in the Primer Hands On training.

Thank you,

James R. Wotring, MSW
Director, National Technical Assistance Center for
Children’s Mental Health

Downloadables:

The National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health needs your help! As 2012 dawns we are advancing two critical initiatives that stand to make a real difference in the lives of the nation’s children with mental health challenges and their families. Donate Now!

One is our effort to impact federal legislation on behalf of children and youth with emotional, behavioral and mental health challenges and their families. The second is an effort to develop parent-to-parent support into a formally recognized element of the children’s mental health workforce. Let me tell you a little about each of these important projects. They are dependent upon your donations.

Today’s political climate is volatile. Impacting federal legislation on behalf of our children and their families is more challenging – and perhaps more important – than ever. Without your help, we stand to lose services and programs that

• Promote mental health services to be trauma-informed,
• Prevent suicide,
• Support family networks,
• Reduce the use of seclusion and restraint, and
• Prevent bullying.

Please help provide the resources we need to speak up for our nation’s children.

The Parent Support Provider Initiative is aimed at raising the respect and prestige of parent-to-parent support to ensure it survives in these times of drastic budget cuts and changes to our health care system. Parents have provided peer service to one another for decades and only recently have we been able to get research behind it to prove its usefulness. This work must be funded by gifts to ensure it is family-driven and not unduly influenced by other entities. Goals for 2012 include completing the first pilot exam to certify Parent Support Providers and developing curricula to prepare parents for certification exams.

The National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health is a non-profit advocacy organization serving to

• Provide advocacy at the national level for the rights of children and youth with emotional, behavioral and mental health challenges and their families
• Provide leadership and technical assistance to a nation-wide network of family run organizations
• Collaborate with family run and other child serving organizations to transform mental health care in America

Please consider making a donation and rest assured it will be spent on critical work.

Sincerely,

Sandra A. Spencer, Executive Director

PSP Institute

Introductory Comments
Gary Blau

The Vision
Sandra Spencer

Research that Supports Us
Eric J. Bruns

Proposing an Association
Elaine Slaton

Policy Day Plenary Session – 8:30 – 10:15 AM

Policy Day Main Slides

Plenary Slides
Andrea Barnes

Plenary Slides
John O’ Brien

Policy Day Ending Slide

Policy Day Workshops – 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM – More Presentations Coming Soon!

What’s Advocacy, What’s Lobbying, and What’s Plain Old Educating Our Policymakers?
Sandra Spencer, Andrea Barnes

The Affordable Care Act
Teresa King, Jim Wotring, Gary Macbeth

Youth in Policy
Eric Lulow

Pre-Conference Sessions – 9:30 – 11:30 AM – More Presentations Coming Soon

What IDEA Says about Discipline
Dixie Jordan

Addressing Trauma through a Peer Support Model
Beth Piecora, John Mayo, Victoria Hummer

Dads on the Move! Leading Change to Harness the Positive Power of Fathers – No Visual Aid Used for this Presentation
Frank Rider, Nadia Cayce-Gibson, Kim Williams

The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes Among Children and Adolescents Receiving Children’s Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) Grant Services
Brigitte Manteuffel

Welcome Lunch & Plenary – 12:00 – 2:30 PM

Welcome and Announcements – Friday, Nov. 18

Friday Afternoon Concurrent Workshops — 3:00 – 4:00 PM – More Presentations Coming Soon

Reducing the Effects of Trauma Through a Neighborhood-based Approach
Dianne Shaffer, Anthony Poplar

A Caregiver Support Group for Healing: Utilizing a Trauma-Informed Lens
Craig Cypher, Lisa Kinney
Latrobe

Family Driven, Family Centered, What’s the Difference?
Lisa Lambert, Dalene Basden

Youth and Community Driven Approach to Starting a Youth Group
Chesari Tempesta

Peer Support for Kids (and Families Too!)
Terre Garner; Alex Cook; Laquita Howell; Bill Stidham

Effective Communication with Your Child Psychiatrist: Making Your Voice Heard!
Malena Banks, Gary Blau

Trauma-Informed Care WITH Us: Prioritizing Youth Voice in Creating a Trauma-Informed Culture in a Behavioral Health Setting
Veronica Highley, Deborah Craig, Nikayla Morris

Alamance Alliance Family Partners
Laura Muse, Libby Jones, Barbara Young

Conversation with Jimmy Wayne
Jimmy Wayne

Trauma-Informed Behavior Support (TIBS): A Training and Coaching Model for Caregivers
Victoria Hummer, Kimberly Crosland

No Bullying Zone
James Martin, Justis Batchelder

CiviCRM – The Ultimate Affordable Toolkit for Taking Your Nonprofit Family-and-Youth-Run Organization Into the Future
Laura Rose Misaras

Persuasive Storytelling – No Visual Aid Used for this Presentation
Barbara Huff, Jane Tobler

Evaluating Keys for Networking’s Efforts to Build Parent Capacity to Drive Services – Part I
Jane Adams, Mary Tierney

Friday Afternoon Concurrent Workshops — 4:15 – 5:30 PM – More Presentations Coming Soon

Everyone Can Go to College: The Better Futures Project
Lee Ann Phillips, Richard DeMarko Brown

Evaluating Keys for Networking’s Efforts to Build Parent Capacity to Drive Services – Part II
Jane Adams, Mary Tierney

Project Fatherhood- Men in Relationships Group (MIRG)
Alan-Michael Graves, Ronald Banks

Addressing Trauma Impacts on Children, Families, Protective Caregivers and Child Welfare Workers
Frank Rider, Eric Lulow

Creating Partnerships with Families: “How Do We Get There and What Will We See?”
Kathleen Ferreira, Elaine Slaton

Family Voice: Building Community Capacity by Using a Continuum of Leadership From Informal to Parent Peer-to-Peer Supports
Theresa Varos, Heather Stanley, Dawn Davis, Bonnie Verhine

Engaging and Supporting Military Families
Gloria Klinefelter, Joseph Hickey

What’s Your Story? The Power to Influence Change Through Personal Stories
Cathy Imburgia, Janet Taylor-McDowell, Barbara Cherneski

Basic Understanding of Healthcare Reform – The Affordable Care Act
Teresa King, Jim Wotring, Gary MacBeth

Fostering the Engagement of Young People of Transition-Age Who Have Experienced Trauma
Nathan Gawlik

Art Expression Room: Create art work that showcases what inspires you during times of difficulty

Trauma-Informed System Transformation: A Rural County’s Child Welfare Transformation Journey
Brenda Konradi, Kim Linkel

Broadening Our Box
Brenda Donaldson, Kashonda Babb

Train the Trainers: Youth teach professionals how to partner…with…uh, youth
Martin Rafferty, Ariana Archer

Saturday Morning Concurrent Workshops — 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM – More Presentations Coming Soon

Promoting Children’s Mental Health and Resiliency Through “Healthy Policy” Initiatives: The Role of Family Leaders
Joyce Sebian, Lynn Todman, Cathy Ciano

The Healing Circle
Terry Ellis, Nicolette Bannister

Keepin’ It Real: When Bad Stuff Happens
Vikki Rompala, Akil Smith, Tricialouise Gurley

Recipe for Success: Collaborative Strategies for Great Ideas
Ryun Anderson, Laurie Cavanaugh, John Lees, Jeff Friedman

After a Suicide — Strategies to Respond
Steve Roggenbaum, Kathy Lazear, Larry English

Addressing Historical Trauma for African American Children, Youth and Their Families
Vivian Jackson, Henry Gregory, Jr., Amber Price

Understanding Adoptive Families and Accessing Appropriate Resources
Emma (Gerri) Mullendore, Marie Niarhos, Sharon Hunt

Stressors on Military Families: Together We’re Stronger
Barbara Cohoon

From Trauma to Triumph
Howard Overby, Coreaner Price, Anthony Jones, Heidi Nelson

What’s the Deal with Eating Disorders?
Kiran Iqbal, Gary Blau

Art Expression Room: Create art work that showcases what inspires you during times of difficulty

Challenging the Cradle to Prison Pipeline: Taking Ownership for Systemic Trauma of Boys of Color
John Cruz, Bruce Jennings

Families and Youth: Our Greatest Natural Resource
Malisa Pearson, Jane Shank, Connie Conklin

To Speak or Not to Speak — That Is a Family’s Question. Let’s Talk About It
Mary-Therese Edgerle

Luncheon & Performance — 12:00 –2:30 PM

Saturday Afternoon Concurrent Workshops — 3:00 – 4:30 PM – More Presentations Coming Soon

Mentorship: A Sustaining Force in Crisis (Mentoring is a Two-Way Street)
Judi Turpen, Tammy Miller

Sustaining Youth Voice Beyond System of Care Youth Groups
Brianne Masselli, Ryun Anderson, Chesari Tempesta

Critical Strategies to Develop and Sustain Family Organizations
Peggy Nikkel, Sue Smith

Child and Adolescent Trauma
Dan Karlow

Supporting Positive Development for Emerging Adults
Janet Walker, Richard DeMarko Brown

Short-Term Intervention: Long on Outcomes!
Pat Hunt, Rebecca Procopio

Take Control – SEL as a Personal Tool to Manage Challenges and Respond To Stress and Trauma / Anger Management Tips / Talking Stick Circle
Trina Osher, Shannon Crossbear, David Osher

Family Bridge: Advance Empowerment and Boost Communication
Peter Henrie, Kristen Anderson

Your Trauma Doesn’t Have to Be Your Drama: Healing through Peer to Peer Work, Advocacy and Partnerships / FITT Summary of Family Trauma Focus Groups / Gladys Article / Pathways Peer to Peer Tipsheet
Kay Connors, Gladys Fonfield-Aniyla, Tricialouise Gurley, Angela Vaughn-Lee

“Your Point Is”
Leah Holmes-Bonilla, Brittany Smith

The Power of Family Support in NYC: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Bernadine Meeks, Wanda Greene, Lorraine Jacobs, Marie Carrion, Ashley Carrion, Shamar Sowell

Caring for Children Who Have Experienced Trauma
Alison Hendricks; Pamela Toohey

Trauma Informed Care When Working with Children in Military Families and Children in the Foster Care System
Deana Salter, Kristen Howard

Trauma-Informed Care in Juvenile Justice and Foster Care Improves Communication, Collaboration and Outcomes
Joyce Burrell, Kim Helfgott

Saturday Afternoon Concurrent Workshops — 4:45 – 6:00 PM - More Presentations Coming Soon

GAMES! Convert Family Peer Workshops into Young Adult Peer Workshops
Ariana Archer, Kristen Anderson

Igniting the Transformation Process through Hope and Self-Confidence: The PASS Program a Culturally-Responsive Youth Development Program
Lenora Reid-Rose, Neville Morris, Dana Finely, Carla Johnson

Running a Family Support Organization? Got Trauma? Let’s Talk
Jammie Farish, Laura Rose Misaras, Mary-Therese Edgerle

How Do You Know if Your System Is Trauma-Informed? Maine’s Journey Answering This Question
Arabella Perez, Brianne Masselli

Exploding the Myths: Digging into Recovery and Support Together
Theresa Varos, Heather Stanley, Catherine Schueman, Anita Vines

Empowering Youth Voice with Social Media / Social Media Tools You Can Use / Social Media Strategies for Youth / Why You Should Care About Social Media
Brittany Smith, Corey Brown

Using Family Mental Health History and the New Science of Risk to Empower Family Recovery and Prevention
Victoria Costello

Challenging but Not Impossible: A Latino Father and Son’s Story of Healing
John Cruz, Carlos Garcia

Ensuring Access for Immigrant and Limited English Proficient Families / Language Access Assessment and Planning Tool for Federally Conducted and Federally Assisted Programs / Sample Language Assistance Self-Assessment / Sample Large PTI Language Access Plan
Diana Autin, Mercedes Rosa

Empowering Youth: Young Adult Leadership Series
Brittany Holt

On the Road to Family Driven Care
Tiffiany Leischner, Frank Rider

Coming To America: Examining the Immigration Experience of Immigrant Youth from the Caribbean Basin and Their Mental Health Needs within System of Care
Karen Francis, Ezra Bourne, Curtis Ward

(Entry Level) Youth Leadership Academy: Be a Community Leader and Stay True to Who You Are
Jerard Johnson, Carlos Garcia, Tessa Cayce, Nadia Cayce-Gibson, and James Sawyer

Plenary Session – 8:30 – 9:45 AM – More Presentations Coming Soon

A Call to Action
What Does a “Trauma-Informed” Approach mean to Family and Youth Organizations?
Sandra Spencer, Arabella Perez, Carol Tiernan, Ryun Anderson

Sunday Morning Concurrent Workshops — 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM – More Presentations Coming Soon

Self Advocates with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders In Action (The SAFA Network)
Rob Wybrecht, Jasmine Suarez-O’Connor, Leigh Ann Davis

North Carolina Family Driven Sustainability From Cradle to Career
Gail Cormier, Candace WIlson, Libby Jones, Teka Dempson

How to Develop a Social Media Strategy / Developing a Social Media Strategy / Why You Should Care About Social Media / Social Media Strategies for Youth / Social Media Tools You Can Use
Brittany Smith, Corey Brown

Kareem’s Triumph: At Risk Youth, or At Risk Environment?
Randy Alexander, Kyshon Johnson, Kareen Jamal

Living in So Many Worlds: Lesson Learned from the Joys and Challenges of Youth and Families Living in Overlapping Cultural Identities — In Their Own Words
Tessa Cayce, Carlos Garcia, Gloria Hamlett, Julia Harper, Eva Viamis, Bruce Jennings, John Cruz

Psychotropic Medications with Children and Youth: What Do You Know?
Pat Hunt

Meaningful Involvement of Parents in Trauma Training
Dalia Smith, Lula Haynes, Shareen McBride-Wicklund, Leann Brow

Examining Factors Contributing to Resilience among Children and Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance
Russell Carlton, Tesfayi Gebreselassie

Attachment – Trauma – What Is This All About?
Diane Kopitowsky

Building Community Capacity to Enhance Informal Supports in the Wraparound Process
Theresa Varos, Dawn Davis, Bonnie Verhine, Heather Stanley

Empowerment and Recovery Through Trauma Treatment and Parent Partnership
Alison Hendricks, Pamela Toohey

The Next Generation of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists: Promoting Youth and Family Empowerment
Gordon Hodas, Justine Larson, Eunice Peterson, Jake Vandall

Resiliency Training Via the Web (See How It Works!)
Terre Garner

Backchannel:  TWITTER: #FFCMH11 @YouthMOVE  /// FACEBOOK: National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health /// TEXTING: @wif67919 + your message to 87884

Click Here for a Copy of This Announcement

Each time you attend a workshop share what you’re thinking, what inspires you, and tell the world how you’re feeling! Join a larger conversation by participating in the backchannel. A backchannel is an ongoing online conversation in the midst of a conference that allows participants to connect, share, and give feedback. In addition to interacting with presenters and other participants while you’re in D.C., take the opportunity to connect with everyone, and the folks at home, on the backchannel!

There are three ways to participate in the backchannel: Tweeting, posting on Facebook and texting. To join the conversation on Facebook do a search for the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health page and ‘like’ it. Then start posting and making connections!

If you have a Twitter account start tweeting and at the end of every tweet insert #FFCMH11. This means that anyone who does a search for #FFCMH11 will see all the tweets about the conference (it’s called a hashtag).

Lastly, you can participate by texting! Before texting be sure that you check how much your phone company charges for texting (each phone plan is different).

Throughout the day and during special events like the Youth Orientation and Youth Performance you can text your thoughts to 87884. In your message be sure to include @wif67919 and it will be posted on our backchannel.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the backchannel and social media usage during the conference contact Brittany Smith at 404-788-9571 or via email at bsmith@ffcmh.org.

Photo by Clay Spann

Kristin Melton, Mrs. Midwest International 2012, has a variety of experiences in the field of mental health. Her most recent includes being a parent of a child with a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder — which has only intensified the passion she already had for educating communities about disorders and reducing the stigma that surrounds it.

Over the past 12 years, Kristin has worked with children and families in multiple capacities. She continues as a therapist in the outpatient counseling division of the Illinois Baptist Children’s Home & Family Services; assists Baptist Children’s Home with presenting the high school relationship curriculum, SMART Education, that she created and co-authored for them; currently serves as the social marketing coordinator at Egyptian Health Department promoting System of Care components to transform mental health service delivery; assists local schools with violence prevention and emotional abuse as a Certified Olweus Bullying Prevention Trainer; spent 6 years as a School Counselor in her home school district; and has served on the Saline County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Board and the Norris City-Omaha Wellness Committee. She is also a member of her local family-run organization, PACE (Parent And Caregiver Empowerment).

Next July, Kristin will be competing for the title of Mrs. International 2012 with the intention of bringing full international awareness and multi-country/culture/community collaboration for the Federation of Families. Together, the goal of educating communities will continue everywhere children and families have a need for youth guided, family driven, and strengths-based mental health services. Kristin stated that she feels “extremely privileged to be a part of an organization that works to bring full respect and support to the children and families engaging in mental health services — including the support I myself feel as a parent utilizing this organization.”

Kristin’s involvement with the International Pageant System began in 2008 when she won the title of Mrs. Illinois International 2009. She then competed with the 47 other state/regional/country winners at the Mrs International 2009 Pageant and was 1st Runner-up. Her love and respect for this system grows from the ideals that it promotes — a commitment to family and community. What a wonderful combination for a children’s mental health awareness campaign: a family focused pageant system; a motivated, caring parent, and a family empowerment organization.

For more information about Kristin and her advocacy visit www.kristinmelton.blogspot.com or www.greenribbonadvocate.com. For more information about the International Pageant System visit www.mrsinternational.com, www.miss-international.us, or www.missteeninternational.us.

Pamela Hyde was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 2009 as Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.

Ms. Hyde is an attorney and comes to SAMHSA with more than 30 years experience in management and consulting for public healthcare and human services agencies. She has served as a state mental health director, state human services director, city housing and human services director, as well as CEO of a private non-profit managed behavioral healthcare firm. In 2003 she was appointed cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Human Services Department by Gov. Bill Richardson, where she worked effectively to provide greater access to quality health services for everyone.

Ms. Hyde is a member of or has served as a consultant to many national organizations, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the American College of Mental Health Administration, the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health and the United States Department of Justice. She has been recognized by many groups, including the American Medical Association, the National Governor’s Association and the Seattle Management Association, for her creativity and leadership in policy and program development and in organizational management issues. She has received special acknowledgment for her ability to build teams, develop coalitions and consensus, develop strategic plans and form the basis for action and achieve identified goals in a constantly changing environment.

Ms. Hyde received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School (1976) and her B.A. from Southwest Missouri State University (1972).