Tracks

A Future & A Hope Conference has many different breakout sessions. Choose the right track for you! These breakouts are for explorers learning how to get involved in the child welfare community, supporting roles, families, or church ministries. 

Exploring

Where Do I Fit In?

Discerning Your Role in Child Welfare: The Five Needs of Foster Care

Tara Thornton + LJ McCulloch


Join Tara Thornton and LJ McCulloch as they give a high-end overview of the 5 Needs of Foster Care: Foster Care, Adoption, Family Preservation, Supporting Roles & Aged-Out, and help you decipher your unique role in the child welfare system.



Foster Care 101

All You Need is Love … And Other Myths

Ashlee Carroll (Panel)

Head, Heart + Hands for Kinship

How to identify + support caregiving families in your community

Krista Ruff

 

Working Upstream

Preventing Families from Entering the System

STARRY Leadership Team


The Science of Hope

Trauma Awareness Training

Dr. Beth Feger

Supporting Roles

Lessons Learned from Recovery Court

Systemically Keeping Families Together

Judge Larson + FRC Team


Growing Up, Giving Back

Learning from Those With Lived Experience

Kyiva  Beasley + FFY Panel


Finding Your Place in Child Welfare

Playing a Part in the Village

Cristal Maldonado


Family

Leading Fathers, Leading Families

The Important Role Men Play at Home

Lynn Floyd

 

Parenting with Resilience

Showing Up for the Teens + Young Adults in Our Lives

Jordan Hope Vera


Speaking up, Speaking Out

Advocating for Your Child in Schools + Beyond

Dr. Beth Feger


As parents and caregivers of kids who have experienced loss, trauma, or separation, we know that there are unique hurdles and successes surrounding the school topic. We may not always know where to set the bar for our children or what to say when the situation calls for us to advocate out loud. With over two decades of experience in education, Dr. Beth Feger will take session participants through planning and practical strategies YOU need to better prepare to support your child in school. 



Web Wisdom

Keeping Our Kids Safe Online

Sunitha Konatham

 

What They Don’t Always Tell You

Adoptive Family Journey

Chelsy Alexander


Soul Care

Meeting Your Own Needs While Caring for Others

Lee Lewis


Are you a parent who has started to feel the effects of caring for children from hard places? As a professional, can you feel yourself inching toward burnout? This work is often taxing and without breaks. We know the answer to worry is to "trust God." But what does that actually look like when we're in the trenches of caring for others? Join us during this session for encouragement from Pastor of Soul Care, Lee Lewis, as he shares daily practices that help us to truly trust God while caring for those He's entrusted to us. 



The Realities of Adoption

Hard Times + Post Permanence Resources

Megan Avery-Zellner

 

Reunification

How Foster Families can Support Family Preservation

MJ Korpela + Panel

 

A Father’s Perspective

A Panel on the Importance of Fatherhood Involvement

Joshua Banks, Marcus Griggs + David Bryant


Compassionate Caregiver

TXPOP Panel on Family Engagement

Caregiver Panel


Church Ministry

Becoming a Ministry Partner

Partnering with Fostering Hope

Whitney Bell


Building Your “Team Beverly”

Wrap Around Team

Fiona McInally + Beverly Morris

 

The Mission Field of Child Welfare

Meeting the Needs in Your Own Backyard

Julie Kouri + HLCN