Connections Count!
Connections Count! Family Focus Professional Development Conference
Two-day conference to enhance the competency of professionals and practitioners working with individuals, children, youth, and families. Conference provides a forum for learning, networking, and discussing subjects relevant to supporting individuals and families.
Conference Tracks
Workshops covering five general themes are divided into tracks. Participants are welcome to attend workshops of their choosing. Tracks are:
Track 1—Clinical
& Professional Practice
Track 2—Working Together for Children & Families
Track 3—Intervention & Prevention
Track 4—Philanthropy & Fund Development
Track 5—Health Care
L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles will be the site of the conference. A block of overnight rooms has been made available for Tuesday, Feb. 19, and Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008 at a reduced rate of $99. Call 337-395-7777 for reservations and use the code SFYCA08.
Directions from West of Lake Charles: I-10 East. Merge right onto the I-210 Loop at Exit #25. Go over the I-210 E bridge. Take the Nelson Road Exit #4. Turn left onto Nelson Road and follow the signs into L’Auberge du Lac.
Directions from East of Lake Charles: Take I-10 West to Lake Charles. Merge onto the I-210 Loop. Take Exit #4 at Nelson Road. Turn right onto Nelson Road and follow the signs into L’Auberge du Lac.
Keynote Speaker: Julia Beatty Twenty-First Century Foundation, New York, NY
Julia Beatty, Program Officer at the Twenty-First Century Foundation, oversees grant making for the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund, the African-American Women’s Fund, and the Jaime Foxx Fund, as well as share responsibility for the overall programmatic work and direction of the foundation. Previously, she was Program Officer at the Ms. Foundation for Women, where she managed all aspects of the organization’s Collaborative Fund for Youth-Led Social Change, a five-year cycle of grantmaking, capacity-building, networking and learning that raised $2.8 million and engaged 12 youth organizations and 20 donor partners. Ms. Beatty began her career in social justice by serving as the Vice-President and then President of the United States Student Association (USSA) in Washington, DC. An activist with strong roots in the student movement, Ms. Beatty received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she organized student-initiated recruitment and retention programs for students of color.
Keynote Speaker: David W. Hood Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana
David W. Hood served as cabinet secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals for six years. He retired in 2004 from a 26-year career in public healthcare administration. Well-respected as a reform-minded government administrator, Mr. Hood developed strategies for more efficient use of tax dollars by minimizing waste and fraud, deploying new technologies and utilizing private sector solutions wherever possible. He proposed and successfully implemented major system changes to improve primary and preventive care that emphasized early diagnosis and treatment, health education and lifestyle changes to avoid expensive diseases and chronic conditions.
Registration Fee
Registration fee for the Connections Count! Family Focus Professional Development Conference is $200. Early bird registration fee is $180 (up to Feb. 6, 2008.) Fee covers two lunches, snacks during breaks, workshops, and CEUs for qualifying participants.
A special registration fee for attorneys only who wish to attend the half-day legal track, including lunch on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008 is $125.
Limited numbers of partial scholarships are available for Children’s Advocacy Center Team Members, CASA volunteers, school counselors, teachers and childcare staff. Please call Roxanne at 337-436-9533 to apply for a scholarship before submitting your registration form.
Discount of 20% will be given to Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations (LANO) members, United Way agency staff members, Louisiana Partnership for Children and Families members, Children and Families Action Network (CFAN) members, and university students.
Continuing Education Units
Continuing education units for Licensed Professional Counselors, Social Workers, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists, and attorneys are available. Participants can refer to our website, www.fyca.org for number of CEUs offered at the conference. Family & Youth is recognized by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) to offer continuing education for licensed counselors. We adhere to NBCC Continuing Education Guidelines.
CEU certificates will be mailed to participant who submits appropriate documentation.
Certificates of Attendance
Certificates of attendance for all participants will be available at the conclusion of the conference.
Featured Speaker: Allison F. DeFelice, Ph.D. Assessment & Resource Center, Columbia, South Carolina
Dr. DeFelice received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and English Literature from Emory University in Atlanta and her Ph.D. in Clinical-Community Psychology from University of South Carolina in Columbia. Since 1995, she has been the Mental Health Director of the Assessment and Resource Center (ARC), a nationally accredited Children’s Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina. She is also an Assistant Professor in the USC School of Medicine, Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science. Dr. DeFelice conducts forensic mental health evaluations of children suspected of experiencing maltreatment, provides expert court testimony, trains nationally and conducts clinical research. Among her professional affiliations, she is a past president of the South Carolina Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (SCPSAC) and a frequent trainer for the American Prosecutors Research Institute and the National Children’s Advocacy Center.
“Excellent! Good topics, good speakers, nice facility.”
“Best conference I’ve been to all year!”
“All the presenters were knowledgeable and interesting.”
“Went beyond my expectations!”
“Learned new things and met great people!”
— participant comments,
2007 Family Focus Conference