At just a young age, Liz did something most adults struggle to do — she reported her own abuse to protect her siblings. In this powerful one-hour session, Liz shares what it means to survive foster care, fight for your siblings, and grow up carrying the weight of your own rescue. This is not a training about policy. It’s a story about courage, sibling separation, identity, and reunion — told by someone who lived it.

Lying is a common but deeply misunderstood protective behavior, especially in children with trauma histories. What often appears as manipulation or defiance is more accurately a fear-based survival response rooted in a child’s nervous system. In this training, Robyn Gobbel reframes lying through a trauma-informed, neurobiological, and relational lens. Caregivers and professionals will gain a deeper understanding of what’s happening beneath the behavior—not just how to stop it. Participants will learn how to respond in ways that build safety, trust, and connection rather than fear-based compliance. This session moves beyond short-term behavior management into relationship-based healing. Attendees will leave with practical tools, greater clarity, and a compassionate framework for long-term change.

In this one-hour, conversation-style session, foster care advocate Amber Chiapetto shares her lived experience in foster care — reflecting on what helped, what hurt, and what healing truly looks like from a youth’s perspective. The session includes personal storytelling followed by an open, moderated Q&A, offering foster parents and caregivers honest insight to help create safer, more supportive, and more healing homes.

Learn simple, powerful tools to stay grounded, build trust, and model resilience—because when you choose calm and connection, kids learn they can too.

You don’t need to be a policy expert to influence change—you just need your voice, your story, and a few powerful tools.

All about caregiver intervention in Colorado child welfare.

This training takes a “bottom-up” look at early brain development, showing how trauma and Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs) disrupt typical growth and influence learning, behavior, health, and relationships over time. It highlights the vital role of Speech, Occupational, and Physical Therapy in supporting sensory, motor, communication, and social-emotional needs, particularly for children in foster care who are most vulnerable to delays. Participants will learn when and how to request skilled services, how to advocate effectively, and how to overcome barriers so children receive timely, consistent interventions that build resilience and help close developmental gaps.

When a child enters foster care, two families’ worlds collide—often with uncertainty, fear, and hurt. In this uplifting session, Heather, a mom in recovery who overcame addiction, incarceration, and multiple child protection cases, and Natalei, her child’s former foster parent, share how they turned a challenging start into a strong, supportive partnership. Through honest storytelling, they reveal the steps, missteps, and breakthroughs that led to reunification and lasting connection. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for communication, collaboration, and keeping a child’s wellbeing at the heart of every decision.

Parenting children with trauma histories or intense behavioral needs can take a real toll—emotionally, physically, and neurologically. If you’ve ever found yourself going through the motions without the warmth you wish you felt, you’re not alone. This is the invisible struggle of Blocked Care, a common and reversible state where a caregiver’s brain shifts out of connection mode and into protection. In this eye-opening seminar, we’ll explore what Blocked Care looks like in daily life, why it develops, and how it affects both adult and child nervous systems. Through a brain-based, compassion-centered lens, we’ll normalize the experience, disrupt the guilt/shame spiral, and offer evidence-informed tools for reactivating the caregiving systems that support connection, empathy, and joy. Whether you’re a parent, relative caregiver, or professional supporting families, this session will leave you equipped and encouraged to take the next steps toward healing—starting with yourself.

Join Zachary Lieske with Spectra Centers for an informative online session on the latest therapeutic options for children with autism. This session will cover evidence-based interventions, individualized treatment approaches, and practical strategies to support communication, behavior, and emotional regulation. Whether you're a parent, caregiver, or educator, you'll gain valuable insights into therapies that empower children with autism to thrive.