Thank you all for attending this years Cynthia Lockhart-Mummery Conference, “Building Trauma-Informed Schools and Communities.” We are happy to share that it was a great success! There were approximately 400 professionals in attendance from social services, mental health, child welfare services, education, law enforcement, the community, among others. We were honored to host individuals from our neighboring counties in the central valley including Kings County, Kern County, and Fresno County. This event could not have been possible without the help and support of our volunteers, partners, and sponsors. A special thank you to our conference speakers Jim Sporleder, Ronald Uggla and Yolanda Echebeste-Silva, Ashley Beecham, and the Foster Youth Panel. We hope that you will take the information back to your place of work and implement some of the practices & strategies presented at the conference. Our goal for this years conference was to help to contribute to the professional development of professionals engaged in supporting individuals, children, and families in our communities. Thank you all for your support and for making a difference in our communities.

“Building Trauma Informed Schools and Communities” is the theme of The Tulare County Child Abuse Prevention Council’s 13th Annual Cynthia Lockhart-Mummery Conference (read more about this) on Thursday, November 8, 2018 at the Visalia Convention Center.

The event featured Jim Sporleder, a retired High School Principal from Walla Walla, WA. Under Jim’s leadership, Lincoln High School became a “Trauma Informed” school, gaining national attention due to a dramatic drop in out of school suspensions, increased graduation rates and the number of students going on to post-secondary education.

Participants were introduced to information focused on the role that trauma plays in the school environment.

For more information about Jim Sporleder and his training services, go here

This professional development experience explored multiple strategies for education staff, professionals, and community members to utilize when working with students and their clients. Participants learned about the importance of self-care and the need for the professionals to have tools and strategies to support their own health.

OTHER SESSIONS:

Here’s My Shoes, Walk With Me”

Ashley Beecham

An interactive perception training that aims to give the participants a real life experience of what foster youth endure while maneuvering through the foster care system. Participants walked through the life of an actual foster youth for the duration of the training through  activities that helped provide insight into the struggles and emotional challenges foster youth experience and understand why they might struggle in educational settings and other “Normal” life situations.

The Mindful Professional

Yolanda Echebeste-Silva, LMFT and Ronald Uggla, MS, LMFT

This workshop looked at  types of trauma and what trauma looks like in the classroom setting. The session helped participants develop an understanding of trauma and the impact it has on students and their academic functioning. Participants learned ways to create a Mindful environment where students can improve their functioning in the classroom setting   as well as how we can support our educators through the Mindful transformation .

Foster Youth Panel

The foster youth panel is comprised of youth ages 15-23 who are currently in care or have been in foster care in the past. Their time in foster care ranges from less than one year to 10+ years in care.  Each of them brings their own unique perspective of foster care which is often much different from what adults are used to
hearing. They will discuss their education while in foster care, how caregivers can be supportive, what they wished adults knew about them, and how the system can be transformed to improve the lives of children and youth in foster care.

SEE CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AND SPEAKER INFORMATION