15th Annual Touchpoints National Forum – May 4-5, 2012
Nurturing the Next Generation of Leaders in Early Childhood
Featuring:
Keynote Speaker: Betsy Myers
Betsy is a renowned speaker and workshop leader around the world on the changing nature of leadership. She is currently on a nation-wide book tour to promote her book, Take the Lead: Motivate, Inspire, and Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Everyone Around You. In May 2011, Betsy was appointed Founding Director of the Center for Women & Business at BentleyUniversity. Betsy’s previous roles include:
- Senior adviser to Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign as Chief Operating Officer and Chair of Women for Obama
- Executive Director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s KennedySchool of Government
- Senior official in the Clinton Administration, serving as President Clinton’s senior adviser on women’s issues and the first Director of the White House Office for Women’s Initiatives and Outreach.
- For more information please visit http://betsymyers.com
Keynote Panel Presentation: Leadership Empowerment Action Program (LEAP)
LEAP is an intentional leadership development program at Wheelock College, dedicated to building the advocacy and policy skills of early childhood practitioners. In this panel presentation, hear from the founders, mentors as well as current and prior program participants.
Brazelton Touchpoints 15th National Forum Workshops
| Workshop Title | Presenter(s) | Description |
| A. Touchpoints, NBO and Infant Mental Health | ||
| B. Strategic Communications: Research and Social Issues Framing | Jane Feinberg | |
| C. New Touchpoints Module: Understanding Children’s Behavior using the Touchpoints Developmental Framework
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Mindy May, MS
Lisa Desrochers, MEd BTC National Trainers |
Come and learn about this new module we are piloting in efforts to share the developmental framework with populations that can’t access fullTouchpointstraining and as a new engagement strategy. We will share the content of the TP developmental framework module as well as strategies for supporting learners in understanding this key element. As part of the discussion, we will invite you to share your responses and ideas regarding this new module. |
| D. Touchpoints Model Supports Pediatric Nurses Providing Family Centered Care
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Ann C Stadtler, DNP, RN, CPNP;
JayneSinger, PHD; Elizabeth Ann King, RNMSN
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This workshop will describe the inpatient pediatric nursing pilot that demonstrated thatTouchpointsis an effective method of supporting nurses in providing family centered care. Family Centered Care is the mission of most pediatric hospitals but the literature does not show that it is operationalized but rather that it is a philosophy. This pilot is a first step in operationalizing family centered care. |
| E. Family Resource Centers: Two Models for Supporting Families
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Dr. Laurie Nalepa, Dean of Career and Technical Education,Los AngelesValleyCollege(LAVC)
Marni Roosevelt, M.A., Director,LAVCFamilyResourceCenter Gary Huff, Coordinator,LAVCFamilyResourceCenter Lisa Brauer M.A., M.F.T.,LAVCFamilyResourceCenter Kathleen Hardie,MPH, Executive Director, Valuing Our Children
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This workshop will present an overview of two models of Family Resource Centers. Participants will be informed of the important roles Family Resource Centers play in the community. The two models have similar goals and key elements but differ in setting and approach. Both have integrated strength-based practices that respond to Strengthening Families as well as the TouchpointsApproaches. This workshop will include a discussion of how participants can utilize, or create, components of a FamilyResourceCenterin their own work. Learning Objectives
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| F. Bringing the Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework to Your Organization
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Brandi Black Thacker, MA, MSW, Director of Training and Technical Assistance, NCPFCE
Cathy Ayoub, RN, EdD, Director of Research and Evaluation for BTC, Director of Family Connections, Co-Principle Investigator, NCPFCE |
The Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework (PFCE Framework) commits us to support families’ well-being, build strong relationships between parents and their children, celebrate their unique cultures, and connect them with their community. In this workshop, we will introduce strategies and methods of implementing the PFCE Framework in your program. We will explore current materials and preview upcoming materials developed by theNationalCenteron Parent, Family, and Community Engagement, that will help programs understand and integrate the concepts introduced in the PFCE Framework.
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| G. Derailment: What do we mean when we talk about derailment in the developmental process during Touchpoints training?
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Sheri Smith, ME Home Visiting, Jackie Muniz, Palm Beach Children’s Services Council, Rachel Talamantez, First 5 of Santa Clara County CA,
John Hornstein, BTC Faculty
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When a developmental Touchpoint occurs, we understand that the disorganization itself is necessary for the developmental process. But when does the process ultimately lead to negative outcomes for the child and family? And when can the outcome be labeled as derailment? InTouchpointstraining derailment has been defined in a variety of ways. The panel of representatives ofTouchpointstraining teams will discuss the definition of derailment and implications for training with panel moderator. The goal of the session is to bring more clarity to the use of the term as well as to go deeper into a discussion of the developmental process itself |
| H. A Wealth of Words: Partnering to Support Young Children’s Language and Literacy
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Betty Bardige, Board Chair, Brazelton TouchpointsFoundation and author of Talk to Me, Baby!; Kathleen Deerr, National Coordinator, Family Place Libraries™, co-author, The Family -Centered Library Handbook. | Gaining a wealth of words in early childhood primes children of all backgrounds for both social-emotional wellbeing and academic success. The more we learn, the more we see how powerful very early experiences can be. Whether you are learning one language or more than one — everybody counts. Fathers, mothers, and other family members, early education and health care providers, librarians, and peers– all make important and unique contributions. In this interactive session, we will share research, partnership models, and effective practices as we examine a variety of ways to spark the ”powerful interactions” that build language and support social-emotional growth |
| I Evaluation: Review of Key Findings over the Last Year
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Catherine Ayoub EdD,Elisa Vele-TabaddorPhD, Mallary Swartz PhD, &
Adam Von Ende, BrazeltonTouchpointsCenterEvaluation Team |
The purpose of this workshop is to share with theTouchpointsNetwork new findings from the past year aboutTouchpointsand the broader field of early childhood development. The BTC Evaluation team will highlight major findings in the areas of 1) provider knowledge & skill acquisition, 2) community partnerships, 3) program climate, and 4) child & family outcomes. Participants will be invited to share their feedback about evaluation findings presented as well as discuss the types of evaluation products that would be useful for them in the future. |
| J. Community Wide Systems Integration: Key Elements & Findings | Dawn Nixon, Red Cliff | |
| K. Touchpoints in Reflective Practice
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JayneSinger, PhD; BTC faculty
Anita Harvey-Dixon, Site Administrator/Assistant Director Educare School of Chicago; Bounce Learning Network |
The process of reflective practice serves as a catalyst for critical thinking about past interactions. Reflective practice is key to reinforcing and sustaining use of theTouchpointsApproach in practice. This workshop will combine an interactive informational teaching session with experiential exercises to explore both what it means to engage in Reflective Practice and howTouchpointsis a reflective approach. Dr. Singer served as the lead BTC faculty in developing theTouchpointsin Reflective Practice materials and will share core concepts and guided activity to encourage active reflection and participation. We will explore a deeper understanding of the parallels between the process of professionally applying theTouchpointsApproach and the process of reflective and self- regulated parenting. Anita Harvey-Dixon will co-facilitate this process and represent the Bounce Learning Network and the Educare system of reflective mentorship. This will give participants the opportunity to learn the specific steps taken by a large system of care to infuse theTouchpointsApproach as an ongoing sustainable practice with measurable outcomes of success. Participants will also benefit from the opportunity to learn from each other about the various Reflective Practice methods and systems employed around theTouchpointsNational Network. |
| L. What’s New in Delivering the Touchpoints Approach? | Ann Stadtler, DNP, RN, CPNP, BTC Faculty; Mindy May, BTC Project Director and National Trainer
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In our collective work to bringTouchpointsto even greater numbers of providers we continue to refine and learn more effective ways to share key elements of the BrazeltonTouchpointsrelational and developmental framework. In this session we highlight new training strategies and techniques as well as share updates to the Trainers Guide. Highlights include revisedTouchpointsOverview presentation, Developmental Exercise andTouchpointsTimes presentations. |
| M. Update and Overview of Brazelton Touchpoints Center’s New Initiatives | Terry Ann Lunt, MPA, Executive Director, BTC
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| N. Narrative and Culture: How do we understand our own stories in relation to our work with children and families?
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Marcela Clark, Rita Lang,John Hornstein | From aTouchpointsperspective, an understanding of the role of narrative is implicit in our work with children and families – the story the child builds of himself, the narrative the parent constructs of herself as a competent caregiver, and the story a professional tells about how she is becoming a reflective practitioner. In this session we will examine the role of stories in development and, particularly, how the development of personal stories interacts with our understanding of cultural influences in our work with children and families |
| O. What infant & toddler research teaches us about buffering family risks, supporting parent engagement, supporting parent-child interactions, and enhancing positive child outcomes: The example of Early Head Start
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Catherine Ayoub, RN, EdD, Director of Research and Evaluation forBrazeltonTouchpointsCenter, Director of Family Connections, Co-Principle Investigator, NCPFCE
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In the last two decades we have learned a great deal about the importance of positive early environments on developmental outcomes for children living in poverty. However, we have just begun to explore the multiple program mechanisms and mediating processes that influence acquisition of positive family outcomes that in turn contribute to the child’s developmental progress. Using the new PFCE Framework as a guide, this presentation will examine the influence of Early Head Start programming on the development of self-regulatory and language skills in children at 14, 24, and 36 months of age. In our study we found relationships between family risks and protective factors, parenting-related stresses, and parent–child interactions that contribute either independently or through mediation to the child’s acquisition of self-regulatory skills even when accounting for the influence of language development. EHS programming mechanisms will be discussed in order to better understand their implications for everyday practice. We will illustrate how research findings can guide system-wide development of early childhood educational programming elements that support parents in raising healthy children even in the face of adversity. |
Hotel Information: Courtyard Boston Downtown/Tremont. Be sure to reserve your room and mention “Touchpoints National Forum” to get your rate of $159+tax/night. Call now to secure the room rate– 617.426.1400
Please check back soon for additional updates. Questions? Contact Sarah.Tiber@childrens.harvard.edu
To register, please complete registration form and fax/email to 617-730-0060 or sarah.tiber@childrens.harvard,edu. Download the registration form
Overview
The Touchpoints National Forum promotes knowledge development and networking for providers who serve children and families. This highly regarded annual event draws multi-disciplinary providers from communities and organizations across the United States and the world Participants represent public health, social work, early intervention, child protective services, home visiting, therapeutic services among others. The Forum is open to all who share a commitment to supporting families to ensure that all children have the best start in life and optimal opportunities to succeed.
Dynamic workshops, plenaries and discussions showcase cutting edge research in child and family development. Presenters and participants share best practices, new strategies, and challenges for building partnerships and strengthening families. The Touchpoints National Forum is an important venue to exchange ideas with leading thinkers and researchers.
A primary focus of the Forum is to share knowledge and resources to support providers learning to integrate the Touchpoints Approach into their work with children and families. Participants who have completed Touchpoints Professional Development programs take advantage of opportunities to:
- enhance skills and knowledge for integrating the Touchpoints Approach in practice, programs, and organizations;
- network and share the successes and challenges of working with families with other Touchpoints-trained professionals;
- engage in the community of practice of Touchpoints providers that embodies best values and practices of the Touchpoints Approach.
- explore new applications of the Touchpoints Approach in individual practice and in community settings;
Past Conference Themes
- Families, Providers, & Communities under Stress: Strengthening Vulnerable Systems 2009
- Advancing Child and Family Development 2008
- Touchpoints Turns Ten: Making Change for Decades to Come 2007
- Strengthening Families… Building Bonds … Forming Alliances 2006
- Strategies for Empowering Families, Caregivers & Communities 2005
Past Speakers
- Marian Wright Edelman, JD, Children’s Defense Fund
- Barry M. Lester, PhD, Author of Why Is My Baby Crying?: The Parent’s Survival Guide for Coping with Crying Problems and Colic
- Kyle D. Pruett, MD, Author of Fatherneed: Why Father Care is as Essential as Mother Care
- Jack P. Shonkoff, MD, Co-Editor of From Neurons to Neighborhoods
- Geoffrey Canada, MEd, Harlem Children’s Zone
- Joan Lombardi, PhD, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development, Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC
- Judy Langford, Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Social Policy, Washington, DC
- Daniel Stern, MD, Author of The Motherhood Constellation: a unifying view of parent-infant pyschotherapies
- Vivian Paley, MA, Author of The Boy Who Would be Helicopter
- Alvin F. Pouissant, MD, Professor of Pyschiatry, Harvard Medical School
Download the registration form
For more information, contact us at touchpoints@childrens.harvard.edu or 857-218-4451.
