How to Be Your Child’s Best Advocate

(2 hours)

Focus is on educational advocacy, including what to do when your child is struggling in school, the PPT process, laws parents need to know, effective communication and collaboration skills, how to work with school professionals when disagreements occur, and resources for parents with children who have behavioral health challenges

Network of Care Agents of Change

(2 hours)

This workshop helps family members understand the change process that drives the networks of care. Topics include: increase your knowledge of System of Care values and principles, enhance your knowledge of Connecticut’s Network of Care Transformation Initiative –[CONNECT], develop skills to bring family voice to local, regional and state decision-making tables, and advance family engagement in policy and practice.

Data 101 Part I & II

Data 201

(Data series sessions: 2 hours each)

This training provides families with the tools necessary to feel confident reading and working with data. Participants will learn what data is, how to read data and how to collect data. The workshop explores the differences between quantitative and qualitative data and shows how data is involved in our everyday lives. The mean, median, mode and frequency are discussed and taught through examples. Most importantly, this workshop provides participants with knowledge of how to use data to make informed decisions.

Support Group Facilitation Training

(2 hours)

This training addresses the need to nurture, empower, and educate families of children with mental health, behavioral or emotional challenges who are current facilitators or are interested in facilitating support groups. Participants will learn the following skills: listening awareness, communication skills, stages of human emotional response, strategies for handling challenging and difficult behaviors, facilitator skills and strategies, what makes a good support group, support group member responsibilities, support group facilitator.

CONNECTing Youth

(1 hour)

An interactive presentation designed to introduce youth to the Children’s Behavioral Health System and to mental health as an important part of your overall health. It focuses on three pillars — Physical, Mental and Social Health and allows the participants to see how they can all be interconnected. The presentation also dedicates time to discuss the difference between Mental Health and Mental Illness as it relates to the culture of their school and community. CONNECTing Youth allows time to brainstorm ways that youth can take charge and bring awareness to health, wellness and reducing the stigma of mental illness. *This workshop requires

Persuasive Storytelling

(2 hours)

This workshop focuses on the use of personal stories, one of the most effective tools for children’s behavioral health advocates. Personal stories are especially powerful when communicating with system partners, provider agencies, media and other families and youth. During this session, participants learn and practice skills for telling their personal story. Participants are taught how to create their Single Overriding Communication Objective (SOCO). A SOCO is the reason a presentation or speech is done. Participants learn that if they stay true to their SOCO, there will be no doubt in the audience’s mind about what they stand for and what message they are trying to convey. This training is highly interactive.

What’s Your Story? Persuasive Storytelling: Youth segment

(1.5 hours)

Focuses on walking youth and young adults through the process of telling their stories honestly and exactly the way you want in your own words. The workshop discusses the sharing circle, the importance of knowing your audience and understanding how to apply the pain to power philosophy. The workshop closes with participants beginning to create an outline for their story.

Youth Engagement Assessment Tool

(2 hours)

This workshop is intended to evaluate an organization youth-adult work readiness. The assessment tool aim to strengthen the organizations level of youth engagement within their agency. This assessment tool focuses on helping organizations come to a common definition of what youth engagement is and steps necessary to grow effectively in creating space and opportunity for young people to be active partners in organizational practice and governance.

Facing Racism Dialogue Series

(2 hours)

PhotoVoice

(1.5 hours)

This workshop is designed for participants to discuss and understand how structural racism effect the way we experience and navigate the world. Each session in the series create and foster a safe space for participants to engage in the race conversation and work to create an action plan for progress in their communities, institutions and governments.

Photovoice is a community-based participatory research (CBPR) method created by Wang and Mary Ann Burris that is defined as “a process by which people can identify, represent and enhance their community through a specific photographic technique.” FAVOR utilizes it as a way for participants to share their perspectives, stories and experiences with their health and wellness through photography.