TRACK 4 - Youth and Family Engagement

Sessions in this focus area include youth and family engagement, youth voice, and programs that promote youth transition into adulthood. These sessions will also highlight the importance of father engagement and its impact on youth development and achievement from a trauma-informed lens.

Racial Wealth Gap Learning Simulation 

Tracy Little, Director of High Fidelity Wraparound, The National Center for Innovation and Excellence

Osha Fordom, Executive Office Manager, The National Center for Innovation and Excellence

This Session is limited to 20 attendees: The Racial Wealth Gap Learning Simulation is an interactive tool designed to illustrate the intricate links between racial equity, hunger, poverty, and wealth. It serves as an initial step for individuals unfamiliar with structural inequality, a supplementary resource for those seeking a deeper comprehension of it, and a reference for experts interested in the measurable economic consequences of policies that have exacerbated current racial disparities in hunger, income, and wealth. Through this simulation, participants explore how federal policies have contributed to structural inequities, impacting various areas like property ownership and education, thereby aggravating hunger and poverty in communities of color. By engaging in the simulation, participants gain insights into the significance of racial equity in combating hunger and poverty in the United States. The aim is to raise awareness about structural inequality among participants, empowering them to advocate for policies that address and alleviate disparities.

Black Fatherhood Engagement

Henri Brown, Jewish Family Services of San Diego

Jason Sharpe, Jewish Family Services of San Diego

The session focuses on the unique challenges Black Fathers face in San Diego County. Hopefully, this discussion will resonate with other trending areas of frustration all parents have facing family court and child welfare systems. We believe the two intersect. Black families are disproportionately victims of over surveillance by law enforcement and child welfare. As, a veteran in the Fatherhood Advocacy space, Henri Brown will lend his knowledge of the preconceived and actualized barriers fathers face. Jason Sharpe will reflect on his journey through child welfare and family court to reclaim legal custody while actively maintaining that mantle.

C.A.P.E Talk: Evidence-Based Approaches to Guide Conversations with Children

Curtis Campogni, Founder, Speak4MC

Child: Who is that?

Parent: That's Dr. Strange! He's Daddy's favorite!

Child: Why?

Parent: Well, he can travel back and forth in time, helps people, and wears a nifty cape.

The C.A.P.E approach was born!

Your child has choices, and so do you. However, you wear a C.A.P.E. when you honestly assess how your communication style aligns with the type of parent you want to be. The C.A.P.E approach is inspired by the evidence-based technique called Motivational Interviewing and stands for choices, avoiding arguments, patience, and empathy.

This session will teach participants tools to strengthen conversations with children, sharing specific examples from parents and professionals in child welfare and early learning development. Each objective applies to children of all ages, demonstrating that even though no parent is perfect, consistently making choices that align with your C.A.P.E will promote confidence, independence, and positive change.

Watch Us Grow

Leah D. Suarez, CEO, Our Village Okeechobee

Hannah O'Neal, Junior Leader, Our Village Okeechobee

Our children and their families wrestle everyday with difficult decisions, one of which is how are we going to feed our family tonight? We will connect the dots from food insecurity to mental health to education to food production. There are many barriers for our "kiddos" to be a part of a group or club - behavior, system involvement, poverty, etc. but we are working at making a way for any child to participate in a club. We have started our very own 4H Healthy Living Club for children who attend peer support with Our Village. Hydroponic growing was the way to work with children on all of these important issues. We will review local research, funded by Centering Equity through No Kid Hungry and how we are working to make a difference for kids and their families. 

Our Village Okeechobee - A Model for Community Care Management through Collective Impact: Cradle to Grave

Leah D. Suarez, CEO, Our Village Okeechobee

Jess Mosley, Program Manager, Our Village Okeechobee

Collaboration has been key to the success of Our Village and the health that takes place in our families and community. We use the principles or wraparound and restorative practices while using collective impact to take a step beyond collaboration. Our Village is a place where families connect or reconnect with one another, reengage and have opportunities to enhance our lives. Our children and families are at the heart of the work we do, and ensuring they have voice and choice strengthens the larger system of care in our community. 

The Trauma-Informed Grandparent: Breaking Cycles by Changing Culture and Customs

Napoleon A. Bradford, Lead Counselor, The PLACE Health and Wholeness Center

The dynamics of parenting are changing, and grandparents must be equipped to consider the trauma they caused in raising their children to ensure that it is not passed on to and through the raising of their grandchildren.

Contact Us: For more information contact Osha Fordom at [email protected]