ACAAA 2020 Annual Conference

This year’s ACAAA Annual Conference will be held virtually!  Workshops will be held online on three consecutive Wednesdays—September 30, October 7, and October 14.  Each Wednesday will include three sessions.  (As well, there will be a special Family Development Certificate Training that will take place over a series of three Fridays—October 9, 16 & 23.)

Each agency can purchase an all-day pass to one or more of the three Wednesday workshop dates. (This pass will allow any number of agency staff members to participate in the workshop(s) of their choice, rather than requiring individual registrations for each workshop.)

In addition, each agency may purchase a pass for the three-day Family Development Certificate Training. Please note that participants must attend all three Friday sessions to receive a Family Development Certificate.

For any agency interested in providing its staff with access to the entire conference, an all-access pass will allow all agency employees full access to any or all of the Wednesday workshops, as well as the Family Development Certificate Training to be held on three consecutive Fridays. The cost for an all-access pass is less than purchasing all four of the single day passes separately.

Dates and descriptions of the available sessions are below (all times tentative).  Pricing and registration details are still being finalized; an announcement will go out to all agencies when registration is open.

Wednesday, September 30 – For executives, mid-level managers, and frontline staff

  • How to Thrive in a Radically Changing World – Kim Ratz – 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
    • They used to say that only two things in life are certain: death and taxes. There’s now a 3rd thing that’s certain: Change.  So if you want to do more than just “get by” and always react in a radically changing world, you need to be good at how you manage change and transitions. We’ll break down the change and transition process, and review the skill of “Reframing the Situation.”  Plus — you don’t only react to change; you are also a “change agent,” so we also review skills to help you be more effective in facilitating those changes.  We’ll also examine some recent research advancing the notion of “anti-fragility” or being more resilient to what researchers call “black swans” — isolated events that are highly consequential (think 9-11, Katrina, Enron, COVID-19, etc.). This research compels organizations to develop ways to be less fragile and more resilient so you can continue to thrive in our radically & rapidly changing world.
  • Coping with COVID – Kay Glidden & Beth Reynolds Lewis – Compassion Resiliency – 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
    • Practical hands-on tools and ideas for surviving the pandemic and beyond. Strategies for recharging and resiliency!
  • Self-Care is NOT Selfish: Creative Tools for Transforming Compassion Fatigue – Kay Glidden & Beth Reynolds Lewis – Compassion Resiliency – 2:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
    • Is your bucket empty? Do you want to feel refreshed and replenished? This interactive webinar will review compassion fatigue that has been called “a disorder that affects those who do their work well” (Figley, 2005).  You pay an emotional price for doing the work that you do.  Some of you hear difficult stories daily and are frequently exposed to traumatic details from families and co-workers.  The level of compassion fatigue staff experience can ebb and flow from one day to the next.  Even very healthy staff with optimal life/work balance and self-care strategies can experience compassion fatigue.  Webinar attendees will improve their understanding compassion fatigue, secondary trauma and burnout and will be given practical take-away tools, resources and strategies to include in daily self-care planning for improving resiliency.

Wednesday, October 7 – For executives and mid-level managers, and frontline staff

  • People Don’t Leave Jobs – They Leave Bosses – Kim Ratz – 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
    • The most important asset of any organization is: your employees and volunteers. Employ/engage people who want to thrive, and great outcomes are likely; employ/engage people who lack skills or motivation, and outcomes are predictably less. But recruiting thrivers is only half the effort; RETAINING thrivers is important too! Because if the boss is a bozo, your best & brightest will even leave a job they otherwise love if they know they can do better working for someone else! This workshop gives bosses an opportunity to look at several successful/best practices that help leaders retain your best and brightest people, and not run them out the door!
  • Playing Nice in the Sandbox – Kim Ratz – 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
    • Even in your profession, sometimes lines get crossed, and toes feel stepped on. Since you can’t change anyone else, the best you can do is: Do your best, and Be a positive influence on others.  This workshop helps you better understand “what’s really going on” when “stuff happens” at work by examining some common style differences among people you interact with — coworkers, and constituents.  After identifying some of your own communication styles and traits, you’ll practice ways to reframe what could be perceived as “conflicting styles” into “complementing styles.”  By better managing the many style differences you encounter every day, you keep your sandbox a great place to work, and to serve your constituents.
  • Team-Building – Total Engagement to Activate Mission – Bob Swanson, NCRMT – Real Solutions Created – 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
    • Every employee, board member and volunteer is part of the team of an agency in moving individuals and families forward on their journey toward self-sufficiency. Is your agency considered a self-sufficiency agency or just a place to get services? What does it mean to be an ambassador for the agency? Are you using outcome language in discussing the accomplishments of the programs of the agency? What does it mean personally being part of the team? How are agency success stories used to promote the accomplishments? Action steps to enhance TEAM.

Wednesday, October 14 – 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – For executives and mid-level managers, and frontline staff.  Back by popular demand: Sandra Brown, DNP, will lead this ½-day of sessions.

  • Employee Engagement
    • While “employee engagement” seem to be buzz words, this workplace approach has strong evidence to improve workplace performance, reduce staff turnover, and improve customer/consumer satisfaction. Actively engaged employees are more satisfied at work and in the personal lives. Actively engaged employees help build a stronger organization.
  • Process Improvement – Plan> Study> Do> Act
    • How many times have you had personal or professional goals and did not reach them? They were probably really good goals, but did you have the right processes in place for success? In this workshop, we will discuss processes you can use to achieve greater success in reaching your goals. This will be a “working” workshop – come with a goal in mind.
  • Implicit Bias Awareness
    • In this 60-minute workshop, learn what implicit or unconscious bias means and how it impacts our lives. You will gain an understanding of how to recognize implicit bias and develop self-remediation strategies to reframe your thoughts and behavior.

October 9, 16, and 23 – Three consecutive Fridays – 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. with lunch break (tentative times) – For frontline workers, family development/case management staff, Head Start Family Workers

Family Development Certificate Program – Shifting to a Family Development Paradigm – Bob Swanson, NCRMT – Real Solutions Created

  • Learn how to support and empower people in a collaborative relationship to establish goals and strategies for dealing with challenging issues that are psychological, emotional and interpersonal. Strengths are identified including skillful application of assessment tools —   Eco-map, Geno-gram, Timeline, Matrix and Balance Wheel.   We need to listen to any trauma program participants have experienced and support efforts to find healing resources.  Six key principles of a trauma-informed approach include — safety; trustworthiness and transparency; peer support; collaboration; empowerment voice and choice; and cultural, historical and gender issues.  We are in a position to provide hope that their future can be better and more satisfying.