Family Support Specialists draw on their lived experience to serve and support children and families facing challenges associated with emotional, behavioral, or mental health needs. The Coalition celebrates the power of peer support, focuses on the needs of family support specialists, provides support, training, job opportunities and provides an arena for your collective voice.
The Family Support Specialist Coalition, led by Tennessee Voices for Children with support from the Healing Trust, is a coalition to promote statewide connection and resources sharing among Family Support Specialists.
Register HERE!
The Impact of Domestic Violence on the Family
DATE: May 1, 2020 ( 1:00pm-2:30pm CT, 2:00pm-3:30pm ET) and May 4, 2020 (9:00am-10:30am CT, 10:00-11:30 ET)
Register HERE
Nationwide approximately 2/3 domestic violence shelter residents are children. Domestic violence has a far-reaching impact on family systems and interpersonal relationships even among non-abusive family members. Abusers often target these relationships, particularly those between children and the non-offending parent, as a way to exert additional control over their victims. This training will explore the dynamics of domestic violence within family systems, how service providers can help to strengthen and promote healthy family relationships, and the impact of Covid-19.
The Effects of Trauma on the Brain and Body
DATE: May 5, 2020 (1:00pm-3:00pm CT, 2:00pm-4:00pm ET)
Register HERE
This training will explore the prevalence of trauma experienced by members of the community and how those experience impact the minds and bodies of those impacted, including implications for mental and medical health. There will also be discussion of the ways in which trauma expresses itself in outward symptoms and how those can pose challenges for service providers within the community.
The Psychological Effect of Social Distancing and Quarantine on Children
DATE: May 11, 2020, (9:00am-11:00am CT, 10:00am-12:00pm ET)
Register HERE
Description: This presentation will address the psychological impact due to the stress of mandated social distancing, and quarantine on children and youth. With much of the U.S. under stay-at-home orders or in quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health has become an important topic for all of us. After a Quarantine and disease event, several studies show that people generally reported symptoms of psychological distress and mental health disorders. In one study of MERS, (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) participants showed signs of psychological disorders, anger and anxiety months after quarantine. A study comparing parents and children who were put in quarantine versus those who were not, found that post-traumatic stress scores were four times higher in children who had been quarantined than children who weren’t.
Family Support Specialist Coalition Meeting
We will celebrate the power of peer support, identify group needs, set goals, and, most importantly, hear your voice. Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to Kathy Rogers.
Middle TN- Nashville
DATE:
Quarterly on the 3rd Thursday
11:30 am- 1:00 pm
LOCATION:
The University of Tennessee, College of Social Work
193 Polk Avenue, Suite E, Room 233
Nashville, TN 37210
CONTACT:
Kathy Rogers
krogers@tnvoices.org
615.269.7751
East TN- Knoxville
DATE:
1st Wednesday of Every Month
11:30 am- 1:00 pm
LOCATION:
Tennessee Mental Health Consumers’ Association
200 West Fifth Avenue, Conference Room
Knoxville, TN 37917
CONTACT:
Kathy Rogers
krogers@tnvoices.org
615.269.7751
West TN- Memphis
DATE:
Quarterly on the 3rd Friday
11:30 am- 1:00 pm
LOCATION:
Urban Child Institute, 1st Floor Conference Room
600 Jefferson Avenue
Memphis, TN 38105
CONTACT:
Kathy Rogers
krogers@tnvoices.org
615.269.7751
Trauma Informed Care Champions
Warning Signs of Child Abuse & Neglect (English)
Warning Signs of Child Abuse & Neglect (Spanish)
Conversations Can Stop Sleep-Related Infant Deaths
As Unplanned Pregnancy Rates Drop, Births Improve
Launch an Early Childhood Parent Academy
Parent Guidelines for Helping Youth after the Recent Shooting
Click here for more information.
FRIENDS Online Learning Center
The FRIENDS Online Learning Center offers courses on developing a logic model, qualitative evaluation techniques, engaging tribes, and other topics related to child abuse prevention and program implementation. Courses can be taken all at once or by beginning a course and then finishing it later. Anyone can complete the simple, one-time registration to enter the center and take courses, 24 hours a day, seven days week.
Courses are accessible and user-friendly for those who can’t attend in-person trainings or for those who need a refresher on a topic. Courses can introduce information to staff in local agencies on topics such as parent leadership, the protective factors, or financial decision making. Check out the center and course descriptions on the e-learning homepage, https://friendsnrcelearning.remote-learner.net/
Prescription Drug Overdose Program Report 2018
Click here for the fill report.
System of Care Across Tennessee (SOCAT)
Planned Respite Program
The Planned Respite Program (PRP) provides respite services to families of children identified as having a serious emotionally disturbance (SED) or dually-diagnosed with a SED and Autism, who are two through fifteen (2-15) years of age. Respite consultants provide short-term respite, and work with the family to identify long-range respite resources. An Individualized Family Respite Plan (IFRP) is developed with the family. The IFRP may include short-term direct respite care by staff, identification of possible respite resources, and determination of child learning characteristics and behavior patterns that interfere with the family’s ability to secure respite. The respite consultant will assist and enable the family to identify and develop community based respite resources, and will work with families to help them utilize these respite resources in the most effective manner.
Planned Respite sites are in: Memphis, Jackson, Smyrna, Gallatin, Chattanooga, Oak Ridge, and Johnson City.
For additional information and contact information:
Alliance Healthcare Services – https://www.kidcentraltn.com/program/planned-respite-alliance-healthcare-services
- Memphis
Quinco Mental Health – https://kidcentraltn.com/program/planned-respite-quinco
- Jackson
Volunteer Behavioral Health Care System – https://www.kidcentraltn.com/program/planned-respite-volunteer
- Smyrna
- Gallatin
- Chattanooga
Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services – https://kidcentraltn.com/program/planned-respite-ridgeview
- Oak Ridge
Frontier Health – https://kidcentraltn.com/program/planned-respite-frontier
- Johnson City
Sesame Street in Communities
Sesame Street in Communities is an excellent online resource of information and tools for a myriad of developmental stages and topics related to mental health and healthy childhood development for both parents and practitioners.
Sesame Street in Communities.
Below are some resources on how to discuss recent tragedies with children and youth.
Psychological Impact of the Recent Shooting
Addressing disasters:
Pre school age
School aged
Teens
