Social Work Professionals Learn at Spring Forward Event

Manassas, VA – On April 27, families formed through foster care, adoption, and kinship care and the professionals who support them, will gather for Spring Forward Family Fun Day and Regional Conference. This year's theme is Navigating Systems to Build Stronger Families. Held at the Science and Technology Campus of George Mason University in Manassas, parents, caregivers and social service and education professionals will choose from sessions presented by experts in education and child welfare.

Nearly 11 percent of children and youth in northern Virginia are living in homes with adoptive parents, foster parents, or kinship relatives. More than 5300 children and youth are in foster care across Virginia. Children in these "formed" families are at higher risk of emotional, physical, learning disabilities and special needs that challenge home and school success. Families and the professionals who work with families welcome opportunities like Spring Forward Family Fun Day to come together, connect with others who share similar experiences, and gain new skills.

Wendy Besmann, author of Family Road Map and the Road Map® Series of training curricula, will guide professionals to deepen their understanding of the barriers to meaningful family engagement. Social workers participating in this workshop will gain first-hand perspectives on the barriers to family empowerment, learn a 'road map' for empowering families to navigate systems, and master a consultative approach of the road map to use with families.

4 hours of Social Work CEs are available for professionals who partake in the day's workshops.
The cost is $40 per professional.