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Welcome to PEI Provider News! Our weekly e-newsletter to providers combines provider resources, stories of interest, exclusive educational opportunities, and grant information. In this issue:
 This free family resource features 25 pages of fun for every child. Download a copy here or order a box for the children in your community below.
Activity Books are shipped for free and available in quantities of 100/box. Questions? Contact us.
Having long recognized the important role that fathers play in the lives of their children and families and their challenges to remaining involved with their children, the state of Texas has partnered with the Child and Family Research Partnership to develop a comprehensive online resource -- Fatherhood Resource Hub.
Explore the materials and resources of the Fatherhood Resource Hub at fatherhoodresourcehub.org and join the virtual and free 6th Annual Texas Fatherhood Summit: Taking Research to the Field on June 17-18!
 2021 Texas Fatherhood Summit
Date: June 17-18
Time: 1:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M. CST each day
 The 21st Annual Partners in Prevention Conference will take place at the Renaissance Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas on November 2-4, 2021. Our hybrid conference is still evolving to align with social distancing and the safety of all presenters and conference goers.
Our 2021 theme is Forging Forward Together: Nurturing Communities and Families.
We seek to recognize the challenges of the past year and the power of coming together, carving out paths towards a future that supports prevention and early intervention professionals and the communities they support and partner with.
Feel free to share this message with others. Start the conversation on your social media accounts! #pipcon2021
For questions, please contact pipcon@austin.utexas.edu.
How Will You Attend PIP?
Partners in Prevention is planning a hybrid-model conference at the Renaissance Austin Hotel, with select conference sessions available virtually. Please help us get an idea of your preferred method of attending this year's conference by answering one question below. Thank you!
 PEI is excited to announce FREE virtual Parent Café trainings, facilitated by My Health My Resources (MHMR) of Tarrant County.
Parent Cafés are physically and emotionally safe spaces where parents and caregivers can have authentic conversations about what matters most to them. Through individual deep self-reflection and peer-to-peer learning, participants explore their strengths, learn about the Protective Factors, and create strategies from their own wisdom and experiences to help strengthen their families.
This training will be conducted over three consecutive days from 9:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. To obtain credit for this course, participants must complete the entire duration of each option (3 days training)
Date: July 14-16
Time: 9:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.
(Registration deadline July 7th)
Space is limited to 30 participants, and a minimum of 2 participants per team is required. Contact Arrenia Thomas with registration questions.
Participants who have previously attended Parent Café Training do not have to re-register for this training.
For general questions about PEI Training contact peitraining@dfps.texas.gov
 To take these courses: Type or paste the course names below into the search bar on the PEI Learning Hub:
- Click on the course and select “request”
- On your transcript select “launch” to begin
- When the video is complete, go to "completed" courses in your transcript
- Select "evaluate" to provide feedback
For questions, contact PEITraining@dfps.state.tx.us.
Reflective Supervision/Consultation: Foundations
This 1-hour webinar is intended for anyone who is interested in learning about how to begin the process of becoming a provider of reflective supervision/consultation (RSC) for professionals who work in the infant and early childhood field. This training will cover a range of relational details, like the core components of RSC, how to develop reflective supervisory relationships, and the types of questions to ask as the supervisee or consultee
Reflective Supervision/Consultation: Best Practices
This 1-hour webinar is intended for anyone who is interested in expanding their exploration of reflective supervision/consultation. The training will begin by introducing and reviewing the newly revised version of the Best Practice Guidelines for Reflective Supervision/Consultation which describe the knowledge, skills, and practices that are critical to RSC. Then, the training will focus on 3 distinct ways that RSC may be provided: program supervision, group supervision, and virtual supervision. Those 3 modalities will be discussed through the use of case examples and examination of common questions, barriers, and lessons learned.
Reflective Supervision/Consultation: Parallel Processing
This 1-hour webinar is intended for anyone who is interested in further exploring the parallel process within reflective supervision/consultation (RSC). The Best Practice Guidelines for Reflective Supervision Consultation say, “A hallmark of RS/C is the shared exploration of the parallel process. In other words, in RSC, attention is given to all relationships, including that between supervisor and practitioner, between practitioner and parent, and between parent, and infant/young child. It is critical to understand how each of these relationships affects the others.”
 Essentials of Home Visiting Webinars - Now Free for Grantees
Access the Essentials of Home Visiting Portal free of cost. Use this link to register.
Partnering for Change: Having the Conversation
Date: June 15th
Time: 12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M. CDT
Register by: June 14th at 12:00 P.M. CDT
As a home visitor, how do you engage with families around the topic of substance abuse? This webinar explores strength-based strategies and conversation starters you can incorporate in your work with parents to successfully engage families around the issues of substance abuse and support the growth and development of their children. This webinar complements Challenges in Home Visiting: Substance Abuse self-paced course.
Domestic Violence: Safety Planning
Date: June 22nd
Time: 12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M. CDT
Register by: June 21st at 12:00 P.M. CDT
As a home visitor, how can you support families impacted by domestic violence to develop a safety plan? This webinar discusses developing a working knowledge of community resources and collaborating with formal and informal institutions to support families using a strength-based, family-centered approach. This webinar complements the Domestic Violence in Home Visiting self-paced course.
Matching Family Needs to Resources
Date: June 23rd
Time: 2:30 P.M. - 3:30 P.M. CDT
Register by: June 22nd at 2:30 P.M. CDT
As a home visitor, it can be challenging to align available resources to the needs of families. This webinar explores how to carry out your role in the infant mental health spectrum and feel confident in connecting families to community resources and supports when the need arises. This webinar complements the Foundations of Infant Mental Health in Home Visiting self-paced course.
Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health® Approved Training Opportunity
Upon completion of the Achieve OnDemand learning experience, participants earn in-service training credits from First3Years Texas. Review this crosswalk, which details The Essentials of Home Visiting trainings that support each Endorsement Knowledge & Skill Area, as well as credit hours a professional may earn upon completion.
Free Be Strong Families COVID-19 Daily Webinars
Be Strong Families hosts a series of webinars in English (12:00 P.M. CDT) and Spanish (1:30 P.M. CDT) daily. Check out their website for topics including grieving experiences and expectations, family storytelling workshop, self-care for caregivers, financial resilience, and candid experiences of COVID-19.
Understanding Suicide Risk Among Children and Pre-Teens: A Synthesis Workshop
Date: June 15th
Time: 12:30 P.M. - 2:00 P.M. ET
Register
On June 15, 2021, The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) will convene a synthesis workshop culminating the work of three research roundtables focused on understanding suicide risk and risk trajectories among children and pre-teens, including groups with recent increases in risk.
The synthesis workshop will summarize the state of the science and highlight research priorities related to this critical topic. The goal of the series is to ultimately inform identification of at-risk youth and timing and targets for intervening.
Free PAX Tools Training Opportunity
The Educational Service Center Region 13 is partnering with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to offer a free training on evidence-based PAX strategies. The nine-hour virtual training is appropriate for childcare and youth workers, juvenile justice staff, after-school and summer camp, behavioral health providers, coaches, youth ministers, and peer support providers.
Trainings usually cost between $225 and $600 per participant, but for a limited time, they are able to offer full scholarships to Texas organizations/providers working with youth and or families.
Participants who complete the training receive a lifetime certification and access to all members-only resources and materials, including live monthly advanced support calls with PAXIS Institute trainers and a substantial resource kit for their organization.
All scholarship trainings must be completed by August 31, 2021. Contact Donna Wasielewski for more information about this training.
HHSC Launches Online Behavioral Health Awareness Training
Free eLearning Empowers Public, Tackles Stigma
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is launching a new behavioral health awareness eLearning series to empower families with more knowledge and understanding of behavioral health conditions that impact more than 3 million Texans each year.
HHSC contracted with UT Health Science Center at San Antonio to develop and create an eLearning series, which is free to the public at https://mentalhealthtx.org/resources/. The series' intended audience is not only those dealing directly with behavioral health conditions, but also their friends, family members, and advocates. There are 10 interactive learning modules and each module takes no more than 30 minutes to complete and is completely anonymous. The series empowers and prepares communities to better understand signs and symptoms of mental illness, decreases stigma, and promotes emotional, psychological, and social well-being for Texans.
Topics covered in the series include anxiety disorders, depression, substance use disorders, mood disorders, trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, aging and behavioral health, psychosis and schizophrenia, serious emotional disturbances in children, and suicide prevention.
For more information on accessing local mental health and substance use disorder services and resources, visit mentalhealthtx.org.
Here are the most recent PEIRS updates you should know about:
- PEIRS “Enrollment Person Details” page now allows users to edit the “DOB (Date of Birth)” field for active enrollments in non-Home Visiting workflows (workflows without a Home Visit tab).
- “PEIRS – Services” page now displays “Service Year” and “Service Month” dropdown options for users to navigate to and select specific months within the timeframe of their contract. This will allow users to view earlier service periods more quickly. Users can still use the arrows to navigate individual months.
- “PEIRS – Events” page now displays “Event Year” and “Event Month” dropdown options for users to navigate and select specific month within the timeframe. This slows users to view earlier event periods more quickly. Users can still use the arrows to navigate individual months.
During June, which is Texas Veterans Suicide Prevention and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month, Texas Health and Human Services Commission encourages military veterans to access the resources available to them for suicide prevention and PTSD.
HHSC administers the Mental Health Program for Veterans in partnership with the Texas Veterans Commission. The program funds peer-to-peer counseling for veterans and their families through local mental health authorities and local behavioral health authorities.
HHSC also funds and administers the TexVet initiative which includes a website hosted by the Texas A&M University Health Science Center. The website helps veterans navigate through resources available in their communities including mental health care providers, social groups, job placement programs, and legal assistance. Veterans can also find additional resources by visiting MentalHealthtx.org/veterans.
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As the launch date of June 11th approaches for all child care programs to apply for Child Care Relief Funds, please help encourage child care programs to be ready to apply for funding and encourage child care programs to apply throughout the 30 day period that the application is open (June 11 – July 11). It's likely many will wait until the last minute.
Please go to https://childcare.texas.gov to download two items that might be helpful:
- A communications toolkit – Page 1 is a message to you; the remaining pages are English and Spanish versions of a sample email and sample social media posts. Feel free to modify the language/message as needed. There are different samples, based on the date you send out information - before or after the June 11th launch date.
- A flyer in English and Spanish – You can add this to your website and/or include this in your communication with providers. If you send this to providers before June 11, be sure to tell them to expect an email invitation from TWC on June 11 (since the flyer is more generic and doesn’t explicitly say that).
Additional information on the Child Care Relief Funds and business coaching opportunities available for child care providers at that same link: https://childcare.texas.gov
Everyone age 12 and older is now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Texas. According to the CDC, fully vaccinated people may stop wearing masks or maintaining social distance in most indoor and outdoor settings.
Get your vaccine appointment through the Texas Public Health Vaccine Scheduler. People can also sign up by calling 833-832-7067. Operators are available to assist you from 7 am to 7 pm, 7 days a week.
Even after you get a dose of the vaccine, continue to wear face masks, practice social distancing and regular handwashing to slow the spread until you are fully vaccinated.
If you have any events or news that you would like to share in the next e-newsletter please email PEINews@dfps.texas.gov
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