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Our weekly e-newsletter to providers combines grantee resources, stories of interest, exclusive educational opportunities, and grant information. In this issue:
 The 2022 Partners in Prevention Conference will take place next week on September 13th, 14th, and 15th at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas! The event will be geared toward in-person attendance with limited session selections offered via livestream.
About the Partners in Prevention Conference
The Partners in Prevention Conference is the largest annual gathering of prevention and early intervention professionals in Texas. The conference attracts parent educators, youth service providers, civic leaders, policy advocates, researchers, DFPS staff, Prevention and Early Intervention grantees, and others with a professional interest in child and family well-being, youth development, and juvenile justice. Attendees benefit from a wide variety of presentations, including but not limited to, lived experience from parents and youth, fatherhood engagement, ethics, diversity, equity and inclusion, program evaluation, home visiting, and positive youth development.
We've Added Two New Breakout Sessions!
That's right! Partners In Prevention is offering the following new sessions for attendees.
- Moving Beyond the ACES: What Showing Up Really Looks Like
- Media as a Risk Factor
Already registered? Click here and add them to your agenda!
Welcome & Opening Keynote with ASAP Connect: Cultivating Hope & Community in Uncertain Times
Date: September 14th
Time: 9:00 A.M. - 10:30 A.M. CDT
Location: American Bank Center
6 C’s for Cultivation Hope and Community
Our world is ever-changing. Our collective experience over the last few years has taught us all a few things - we are stronger than we think, we are resilient in ways we hadn’t imagined, and we have the power to create new systems that actually meet the needs of the families we serve. Now is the time to take those learnings and create hope. Hope for ourselves and the work we all do on a daily basis. Hope for the families that depend on us to be their light in the darkest moments. Hope for a system that has always been well intended but has fallen short. We will share our stories of how we try to do this in our work and create space for you to think about how you can do the same.
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 ASAP Connect will also be presenting an intensive session at PIP called Leadership Intensive: Positive Youth Development on September 15th from 10:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. CDT.
Reception, Community Award Presentation & Peer-Approved Poster Walk at the Texas State Aquarium
 Date: September 14th
Time: 6:00 P.M - 8:30 P.M. CDT
Location: Texas State Aquarium
Hitch a ride on a shuttle bus directly from the American Bank Center or meet us at the Texas State Aquarium (parking rates apply) for appetizers, cash bar and sea life as we celebrate PIP 2022. We'll present our Community Collaboration Award and showcase the winning posters from our Grantee poster sessions, and we will leave you plenty of free time to network with your peers and explore the aquarium.
Closing Keynote Address with Crystal Williams: Be Grounded to Take Flight
Date: September 15h
Time: 9:00 A.M. - 10:00 A.M. CDT
Location: American Bank Center
Being a prevention and early intervention professional requires a strong commitment to the needs of young people, families, and communities. It can also require interacting with people who are in crisis or at risk of a crisis. If an individual isn’t anchored in self-care, burnout is inevitable. Helpers need help, encouragement, and support, too and it starts with placing value on securing our own masks before helping others. Featuring a poetry reading and small group activity, this session will highlight the importance of having a creative outlet to build resilience in your life and career. a poetry reading and small group activity, this session will highlight the importance of having a creative outlet to build resilience in your life and career.
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 September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and National Suicide Prevention week is from September 4th to 10th.
While mental health and suicide awareness is important year-round, for the month of September, we encourage you to promote suicide prevention and education with your networks. With the help of Texas Health and Human Services, we've put together this toolkit with social media posts, resources, and graphics to help raise awareness about the importance of mental health and suicide prevention.
Included in this toolkit:
- Messages to use in promoting mental health and suicide awareness;
- Mental health and suicide resources; and
- Sample mental health and suicide awareness imagery to share and post.
The messages and links in the toolkit can be used as is or they can be customized in any way that works best for the month or year round in your community by directing to your prevention program’s information.
Thank you for continuing to support the children and families that live, work, and play in your communities!
 Office of Child Safety Presents: Teenager Safety
With the internet, technology and social media, teenagers are falling victim to a wide array of dangers. Teenage depression and suicide rates are on the rise and more teenagers are becoming victims of human trafficking. This webinar will discuss the increased dangers teenagers are facing, risk factors, teenage drug use, cyber bulling and the symptoms of a potential problem. We will also discuss popular social media apps teens are using to hide things from their parents/caregivers, how to engage a teen who may be in trouble and resources to address any concerns. This webinar was recorded on April 7, 2020
Achieve OnDemand: Building Engaging and Collaborative Relationships with Families (Self-Paced Course)
As a home visitor, building strong relationships that support each member of the family’s growth and development is essential to your job. Whether establishing a relationship between parent and child or home visitor and parent, the principles and best practices are the same. By establishing a long-term relationship with families, you can model ways to interact that parents can adopt with their children. This course offers practical ways you can relate to parents that will motivate them to stay engaged with you.
To take these courses: Type or paste the course names above 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.
 Access the Essentials of Home Visiting live webinars through the Essentials of Home Visiting Portal free of cost.
Use this link to register for any webinars from Start EarlyTM
Essentials of Home Visiting: Exploring Values and Beliefs Around Parenting (Webinar)
Date: September 13th
Time: 2:30 P.M. - 3:30 P.M. CDT
Register By: September 12th, 12:00 P.M. CDT
We all come to the table with our own beliefs about parenting. This webinar covers how to acknowledge and monitor those beliefs and address how they may impact the work we do with families. This webinar complements the Foundations of Infant Mental Health in Home Visiting self-paced course.
Webinar: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders - Impacts, Prevention and Support Strategies
Date: September 8th
Time: 10:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M. CDT
Register
Join the Health and Human Services Commission’s Office of Disability Prevention for Children and the North Texas FASD for a free webinar that will discuss the newest science around fetal alcohol exposure and diagnosis, the prevalence in our communities today, awareness for practical prevention, and support strategies for families aimed at mitigating secondary conditions and disorders. The presentation will include a fun experiential learning activity.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) are some of the most preventable forms of birth defects. When discussing the potential harms of alcohol and other substance use, pregnant women need to have access to correct and understandable information provided in a non-judgmental, person-centered way. Families need beneficial guidance and resources as well as knowledgeable professionals to offer the best outcomes when raising children with FASD.
This webinar is intended for parents, providers who work with families, and others caring for infants and children throughout the state.
Presenters: Sherry Sellers Vinson, MD, MEd, and Carissa Dorris, parent and certified trauma-competent caregiver with North Texas FASD Network.
This free event will include live captioning and American Sign Language interpretation.
For questions, email Jay Smith at jay.smith@hhs.texas.gov or call 512-206-5100.
Virtual NFSN Standards of Quality Certification Hosted by The Center/TACFS
Based on the Principles of Family Support Practice and the Strengthening Families Framework and its research-based, evidence-informed 5 Protective Factors, the National Family Support Network has created a common language across different kinds of Family Strengthening and Family Support programs such as Family Resource Centers, home visiting programs, and child development programs.
This two-day virtual certification training details how the Standards can enhance work with families. Whether you are setting up a new program or strengthening an existing one, the Standards provide a blueprint for implementing best practice.
Participants who complete both session will receive a certificate from the National Family Support Network that is valid for two years.
For more information on this training, please see the NSFN website here: https://www.nationalfamilysupportnetwork.org/standards-training.
Dates/Times (this is a two-day training)
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September 20th from 9:00 A.M. – 3:30 P.M. CDT; and
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September 21st from 9:15 A.M. – 3:00 P.M. CDT
Registration deadline: September 5th
Email calexander@tacfs.org with questions about this training
PEIRS Enhancement Release Notes: Applicable in FY23 for Texas Home Visiting (THV) and Statewide Youth Services Network (SYSN) Grants
The ‘Enrollment Detail’ tab/page now displays a ‘Historical Info’ button only for enrollments that have been migrated from one grant to another. Selecting this button will display a pop-up that states:
- Prior Contract & Workflow name (one cycle back)
- Prior Enrollment/Registration ID
- Prior Enrollment/Registration Start Date
Some Well-Child Visit benchmark/survey due dates have been updated for older children so that Well-Child benchmarks will display at least one month prior to the timeframe requested. This fixes an issue in which a Well-Child benchmark would not display at the timeframe listed below and sometimes appear long after a child would have been eligible to receive that visit.
When enrollments in home visiting models/workflows are migrated to a new grant (such as THV grant cycle updates for FY23), PEIRS will now calculate and display Home Visit benchmarks/surveys based on completion of those benchmarks in the prior grant cycle. For example, if Household Income was assessed in the prior grant, PEIRS will not ask the same question again in the new grant. Annual updates and follow-ups will occur based on the previous enrollment date. This will ensure continuity of service for grantees who will no longer have to re-enter benchmarks that were previously assessed in the prior grant.
For grant workflows or models that are unable to be migrated due to consolidating from two grants into one, enrollments will have to be re-entered and reassessed.
Defect Release Notes. Fixed an issue where PEIRS ‘Referrals’ page would incorrectly prefill follow-up details from prior referrals, preventing the user from entering new follow-up information. This issue most affected Developmental Referrals which may have multiple instances in the span of a single enrollment.
A small amount of Safe Sleep Onesies in English only are available for order by PEI Grantees.
Supplies are extremely limited - order today.
Texas Education Agency Job Posting: Director of Family Engagement
POSITION OVERVIEW: The Director of Family Engagement will be responsible for implementing and overseeing the state’s family engagement strategy with the goal of supporting Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in engaging families as essential partners in helping students achieve academic proficiency, college, and career readiness.
Specifically, this role will:
- Support the statewide development, implementation and posting of the High-Quality Pre-K Family Engagement plans
- Support the partnering, expansion, and implementation of home visiting programs within LEAs Parent education delivered over multiple in-depth sessions
- Develop content, scopes & sequences and train the trainers resources for parent education
- Build a community of practice for those in districts/open enrollment charters whose primary role is to support family engagement
 The Texas Center for Child and Family Services announced the Texas Family Support Network into its next phase of development beginning on September 1st, 2022. Both The Center and Texas DFPS' PEI see the potential for the great impact TSFN can have on kids and families across the state of Texas.
The mission of the TFSN is to promote positive outcomes for all children, families, and communities by leveraging the collective impact of communities and championing quality Family Support and Strengthening practices and policies. The vision of the TFSN is a state in which every family is thriving and every community in Texas has a strong and effective Family Support and Strengthening Network.
Order your Activity Books for Summer and Fall! GetParentingTips Activity Books feature artwork, puzzles, and language learning activities, and each box comes with crayons for children. They're free to order and ship throughout Texas.
Thoughts, comments or suggestions to make PEI Grantee News work better for you? Send them to PEInews@dfps.texas.gov!
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