an overview georgia program improvement plan - Department of ...

• Special Needs of Children in Substance Abusing Families, developed and presented by E. Douglas Pratt, D.S.W., LMSW of
the Child Welfare Practice and Policy Group, Montgomery, Alabama provided opportunity to enhance professional
interventions for families in substance abuse recovery. This workshop focused on the impact of adult Alcohol and other Drug
(AOD) abuse on children. Content included the thirteen psychosocial traits of children from families with AOD problems and
Identification of underlying needs that drive child behaviors; development of family teams to balance positive discipline with
strategies to meet underlying needs and family coaching strategies.
• When Home is not a Safe Haven, delivered by Claudia Fedarko, MSW and Lisa Ellis, MSW explored the dynamics of child
sexual abuse. Participants learned practical strategies for assessing risk, boundaries and family hierarchies, clear risk factors
associated with sexual abuse and family dynamics were caretaker abuse has occurred.
• The Challenging Behaviors of Children in Care, delivered by Wendy Hanevold, Ph.D. trained on the assessment and
dynamics of grief and loss for children in foster care. Participants examined how to discriminate between attention deficit
disorders and grief and loss/trauma reactions. Content included strategies for managing disruptive behaviors before
attachments are form and managing challenging behaviors connected with parent visits for children in care.
• Strength-based Assessment: Part One – Family Assessment Skills – E. Douglas Pratt, D.S.W., LMSW; Georgia has been
developing a model of family-centered practice for over five years. This model enhances systems of care and individualized
multi-agency family support networks. While most child and family practitioners in Georgia have practical knowledge about
controlling risks, effective practitioners share common skill-sets for assessment and planning that actively involve family and
other supports in ways that leave more families safely in charge of their own teams. This two-part workshop provided
participants with concrete skills and strategies to improve their assessment to positively impact family outcomes. Participants
skills in family centered assessment and the development of service plans responsive to individual and family needs.
• Substance Abuse: Reading the Signs, Recognizing the Symptoms, delivered by Karen Terry, NCAC and Candee Winfield,
LPC. Participants were able to identify the relational dynamics present within the family of an addicted person; Content
included discussion of the disease concept of addiction, identification of the symptoms associated with a diagnosis of chemical
dependency and components of the alcohol and drug assessment instrument and process.
• When Mental Health Issues Impair Parental and Family Functioning, delivered by Judy Plecko, Licensed Clinical Social
Worker, was designed to focus on the impact of mental illness on parenting capacity, tools and interventions to restore balance
to the family system. Participants learned how to identify issues and challenges for children when a parent has a mental
illness, recognize specific mental health disorders, their risks and potential severity and effective interventions for helping
parents and children cope with the effect of mental illness on the family system.
Safe Futures – A Plan for Program Improvement
Georgia Department of Human Resources
November, 2004 Quarter 8 – Work Plan Q Page 8