This training gives participants a quick check on their own skills and abilities. Participants will highlight their areas of strength as well as to increase their awareness of gaps that may exist in their abilities.

Twelve essential skills for responding to the needs of children of prisoners will be outlined and discussed.

Related issues will include: determining one's biases; applying knowledge and information to specific children and families; how secrets, judgments and individual agendas interfere with trust; and typical obstacles to effectively answering children's questions.

Children mourn the loss of their incarcerated parents. Some mourn the loss of the parent that was available to care for them. Others mourn the loss of the parent that "could have been."  People living or working with children of prisoners come to the task with many and varied experiences, skills and perspectives. This program enables you to assess your training needs - to see your strengths and identify where more attention may be needed. 

FEATURED PRESENTER: Ann Adalist-Estrin, M.S. is the author of the Children of Prisoners Library and co-author of Responding to Children and Families of Prisoners: A Community Guide. She is a Child and Family Therapist and Director of BRIDGES: Parent-Child Counseling and Consultation Services in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. She is an author, speaker and consultant to a wide variety of agencies serving children and families in the United States and Canada. Her seminar topics span a wide range of interests and ages and are popular with parents and professionals alike.

Ann Adalist-Estrin was Founder and Director of the Parent Resource Center in Wyncote, Pennsylvania and Director of Incarcerated Parents and Their Children – Consulting Services. She is a trainer for the Healthy Steps For Young Children Project at Boston University School of Medicine. She is an Affiliated Consultant with Family and Corrections Network. She regularly teaches a seminar for childcare directors at Holy Family College, Philadelphia and "Those Left Behind" a graduate course for teachers addressing the needs of children of incarcerated parents at Gratz College in Philadelphia.
 

This 80-minute audio-conference is hosted by Family and Corrections Network, publisher of the Children of Prisoners Library.