Workshop Categories

Over 130 workshops on best practices, model programs, research, and cutting-edge issues in the following tracks will be scheduled.

Early Care and Education

The field of early care and education stands in the forefront of the movement to promote school readiness and school success by focusing on our youngest children. With an emphasis that is inclusive of children, families, and practitioners from all backgrounds, workshops will address best practices, effective strategies, successful program models, and research on such topics as:

• Social-Emotional Development
• School Readiness
• Parent Community Involvement
• Special Needs of Children
• Effective Infant/Toddler Programs
• Pre-Kindergarten Programs
• Math, Science and Technology for Young Children
• Effective Teacher Preparation/Professional Development
• Leadership Development
• Effective Early Language and Literacy Programs
• Responsive Environments for Children
• Family, Friend & Neighbor Care

Education

A quality education for every student in grades K-8 remains a top priority for NBCDI. To that end, we are committed to advancing and supporting programs of prevention and intervention during the elementary and middle school years. Workshops will address challenges resulting from changes in education policy, evaluation, cultural and linguistic diversity and the use of effective practices, including but not limited to:

• Social-Emotional Development
• School Readiness
• Parental and Community Engagement
• Effective Before and After School Programs
• Effective Testing and Assessment Practices
• Working with Immigrant Students and Families
• The Achievement Gap in Reading, Math and Science
• Effective School Improvement
• New Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategies
• Project-Based and Service Learning
• Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Development Programs
• Effective Educational Programs for English Language Learners
• Universal Pre-K

Eradicating Health Disparities

National attention is focused on the widening health care and outcomes gap between low-income children and their more affluent peers. Workshops will focus on effective community-based strategies, prevention and early intervention programs, research and information that promote innovation and best practices for addressing the physical and mental health issues that disproportionately affect low-income and/or minority children and families, such as:

• Access to Healthcare
• Healthy Social and Emotional Development
• Asthma
• Child Safety
• HIV/AIDS
• Obesity in Children and Youth
• Violence Reduction in Homes and Communities
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
• Teen Pregnancy
• Culturally Relevant Health Care Practices
• Child Nutrition

Family Support/Parenting

Strengthening and supporting families are the first line of defense in helping to improve child and youth outcomes across a wide range of indicators. Workshops will showcase effective practices, strategies, programs, policies, and research for strengthening and supporting parents in the many roles they play in the lives of their children, such as:

• Assistance with Childcare Expenses
• Incarcerated Families
• Teen Parent Family Support
• Local, State, and Federal Initiatives
• Effective Parenting and Parent Education Programs
• Community and Economic Development/Affordable Housing
• Fatherhood and Father Involvement
• Parents as Leaders
• Family Trauma – Nature & Other Violent Disasters

Child Welfare

African American and Latino children are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system as both victims of child abuse and neglect, and as foster children. Workshops will showcase cutting-edge research, prevention, and early intervention programs that focus on:

• Foster Care and Adoption
• Kinship Care
• Child Abuse and Neglect
• Permanency Planning
• Reunification
• Parental Rights
• Welfare Reform
• Homelessness

Cutting-Edge Research

Research is the critical link to identifying the most effective methods, programs, and strategies that can positively affect the development, well-being, and life chances of children, youth, and families. It is essential that we design, conduct and analyze research that will best inform our efforts as parents and our work as professionals. To improve the scope and use of research by parents and practitioners, workshops will address issues related to child, youth, and family development including but not limited to:

• Parental and Community Involvement
• Child and Adolescent Health
• Early Language and Literacy Development
• Child Development
• School Readiness
• Early Care and Education
• Effective Testing and Assessment Practices
• Child Welfare
• Mental Health/Social & Emotional Development
• Quality Teaching and Learning
• Effective School Improvement

Lifestyle Management

Workshops will address such topics as:

• Creating Wealth
• Financing a Home
• Team Leadership
• Personal Financial Management

Cultural Diversity and Culturally Competent Practice

As a nation with increasing cultural and linguistic diversity, successfully addressing these issues in the context of our work with children and families, our organizations, and our interactions with colleagues and other professionals, is an important element of quality.  Workshop presentations will address issues that seek to improve our understanding, knowledge, and skills related to cultural diversity and culturally competent practice, including such topics as:

• Bilingual Education for Early Childhood and K-8
• Anti-bias Education
• Anti-racism Training
• Developing Culturally Competent Organizations
• Culturally-based Education
• Teacher Preparation for a Culturally Diverse Society
• Effective Parental Involvement
• Developing and Strengthening Diverse Leadership
• Language and Literacy for English Language Learners
• Appropriate Assessment for Culturally Diverse Children
• Culturally-based Mental Health Treatment and Support
• Family Values in Diverse Families