WHEELING — The Ohio County Partners in Prevention Team with the Ohio County Family Resource Network will host the eighth annual Partners in Prevention Conference from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14 at Wheeling Jesuit University. This workshop is a wonderful opportunity for both new and experienced professionals, parents and community members to learn about effective child protection strategies and other topics relating to helping children and families.

The keynote speaker will be Mary Gordon, founder and president of Roots of Empathy. She will be presenting on nurturing the roots of empathy. Participants will gain skills to better understand the link between the attachment relationship, empathy and violence. Gordon will speak to the importance of a trauma informed approach in working with children and families and the science behind her program.

Other breakout sessions include:

∫ Darkness to Light, Stewards of Children – Research based child sexual abuse prevention program.

∫ Making a Difference: The Mandate to Report, the Responsibility to Prevent Child Abuse – Updated presentation on the mandated reporting law in West Virginia along with how to recognize and report suspicions of abuse and neglect.

∫ Misconceptions of Poverty – Explore statistics relating to benefits fraud in West Virginia, misconceptions about poverty and how they relate to our own belief systems and our work with families.

∫ How to Approach Sensitive Topics Related to Typical Sexual Development – Understanding and responding to typical sexual development in children in order to increase levels of comfort and confidence to address sensitive topics.

∫ Basic Design Concepts — Increase family engagement with a more in-depth understanding of typefaces, layouts, color, scale and other basic design concepts.

∫ Medication Assisted Treatment: Changing the Landscape for Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder: Explore the history of MAT, different types and uses currently approved in the US plus learn research behind MAT and changes in the field.

∫ Six Things Everyone Should Know about Diversity: Training to help better understand and work with members of minority/disenfranchised people.

∫ Building Healthy Attachments with Caregivers and Traumatized Children – Practical tips for working with families when trauma has occurred through consistency, routines and predictability to help children feel safe.

∫ Impact of Human Trafficking in West Virginia – Overview of federal and state laws, risk factors and an overview of local resources.

Continuing education credits for law enforcement, social work, counseling, STARS, Birth to Three, nursing, and Domestic Violence Advocate Certification are approved. Registration fee to attend includes lunch with a $10 discount if paid by Nov. 30.

To register, visit https://2018pip.eventbrite.com and for more information contact Claudia Raymer at 304-232-5600 or OhioCountyFRN@yahoo.com.