Save the Date to virtually attend the 2020 Strengthening Families Conference, scheduled for August 28. Find complete details below about your registration options.

Register for Strengthening Families Conference >>

Join us on August 28, 2020 virtually! The Strengthening Families Conference provides an opportunity to discover the latest research, best practices and tools for Early Learning Professionals, Parents and Kinship/Foster Caregivers. The 2020 Virtual Conference is open to anyone who is interested in the health and well-being of children, youth and families. Add to your repertoire of tools and strategies, discover new ideas and make new contacts.

Continuing Education Verification/ Verification of Conference Attendance is available to attendees who want to verify attendance, STARS hours are also available.

2020 Conference Registration


Registration $25
Student Registration $20
COVID – Affected $20

We are offering a reduced rate for those in our community whose employment has been negatively affected by the coronavirus.

Keynote Speakers


Deborah Gray

MPA, LICSW
Deborah trains on Child Welfare Issues and is a child and family therapist. Honored as the Henry Meier Practitioner in Residence at the U of WA, she has taught in Post-graduate programs through Portland State University and other private and public agencies on child trauma, attachment, grief, and parenting support. She authored the Attachment-Trauma Focused Therapy post-graduate program, which is a nationally disseminated model. Deborah is also the author of four books. The latest is Promoting Healthy Attachments: Hands-On Techniques to Use with your Clients. Other books are: Attaching with Love, Hugs, and Play, Nurturing Adoptions: Creating Resilience after Trauma and Neglect, and Attaching in Adoption. She is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association for Training on Attachment and Trauma in Children

Mac Bledsoe

President and Founder of Parenting with Dignity
Drawing on a lifetime of practical experience, Mac Bledsoe has been talking with parents for more than 40 years about how to help instill positive behavior and good decision-making skills in children.
No matter the audience, Mac brings highly motivational messages laced with humor, common sense, and immediately usable skills to audiences all across America! You will laugh; you will cry, you will think… and you will change, as Mac will touch your head and your heart when he guides you through important messages about working with, teaching, and growing up with children.

2020 Conference Partners

https://www.centralia.edu/academics/education-social-services/early-child-education.aspx

Thank you to our Sponsors

South Puget Sound Community College Foundation