As parents of 4 young children and career education professionals working in special education in rural Washington State - my wife and I embarked on an "adoption journey" through a number of events several years ago. In addition to drawing from our combined 20+ years working in public education, our M.Ed training in serving the needs of exceptional children - we read books, talked with other adoptive parents, listened carefully to the great counsel we were receiving from licensed professionals helping us become prepared to be qualified to enter into the adoption process - we also learned about an amazing network of expertise, faith, and a research-based perspective on the adoption journey that I feel is worth forwarding to you for consideration at this time.
Empowered to Connect (ECT) is an organization that my wife and I were made aware of through local adoptive parents who had, like many adoptive parents, struggled to find accessible materials that provided them with research-based materials in conjunction with a faith-based message in support of the questions we were wrestling with. With some great timing on our side, we were able to travel to Dallas, Texas for a 2 day workshop where we not only were able to receive training directly Michael and Amy Monroe, founders of ETC, but also from Dr. Karyn Purvis of TCU's Institute for Child Development - a researcher and leader in designing interventions for "children from hard places" (a phrase Dr. Purvis coined) who have experienced extreme trauma, neglect, and abuse.
In case you were not aware, the intervention and education work being lead by Drs. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross at TCU's Institute for Child Development were the recipients of a $20 million dollar grant in 2013.
The Rees-Jones Foundation makes $20 million gift to support work with at-risk children at TCU May 14, 2013 The Rees-Jones Foundation has made a $20 million gift to the TCU Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University. The Institute conducts research, education, training and advocacy focused on children suffering from trauma-induced developmental issues that lead to social, behavioral and emotional problems. Among the principal interests of The Rees-Jones Foundation are promoting the welfare of children suffering from abuse or neglect and providing relief to those facing mental health challenges.
The TCU Institute of Child Development has been able to significantly improve and expand the scope of its work to help at-risk children thanks in large part to leadership support from Jan and Trevor Rees-Jones. “This Institute changes lives and, thanks to the generosity of The Rees-Jones Foundation and the continued leadership support from Jan and Trevor, this amazing work will no doubt continue to touch and restore many more families and children,” said Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr.
The Institute’s groundbreaking Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI) therapeutic model has proven particularly effective with adoptive children and those in state or foster care. Consequently, this therapeutic model now permeates all training and policies that are employed by personnel who adjudicate and administer family law in Texas.
TCU Institute of Child Development research shows that abnormally aggressive behavior in harmed children is often caused by pervasive fear resulting from neglect, abuse or other early trauma. These children frequently suffer profound changes in their developing psyche, neurology and biochemistry. They may exhibit various mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, reactive attachment disorder or severe depression. Explosive rage, violent outbursts and learning disabilities are also typical.
The Rees-Jones Foundation is the principal funder of the Institute’s three-year TBRI® Evaluation Study, a proof-of-concept analysis to confirm the therapeutic model’s effectiveness in large-scale and institutional settings. In smaller settings, TBRI® has achieved positive results in restoring harmed children to health and wholeness. The most recent commitment from The Rees-Jones Foundation will endow the TCU Institute of Child Development and ensure that its director, Dr. Karyn Purvis, and her team can continue their important work with children from hard places. In addition to funding, the Foundation has provided strategic counsel to the Institute and fostered community partnerships with like-minded organizations. In recognition of the gift, the instructional building under construction in the University’s Intellectual Commons will be named Rees-Jones Hall. The facility will provide state-of-the-art classroom space and will be the new home of the TCU Institute of Child Development and the TCU Energy Institute. Newsweek and NBC’s Dateline, among other news organizations, have reported on the work of the TCU Institute of Child Development.
See more at: http://newsevents.tcu.edu/stor...sthash.mBEvpRj3.dpuf
http://newsevents.tcu.edu/stor...isk-children-at-tcu/
In recognition of Dr. Purvis' research and leadership in the State of Texas, she was also named as the 2014 Judge Scott Moore Award Recipient by the CASA of Tarrant County. CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Tarrant County is an organization of volunteer advocates who stand up on behalf of abused and neglected children because they want them to have a future brighter, more hopeful than their past. From their announcement about the award:
Announcing our 2014 Judge Scott Moore Award Recipient: Dr. Karyn Purvis
Dr. Karyn Purvis is the founder and Rees-Jones Director of the TCU Institute of Child Development and a passionate advocate for “children from hard places.” She coined the phrase to describe children with histories of trauma, abuse and neglect. A noted author, scholar and popular speaker, Dr. Purvis holds a PhD in developmental psychology from Texas Christian University. She and her mentor and colleague, Dr. David Cross, currently lead the Institute in its triple mission of research, education and outreach on behalf of at-risk children.
Drs. Purvis and Cross co-authored “The Connected Child: Bringing Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family” to help adoptive parents understand the needs of children from hard places.
Within six months of publication, The Connected Child ranked as an Amazon bestseller among adoption books. In 1999, Dr. Purvis launched The Hope Connection®, a summer camp that serves as a research and training lab for adopted children and their parents and students. Out of that experience and years of research, Drs. Purvis and Cross developed Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) ®, a step-by-step intervention designed to bring deep healing to at-risk children and their struggling families.
The workshop sessions my wife and I attended several years ago were amazing. The information was both profound and accessible to professionals and adoptive parents alike. Many in the audience were licensed professionals working in different capacities. The event helped fuel our own growth as educational professionals in some amazing ways. Since we have attended that workshop several years ago, the word about both the ETC and Dr. Purvis (and Dr. David Cross) at Texas Christian's Institute for Child Development are certainly "getting out there." That said, I still run into individuals who have never heard of either ETC or Dr. Purvis' work in the area of equipping families to lovingly support the children they welcome in their home through adoption or foster parenting.
I thought I'd forward some information to you and though one of the events mentioned has recently passed (Sept 12 and 13, 2014 in Washington, D.C.) there is an upcoming conference in Orange County, California.
From the Empowered to Connect website: http://empoweredtoconnect.org/
Empowered To Connect, together with Show Hope, hosts the Empowered To Connect Conference — a two-day conference designed to help adoptive and foster parents, ministry leaders and professionals better understand how to connect with “children from hard places” in order to help them heal and become all that God desires for them to be.
The conference features Dr. Karyn Purvis together with Michael & Amy Monroe, and is ideal for adoptive and foster parents, those considering adoption or foster care and those who are serving and supporting others, including social workers, agency professionals, church staff and ministry leaders, counselors, therapists and others.
The next Empowered To Connect Conference will be on September 12 & 13, 2014, in the Washington, D.C, area (at Reston Bible Church in Reston, Virginia). Click here to register. For a limited time you can also receive 1/2 off your registration fee — just use the discount code FOCUS when you register.
Visit www.etcconference.org for more details and to register online.
Dates and Locations for the 2015 Empowered To Connect Conferences:
• February 13-14, 2015 – Orange County, California
• April 10-11, 2015 — San Antonio, Texas
• September 18-19, 2015 — Minneapolis, Minnesota
(I emphasized the future date for California in bold red font)
As the very name of ETC suggests, empowerment to connect with "children from hard places" is a central motivator for parents to attend one of these workshops. In my own experience, there were many other ways in which both empowerment and connection were experienced.
I cannot think of a more timely "forward" or FB "like" than to your friends and connections that are on their own "adoption journey" or who work professionally with "children from hard places" and are looking for another research-based voice being offered in the movement's efforts to reach all citizens with the message that a life well-lived begins in the lives of children loved well.
Steve Dahl
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