Training Information

A regional training for Home Visitors, DHS Child Welfare, Reunification, and Protective Services, and Infant and Toddlers program staff to be more effective and helpful to substance exposed mothers and children. The regional trainings allow workers in related areas to better connect and collaborate to benefit and serve substance exposed mothers and children. The training includes an online component of seven (7) modules in which participants must complete within 2 weeks prior to the one day in person training.

Content areas covered in both the online and in person training include:

• Understanding issues of substance exposed mothers, infants, and children from a multi-professional, multidisciplinary perspective.

• Developing trauma-informed perspectives and conversation skills, and understanding compassion fatigue and its impact on one's ability to work with populations that have experienced trauma.

• Understanding the challenges of addiction and dynamics of recovery (slips, relapse, recycling, using stages of change perspective).

• Developing better understanding of treatment options, the role of courts and legal system, and child welfare.

To date, 298 providers from the following agencies have participated in the SEN Training:

• Dorchester County: LDSS

• Queen Anne’s County: Infants & Toddlers Program; LDSS

• Midshore: Healthy Families

• Kent County: Infants & Toddlers Program; LDSS; Infants & Toddlers Program

• Caroline County: LDSS

• Cecil County: Infants & Toddlers Program; Home Visiting

• Harford County: Infants & Toddlers Program; Healthy Families; SSA/LDSS; Health Department

• Baltimore County: LDSS/SSA; Early Head Start; Healthy Families; Infants & Toddlers Program

• Baltimore City: LDSS/SSA; Early Head Start; DRU/Mondawmin Healthy Families; Infants & Toddlers Program; Sinai Hospital; Health Department; Healthcare Access Maryland

• Anne Arundel County: DSS; Home Visiting; Infants & Toddlers; Health Department; Healthy Start

• Calvert County: Infants & Toddlers Program; DSS

• Charles County: DSS; Infants & Toddlers Program; Department of Health

• Washington County: Healthy Families, DSS

• Garret County: Infants & Toddlers Program

• Allegany County: Early Head Start; Healthy Families; Infants & Toddlers Program

• Frederick County: DSS; Infants & Toddlers Program

When asked to comment on the SEN training, our participants have said the following about their experience:

On what was most helpful:

1. "The handouts are phenomenal! The training was well organized, concise, and gave a broad view of the SEN population."

2. "Hearing questions and comments from others who attended, interacting with folks from other agencies, reference handouts and learning more about what the different agencies and programs do, getting to collaboration with providers from CPS and Healthy Families."

3. "I loved how the training incorporated the different perspectives of the birth mother, the DHS worker, and medical professionals."

4. "Symptoms of SEN and differentiation of substances and their effects. Testimonial from recovering mother was great!"

5. "The phrase that parents (moms) don’t choose to be addicted, they chose to try it. I feel that stuck with me the most. I liked when it touched on strategies for helping/working with kids with substance exposure."

On the online training:

1. "It is a good introduction to what may be discussed during the classroom portion of this training. It serves as a small platform to introduce a summary without having to go in depth."

2. "The different specialists talking about the subject at hand was beneficial instead of it just being in PowerPoint presentation mode."

3. "The way info was presented; concise, with visual and auditory components were helpful"

4. "The modules provided me with background knowledge/information on treating SENs and their families."

5. "I enjoyed watching the interviews with a wide variety of providers who work with moms and SENs."