Yachad’s second annual Winter Continuing Education Conference for Disability Service Providers and Educators will be held Tuesday, December 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Yachad/Jewish Union Foundation Day Hab Without Walls, 1122 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn. The conference is intended for mental health practitioners, service coordinators, community hab workers, direct care workers, and educators who are engaged in a professional capacity in assisting individuals and families affected by disabilities.
Participation is free, but seating is limited. Breakfast and lunch will be included. For continuing education credits, a Certificate of Completion will be issued to each attendee based upon request.
“Yachad,” the flagship program of the Orthodox Union’s National Jewish Council for Disabilities (NCJD), provides unique social, educational and recreational programs for individuals with learning, developmental and physical disabilities with the goal of their Inclusion in the total life of the Jewish community.
“It is crucial for practitioners of all disciplines be educated in how to engage all individuals and families who may be in diverse and difficult circumstances,” says Deborah Berman, LCSW, Director of Social Work for Yachad. “It is not longer realistic or even good for a practitioner to utilize a one size fits all approach to client matters. It is crucial for health, mental health, and disability professionals to go beyond the surface and become competent in subtle cultural issues, accurate exploration of family history, and understand how an individual’s culture or community responds and reacts to individuals with disabilities, both on the attitudinal level and the social service level. Working with individuals with special needs requires practitioners to at all times be a sociologist, an historian, a detective, and a counselor. This conference is our way of really working with colleagues at other agencies and schools as a professional courtesy so that as a community of practitioners every single practitioner and every agency remains on the cutting edge of best practice interventions.”
Presenters will include Deborah Berman, LCSW; Michael Appelbaum, Program Director of the Jewish Union Foundation (JUF); Jack Gourdji, Executive Director of JUF; Chaya Henchie Friedman, School Social Worker at Yachad’s Individualized Vocational Development Unit (IVDU) School; Dr. Deborah Mann, School Psychologist at IVDU School; and Nechama Braun, Administrator of Yachad Summer Programs. There will also be an optional self-care support group for direct practice workers facilitated by Deborah Berman, LCSW.
Sessions and presentations include:
• Expanding Your Clinical Know-How for Engaging and Working with Complicated Family Systems and Diverse Disabilities, with Deborah Berman
• Vocational Options for Persons of Disabilities, with Jack Gourdji, Michael Appelbaum, and Deborah Berman
• Supporting Families in Assessing and Choosing the Right Special Education Program, with Chaya Henchie Friedman and Dr. Deborah Mann
• Inclusion in Summer Camps: Organized Social Programming for both Children and Adults with Special Needs, with Nechama Braun
• Direct Care Worker and Self Care Workshop, with Deborah Berman
For more information email Deborah Berman, LCSW at {encode=”bermand@ou.org” title=”bermand@ou.org”} or call 212-613-8127. Registration website: www.yachad.org/winterconference
OU | Enhancing Jewish Life