2026 Clinical/Macro Conference

NASW-MD Chapter’s In-Person 21st Annual Fall Clinical & 14th Annual Macro Social Work Conference

Thursday and Friday, September 24-25, 2026

The Maritime Institute | 692 Maritime Blvd | Linthicum Heights, MD 21090

Reserve your hotel room online at the Maritime Institute (breakfast & lunch included each day) https://gettaroom.b4checkin.com/mccbwi/rlp/NASW

Be an Exhibitor  at the 2026 Clinical & Macro Conference!

Conference Fees

Registration ends Tuesday, September 22^nd. After this date, you must register in person at the event. Bring a check or card for payment.

Entire Conference (14 CEUs)
$340 for NASW Members
$475 for Non-Members
$290 for Retired Members
$225 Students

Attend One Day (Thursday only – up to 8 CEUs)

$225 for NASW Members
$350 for Non-Members
$175 for Retired Members
$125 for Students

Attend One Day (Friday Only – up to 6 CEUs)

$200 for NASW Members
$325 for Non-Members
$150 for Retired Members
$100 for Students

Thursday, September 24, 2026

8 CEUS Available (6 CAT I and 2 CAT II)

7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. – Registration, networking, and visit exhibitors

8:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. – Welcome and announcements
Karessa Proctor, BSW, MSW
Executive Director, NASW-MD Chapter

8:45 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. – Morning Keynote
Structural Racism -
Speaker: Dr. Anthony Estreet
CEO, National Association of Social Workers
About the Speaker: 
Synopsis: 
CE: 1 Category I

9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.        BREAK

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Morning Workshops (choose one)

Workshop A

Sexual Assault Survivors & The Epstein Effect

Presenter: Suzanne Cox, LCSW-C, MBA
Team leader, Continuous Care Team, UMMS/WPPC Clinics, Baltimore
Synopsis: The impact of sexual violence is ubiquitous: The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that 81 percent of women and 43 percent of men in the US experience some form of sexual harassment or assault in their lifetime. It is estimated that more than 63 percent of sexual assaults are not reported to the police with only about 5% of reported incidents leading to the arrest of a perpetrator. Women of color, Native American women, LGBTQ individuals, individuals with disabilities, and immigrants face even higher rates of sexual assault. The release of the Epstein files and subsequent protection of perpetrators over victims has a profound and ongoing impact on all sexual assault victims, their families, and the greater community.

Learning Objectives: By the conclusion of this workshop, participants will:

1. Evaluate the differences in rates of sexual assault and prosecution of criminals in mainstream and minority communities and the institutional factors that impact this. 
2. Examine the impact of the release of information about the Epstein files on the named victims as well as the community of sexual assault survivors.
3. Identify clinical and systemic interventions that can support survivors in the current social environment.

Please Note: This workshop fulfills 2 of the 3-hour Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice Content (Social Justice) requirement by the Maryland BSWE for license renewal.

Workshop B

The Legacies We Leave Behind

Presenter: Shanea Thomas
Synopsis:  As we swiftly move into the digital age and see more social workers being trained online, this can give a different perspective on providing services to clients and patients, but also isolates the person from building a larger community with other experts and passing along useful tips and information for building a practice. This divide can also foster a strained relationship between younger and older practitioners in the field, age- and experience-wise, and cause them to miss the lessons each can learn from the other. In this workshop the presenter discusses the results of online education, the growing movement toward private practice, the isolation of academia, and how to create camaraderie and relationships across generational divides to build a legacy of competent practice for current and future social workers.
Learning Objectives: Attendees will be able to:

1. Discuss at least 3 historical touch points and the evolution of social work education over the past 20 years that affect practice implementation.
2. Be able to compare the data and research of online social work training versus in-person/analog learning.
3. Learn to build a sustainable, growing network of social workers from various generations to increase knowledge and skills, and update degrees of expertise.

Workshop C

Integrating TheraMe into Mental Health Practice: A Trauma Informed Approach

Presenter: Ashley McSwain, LMSW, MSOD

President, Consultants for Change, Inc.
Synopsis:  TheraMe is a trauma-informed, client-led mental health platform designed to bridge the gap between traditional clinical sessions and the complex, oppressive realities clients navigate daily. In standard practice, clinicians heavily rely on retrospective storytelling during short weekly sessions, which can leave the chronic, real-time impacts of racism, sexism, and marginalization invisible or pathologized. TheraMe addresses this gap by giving clients a private, self-directed space to record their emotional and somatic responses exactly when and where they happen, capturing critical context about their environments, relationships, and bodily sensations. By allowing individuals to narrate their own realities without flattening their lived experiences into a generic mood score, the platform honors client self-determination and validates their distress as a reasonable response to systemic injustice rather than an internal failing.

In this workshop, participants will explore how integrating TheraMe into mental health practice shifts the therapeutic dynamic from an expert-driven extraction of information to an active, collaborative partnership. Attendees will examine the ethical dimensions of using a mobile tool, evaluating it through duty-based, outcome-based, and virtue-based lenses to ensure client autonomy, privacy, and informed consent are strictly protected. Through real-world case examples and a structured ethical decision-making model, social workers will practice navigating complex dilemmas related to data use, clinical boundaries, and social justice. Ultimately, the workshop highlights how TheraMe can be leveraged to co-create highly tailored interventions such as contextual grounding strategies or structural advocacy plans, positioning social workers as ethically grounded partners and facilitators of change who help clients reclaim authority over their internal worlds.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Describe how TheraMe functions as a trauma-informed, client-led tool for capturing real-time emotional and somatic experiences.

2. Explain how TheraMe can support client self-determination and center clients as experts in their own lives.

3. Analyze complex ethical considerations regarding autonomy, data ownership, informed consent, and professional boundaries when introducing mobile health tracking into clinical spaces.

4. Use a structured ethical decision-making model to navigate dilemmas related to boundaries, social justice, and the use of client-generated data.

CE: 2 cat I

Workshop D

When the Helper Breaks: Disability Justice & the Racial Equity Crisis in Social Work 

Presenter: Stephanie Slowly Little, MSW, LCSW-C, LCSW
Executive Director, NAMI Maryland
Synopsis:  Social work has long positioned itself as a profession of care yet the conditions under which social workers labor is, for many, unsustainable. Burnout is not distributed evenly. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) workers, workers with disabilities, and those at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities experience higher rates of departure from the profession, greater exposure to vicarious trauma, and the added weight of invisible labor that organizations neither name nor compensate. This workshop argues that burnout is not a wellness problem it is a structural and racial equity crisis. Drawing on the presenter's original research on burnout and leadership in social work, and grounded in the 10 principles of disability justice, participants will move beyond individual resilience strategies toward a collective, intersectional analysis of why the helper breaks and what equitable organizations must do differently. Participants will use a structured organizational equity mapping tool to locate ableist and race-blind policies in their own agencies, practice disability justice informed supervision strategies through case study analysis and leave with one concrete structural advocacy commitment. This session models the principles it teaches access-centered facilitation, multiple participation modes, and rest as pedagogy.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this workshop, attendees will:

1. Analyze the structural and organizational conditions that produce burnout in social work, with specific attention to how race, disability, and gender intersect to create disproportionate burden for BIPOC and marginalized workers. 
2. Apply the 10 principles of disability justice — including interdependence, collective access, and sustainability — as a transformative framework for evaluating and redesigning social work leadership and supervision practices.
3. Identify ableist and white-dominant organizational norms within their own agencies, including capacity-blind policies, invisible labor expectations, and the "heroic worker" mythology that drives burnout.
4. Demonstrate at least two disability justice-informed supervision strategies that address burnout at the structural level rather than individualizing it as a personal or clinical problem.
5. Formulate one concrete structural advocacy commitment — rooted in racial and disability equity — that they will advance within their organization following the workshop

CE: 2 Cat. I in Anti-Oppressive SW Practice Content

12:00 pm – 1:05 pm LUNCH

1:15 pm – 4:30 pm Afternoon Workshops

Workshop E

Narratives of Transformation in Action

Presenters: Catherine Nugent, LCPC, TEP
Executive Director & Principal Trainer, Laurel Psychodrama Training Institute
Laura Greer, LCSW-C
LG Wellness LLC, Psychotherapy Practice
Synopsis: Narratives of Transformation in Action is a highly experiential workshop that integrates narrative therapy, existential and logotherapy perspectives, and psychodramatic role-play to explore how meaning is made through the stories we tell. Participants will learn how life narratives shape identity, coping, and mental health—and how clinicians can help clients move from narratives of victimization or stagnation toward narratives of resilience, redemption, and transformation. Through presentation, structured exercises, and brief psychodramatic enactments, participants will experience how embodied methods can expand clients’ perspectives, deepen meaning-making, and support posttraumatic growth. This workshop offers practical, immediately applicable tools for social workers and other therapists who wish to incorporate narrative and experiential approaches into their individual, group, or community practice.

Learning Objectives: After this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Explain how personal narratives function as meaning-making systems, and describe their impact on identity, resilience, and mental health.
2. Differentiate between contamination/victimization narratives and redemption/transformation narratives and describe how shifting narrative frames can support client growth.
3. Demonstrate at least one psychodramatic action method for exploring a significant life event and supporting the construction of more adaptive and empowering narratives.

CE: 3 Cat. I

Workshop F

From Internship Placement to Supervision: Navigating Disability Justice in Social Work Internship Education

Presenters: David T. Bruno, LMSW
Simmons University

Margo Delotte-Bennett, MSW, LICSW
Gallaudet University

Concetta Pucci, Ph.D., LICSW, LCSW-C, LCSW
Gallaudet University

Synopsis: Disability Justice calls on social workers to move beyond accommodation and toward systemic approaches that promote equity, access, and belonging. Yet students with disabilities—including Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing (DDBHH) students, neurodivergent learners, and students with psychiatric, mobility, and other disabilities—continue to encounter barriers throughout social work education, particularly during internship placement and supervision experiences. This interactive workshop explores how Disability Justice principles can inform decision-making across the continuum of social work internship education, from placement to practicum instruction and professional development. Through discussion and case-based learning, participants will examine common challenges involving accessibility, stigma, accommodation, and institutional barriers. Drawing on experiences in social work education and disability communities, the presenters will highlight practical strategies for supporting students and supervisors while balancing educational, ethical, and organizational responsibilities. Participants will leave with concrete tools for fostering more inclusive, equitable, and justice-oriented educational and supervisory environments.

Learning Objectives: After this presentation, attendees will be able to:

1. Define key principles of Disability Justice and describe their application to social work education, internship placement, and supervision.
2. Identify barriers that Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard-of-hearing (DDBHH) students, neurodivergent students, and students with psychiatric, mobility, and other disabilities may encounter in social work programs and internship settings.
3. Apply Disability Justice frameworks to analyze and respond to complex internship placement and supervision challenges.
4. Develop practical strategies for creating accessible, inclusive, and supportive learning and supervisory environments.
5. Evaluate educational and organizational practices through a Disability Justice lens to promote equity, participation, and student success.

CE: 3 Cat I in Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice Content in Social Justice

Workshop G

Ethical Spiritual Integration: Balancing Professional Boundaries with Clients' Faith and Cultural Identities

Presenter: Ebony Vaughan, LCSW-C, CCTP
Nexus Wellness Group

Synopsis: In this workshop, the presenter explores the intersection of spirituality, religion, culture, and professional practice. As clients increasingly seek support that acknowledges the role of faith and cultural traditions in their lives, professionals must navigate these conversations with sensitivity, competence, and ethical awareness. The presenter examines best practices for recognizing and incorporating clients' spiritual and cultural perspectives without imposing personal beliefs or compromising professional boundaries. Participants will explore ethical standards, cultural humility, boundary considerations, and practical strategies for assessment, communication, and intervention. Through case studies, guided discussions, and real-world applications, attendees will strengthen their ability to provide inclusive, client-centered services that honor the diverse identities and belief systems of those they serve.

Learning Objectives: By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify ethical considerations related to integrating spirituality, faith, and cultural identity into professional practice.
2. Distinguish between appropriate spiritual integration and boundary violations.
3. Apply culturally responsive and spiritually sensitive communication strategies.
4. Utilize ethical decision-making models when addressing clients' faith-based concerns.
5. Demonstrate increased cultural humility and self-awareness regarding personal beliefs and biases.
6. Develop practical approaches for supporting clients' spiritual and cultural strengths while maintaining professional standards.

Code of Ethics represented: 

• Standard 1.05: Cultural Awareness and Social Diversity
• Standard 1.02: Self-Determination
• Standard 1.03: Informed Consent
• Standards 1.06 & 1.06(c): Conflicts of Interest
• Standard 1.07: Privacy and Confidentiality
• Ethical Principle: Dignity and Worth of the Person

CE: 3 Cat I in Ethics

Workshop H

The One Big Beautiful Bill: Implications on the Social Work Profession

Presenter: Corey Beauford, LCSW-C, LICSW
Founder & President, Inspired Consulting Group

Synopsis: No tax on tips! No tax on overtime! Changes to the standard deduction which will lower tax liabilities for millions of Americans. H. R. 1, formally known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, which was passed on July 3, 2025, has offered huge tax incentives for businesses and families alike. While there are positive aspects of this groundbreaking legislation, there are also changes that will have a harmful impact on Americans who receive government benefits such as SNAP and Medicaid. This training will highlight relevant areas of H.R.1 that impact human services professionals. We will also share strategies on how social workers can prep consumers to take advantage of community resources and make lifestyle modifications in response to funding cuts to key entitlement programs.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this presentation, attendees will:

1. Be able to identify relevant portions of the H.R.1
2. Understand how provisions of the bill will impact services provided by social service organizations.
3. Be able to implement strategies useful for assisting clients with meeting their psychosocial needs in lieu of budget cuts to key entitlement programs

CE: 3 Cat I

5:00 – 7:00 p.m. – Evening Sessions (optional) -

Clinical Movie & Discussion: Ted Lasso's "Headspace" (Season 2, Episode 7)

Presenter: Kawana Webb, LCSW-C

Synopsis: This interactive training uses the Ted Lasso episode "Headspace" as a case study to examine key social work concepts related to mental health, therapeutic engagement, emotional wellness, and strengths-based practice. Through guided viewing, facilitated discussion, and reflective activities, participants will explore how individuals respond to stress, vulnerability, and support. The training highlights common barriers to seeking help, the development of therapeutic relationships, and the role of self-awareness in promoting resilience and well-being. Participants will analyze character interactions through a social work lens, applying trauma-informed, person-centered, and strengths-based perspectives to better understand client experiences and effective engagement strategies.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

1. Identify barriers to help-seeking and engagement in mental health services, including the impact of stigma and vulnerability.
2. Describe key elements of an effective therapeutic alliance and strategies that support client engagement.
3. Recognize strengths-based, person-centered, and trauma-informed approaches to supporting individuals experiencing emotional distress.

Apply insights from the episode to social work practice by reflecting on self-awareness, emotional wellness, and effective helping relationships.
CE: 2 Cat II CEUs

OR

5:30 pm – 7 pm –

Know Your License

Presenters: Wonderfly Games

Synopsis: Know your license is a live, interactive, Jeopardy-style game hosted in partnership with Wonderfly Games, and features NASW-D authored content on Maryland CEU and license retention requirements. Participants compte in teams to answer fill-in-the-blank, true/false, and multiple-choice questions for social workers. Skip the rushou hour traffic, and join us for a game that is both fun and educational!  Limited space available for this event.

CE: 1.5 Cat (II pending)

Friday September 25, 2026

6 Hours Category I CEUs

7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. – Registration, networking, and visit exhibitors

8:25a.m. – 8:35 a.m. – Welcome and announcements
Karessa Proctor, BSW, MSW
Executive Director, NASW-MD Chapter

8:45 am – 12:00 pm – Morning Workshops (Choose 1)

Workshop I

Boundaries with Systems: Ethical Self-Advocacy for Social Workers

Presenter: Kristin Whiting-Davis, LCSW-C

Synopsis: Social workers often practice within complex systems, organizational expectations, policies, productivity demands, and resource limitations can conflict with ethical practice and client-centered care. In this training, the presenter explores how to recognize and respond to ethical tension while maintaining professional integrity, role clarity, and attention to client welfare. Participants will examine real-world dilemmas involving dual loyalty, role strain, documentation pressure, systemic constraints, and boundary challenges within agencies, healthcare settings, schools, nonprofits, and other clinical environments. Grounded in the NASW Code of Ethics, Maryland regulatory considerations, and ethical decision-making frameworks, the course supports social workers in identifying ethically sound options for advocacy, communication, and boundary setting within systems. Through case examples, structured reflection, and applied exercises, participants will develop practical strategies for responding to workplace dilemmas in ways that preserve professional responsibility, support client care, and reduce the likelihood of reactive or avoidant decision-making.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this workshop attendees will be able to:

1. Identify sources of ethical tension within organizational systems that may affect client care and professional responsibility.
2. Examine the impact of dual loyalty, role strain, and systemic pressure on ethical social work practice.
3. Apply an ethical decision-making framework to workplace dilemmas involving competing responsibilities.
4. Develop strategies for ethical self-advocacy, boundary setting, and values-aligned communication within professional systems.

CE: 3 Cat I in Ethics

Please Note: This workshop meets the 3 hour Ethics requirement by the Maryland BSWE for license renewal.

Workshop J

Recognizing Neurodivergence Across the Lifespan: A Practical Guide for Social Workers

Presenter: Rick Silver

Synopsis: This interactive workshop will equip social workers with practical tools to recognize and respond to neurodivergence across the lifespan, with particular attention to ADHD and autism presentations that are frequently overlooked or misidentified. Participants will learn how executive functioning differences, emotional dysregulation, sensory processing challenges, and masking can shape behavior in children, adolescents, and adults, often presenting as anxiety, depression, trauma, personality disorders, or treatment resistance. Through engaging case examples and real-world scenarios, attendees will develop skills to identify neurodivergent “red flags,” differentiate overlapping conditions, communicate effectively with clients and families, and make more informed referrals for evaluation and support. The presentation will also explore the unique role of the social worker as a neurodivergence navigator, helping clients access appropriate community resources while adapting interventions to better align with neurobiological differences. Participants will leave with a practical framework they can immediately apply in clinical practice, healthcare settings, schools, and community agencies.

Learning Objectives: By the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify at least five common indicators of ADHD and autism across the lifespan, including presentations that are frequently masked or misdiagnosed as other mental health conditions.
2. Differentiate executive functioning deficits, emotional dysregulation, sensory processing differences, and masking from symptoms more commonly attributed to anxiety, trauma, depression, or personality disorders.
3. Apply a practical framework for recognizing neurodivergence, communicating observations with clients and families, and facilitating appropriate referrals and community supports within their professional role.

CE: 3 Cat I

Workshop K

The Resilient Leader:  Leading with Strength, Adaptability, and Purpose(supervision) 

Presenter: Pamela Love, PhD, MSW, MBA
President, DP Love Enterprises and Founder, Finishers Network

Synopsis: Social Work and other mental health professionals often serve others while navigating complex systems, competing priorities, organizational change, and emotionally demanding work. This interactive 3-hour professional development training explores the characteristics and practices of resilient leaders who remain effective, adaptable, and purpose-driven during times of challenge and uncertainty. Participants will examine how resilience influences leadership effectiveness, decision-making, communication, and team dynamics. Through reflection, discussion, and practical application, attendees will identify strategies to strengthen their personal resilience, manage stress more effectively, maintain healthy boundaries, and foster a workplace culture that supports growth, engagement, and sustainability. This training is for supervisors and other leaders who want to enhance professional effectiveness and well-being.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this workshop, attendees will be able to:

1. Define resilience in the context of leadership

2. Identify personal and workplace factors that support or undermine resilience

3. Identify when to apply practical resilience-building strategies

4. Demonstrate leadership practices that promote resilience in others

5. Complete a personal resilience action plan

CE: 3 Cat I in Supervision

Workshop L

When Politics Turn Deadly: Grief, Equity & Responsibility in a Polarized America

Presenter: Dwayne Buckingham

Synopsis: When Politics Turn Deadly is a live, 3-hour training that equips social workers, educators, community leaders, and advocates to respond to grief, fear, and polarization with anti-racist, culturally humble practice, anchored in the current landscape surrounding the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the surge in threats, rumor storms, and racialized narratives; the session blends grief-informed micro-interventions, bias-interruption scripts, and de-escalation tools for schools, campuses (including HBCUs), faith groups, and civic spaces. Participants leave with a 30-day action plan connecting individual care to systems-level change through partnerships, media literacy, and policy engagement.

Learning Objectives: By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Examine how political rhetoric, racial division, and media narratives have contributed to political violence, polarization, and heightened community grief.
2. Identify structural racism in polarized contexts
3. Apply anti-oppressive, anti-racist social work practices to support grieving and divided communities.
4. Develop concrete coping strategies for professionals and communities navigating grief and political hostility.
5. Create actionable plans to transform grief into advocacy for racial justice and systemic change. 

CE: 3 cat I Anti-Oppressive SW Practice Content

Please Note: This workshop earns 3 Cat I CEUs in Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice Content (Social Justice) and fulfills the requirement by the Maryland BSWE for license renewal.

12:00 PM – 1:05 pm – NASW-MD’s Awards Luncheon

1:15 – 3:15 pm – Afternoon Workshops

Workshop M

We Were Never Neutral: Understanding Harm Reduction as Radical Practice for Social Workers

Presenter: Imani Hutchinson, MSW, LGSW

Synopsis: Social workers are trained to champion client self-determination and social justice, yet many of us work within systems that require compliance as a condition of service, funding, or continued support. When we enforce these conditions without critical reflection, we risk becoming instruments of punishment rather than agents of healing. The presenter invites participants to examine the gap between our professional values and our daily practice; to name the moments when we have withheld resources, issued ultimatums, or documented non-compliance in ways that had lasting consequences for the people we serve. This is not a space for shame, but for clarity. From that foundation, the presenter introduces harm reduction — not simply as a clinical technique, but as a philosophical stance that places human dignity above behavioral outcomes. Participants will learn how harm reduction principles can be operationalized within compliance-heavy environments: how to advocate for clients within bureaucratic systems, how to center autonomy even when the system demands performance, and how to document in ways that protect rather than penalize. The presentation situates these practices within abolitionist theory. Abolition is an expansive practice about dismantling all systems that depend on punishment, surveillance, and coercion. This session asks participants to reclaim how we work and who we work for — to practice in ways that reduce harm now, while working toward futures where harm reduction is no longer a workaround but a foundation.

Learning Objectives: at the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to:

1. Define and discuss compliance-based social work practices.

2. Define harm reduction and describe harm reduction practices.

3. Define abolition and its relationship to social work.

CE: 2 Cat I

Workshop N

Trauma-Informed Care to IPV Survivors

Presenter: Anne M. Garcia, LICSW, LCSW-C
Bilingual Psychotherapist

Synopsis:  Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) leaves deep neurobiological, psychological, and systemic imprints that require highly specialized, trauma-informed interventions. This comprehensive, 2-hour interactive training equips social work professionals with the advanced clinical skills necessary to move past diagnostic labeling and deficit-based compliance tracking toward true, empowerment-focused healing.

Through advanced clinical deep-dives and real-world case analysis, participants will explore the neurobiology of chronic fear, concrete structural safety protocols, and collaborative harm-reduction planning. Crucially, this course bridges clinical trauma practices directly with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. Attendees will navigate cases surrounding client self-determination, the paradox of confidentiality, intersectional cultural competence, and the explicit professional mandate of practitioner self-care to mitigate vicarious trauma.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this workshop, attendees will be able to:

1. Review the biological, psychological, and social impacts of chronic IPV-related trauma on a survivor’s executive functioning (NASW Competence Standard 1.04).

2. Formulate comprehensive physical, psychological, and digital safety protocols that rigorously shield survivor privacy within complex legal environments (NASW Confidentiality Standard 1.07).

3. Execute collaborative, survivor-led safety and harm-reduction plans that honor individual choice and actively resist paternalistic intervention (NASW Self-Determination Standard 1.02).

4. Appraise structural barriers, historical traumas, and systemic intersectionality to deliver culturally responsive care to marginalized IPV survivors (NASW Cultural Competence Standard 1.05).

5. Construct an actionable, professional self-care and peer-accountability plan to ethically mitigate vicarious trauma and safeguard clinical integrity (NASW Integrity / Professional Self-Care Mandate).

CE: 2 Cat I

Workshop O

Understanding and Advocating for Vulnerable Populations: An Anti-Oppression, Justice-Promoting Approach (Panel Discussion)

Presenter: James Forte, Ph.D.

Social Work Student Panelists: Addison Cook - Revolving Door Psychiatric Patients and The Injustices They Face on the Eastern Shore

Ashley Ewing - The LGBTQ+ Community in Wicomico County

Lindsey Reeping-Miller – Struggling with Injustice, Trafficking, and Exploitation: Seniors in Baltimore, Maryland

Lucia Fuentes-Scott - Increasing Safety, Access, and Empowerment for Hispanic and Latino Immigrant Families in Salisbury, Maryland

Miya Horsey - Justice-Involved Youth, Adults, and Families: Navigating Re-entry, Housing Instability, Unemployment & Systemic Barriers in Wicomico County

Synopsis: Social justice is distributed unequally. Many social work populations include politically voiceless members with disrespected identities facing barriers to meeting basic needs and contending with multiple rights violations. In this panel presentation, the moderator and social work students will present a framework for identifying and assessing injustices, increasing the hazards and perils experienced by vulnerable and unjustly at-risk client populations and for planning to change oppressive structures and processes. Professor Forte will facilitate a panel with presentations by social work students who have used his Applied R-R-R-R-P (Recognition, Resources, Representation, Rights, Parity) Approach for profiling injustice and planning justice advocacy (covered in his new book, Human Behavior in the Environment: A Justice Approach to Vulnerable Populations).

The workshop will be divided into four sections. Students will show and discuss digital posters for each of the four sections – population in a place with a problem of inequity; processes and structures of injustice creating precarity and perilous paths; oppressive social systems, patterns of risk and protection, and plausible explanations; and an advocating for justice plan. Students will report on their profiles and plans, and answer questions. Here are the working titles of their projects.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this workshop, attendees will be able to:

1. Identify and describe the five elements of a multi-dimensional approach (The Applied R-R-R-R-P Approach) to social injustice: recognition denial, inequitable resource distribution, misrepresentation in power arenas, human rights violations, and parity/disparity issues.
2. Identify four macro-level, oppressive contexts where these injustices occur-culture, economy, polity, and nation-state-and identify five factors for each context influencing negatively the health, mental health, role functioning, and life course trajectories of vulnerable clients.
3. Use six “profiling injustice questions” for each context to enhance the completion of tasks of assessing problems of racial and other systematic inequities caused by unjust structures and processes, of gathering information, and of formulating a holistic, clinical assessment as the foundation for case and cause advocacy.
4. Develop an advocacy plan for culturally humble, effective, and responsible justice work that identifies allies, selects useful interventive roles, anticipates ethical dilemmas and their resolution, considers competent and sensitive cultural tailoring, and plans to transform oppressive patterns of misrecognition, maldistribution of resources, misrepresentation and power asymmetry, and rights violations for the advancement of participatory parity.

CE: 2 Cat. I In Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice Content

Please Note: This workshop earns 2 of the 3 Cat I CEUs in Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice Content (Social Justice) and fulfills the requirement by the Maryland BSWE for license renewal

Workshop P

Unthinkable? Unbelievable? Unacceptable! - Three Stages in Seeking Social Justice for Blind Parents

Presenter: Melissa Riccobono, BA, Psychology; MA, Counseling Psychology

Synopsis: Where are you in the three stages of believing in the capacity of blind parents? This workshop will take you from “unthinkable”--where you question whether blind people have what it takes to be parents, to “unbelievable”—feeling amazement at all of the ways blind people use to parent each day, to “unacceptable”—where you become a true ally and champion for the rights of blind parents here in Maryland and across the country. Blindness is a low incidence disability, which makes it even more important to take advantage of being informed about blindness and parenting while blind from someone who lives both realities every day.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this workshop, attendees will:

1. Gain an understanding of what “blindness on a spectrum” means.

2. Identify at least five ways blind parents adapt everyday tasks and are able to use these adaptations to effectively care for their children.

3. Identify resources for blind parents and sighted and blind professionals in Maryland and nationally.

4. Learn to recognize unnecessary barriers placed in the paths of blind parents and ways to help remove those barriers.

5. Begin to consider blindness and intersectionality with other cultural characteristics, mental health challenges, and/or disabilities.

6. Learn to apply principles to determine if a child of a blind parent is truly in danger.

CE: 2 Cat I in Anti-Oppressive SW Practice Content (social justice)

Please Note: This workshop earns 2 of the 3 Cat I CEUs in Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice Content (Social Justice) and fulfills the requirement by the Maryland BSWE for license renewal.

3:15 – 3:30 pm Break

3:30 pm – 4:30 p-m: Closing Keynote – Melissa Riccobono

Let Us Speak: Gaining an Understanding of Social Justice from Those Who Want It Most

Keynote Speaker: Melissa Riccobono

Speaker Bio: Melissa Riccobono holds a BA in Psychology, and an MA in Counseling Psychology (with an emphasis in school counseling) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She and her husband, Mark, moved to Baltimore in 2003, when Mark had an opportunity to begin work at the headquarters of the National Federation of the Blind. Melissa was born totally blind, and Mark was diagnosed as legally blind at age five. Two of their three children are blind with some functional vision.

Melissa worked for three years as a school counselor at Logan Elementary School in Dundalk. She then decided to stay home with her children. While doing so, Melissa had the opportunity to advocate for blind parents and blind children in a variety of ways; such as at IEP meetings, with social workers, and in court. She was president of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland from 2008-2014, and currently serves as second vice president on the board of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children .

Melissa and Mark are taking on the challenge of homeschooling their middle daughter this fall; she was diagnosed with dyslexia only a year ago, despite Melissa and Mark raising alarm bells at every IEP meeting that something did not seem right about the way she was “learning” to read. Melissa has also traversed complex medical journeys for both herself and her children, including navigating mental health care. Melissa considers all of these things as part of life and the journey of being a parent. She hopes all who attend this keynote will come to understand that parenting is hard for everyone, and though there may be unique barriers for blind parents to overcome, they are no more challenging than the barriers other parents face.

Synopsis: Hear the stories of parents who happen to have a disability. Learn from their trials and triumphs—from the things professionals have done right, and the things they hope professionals will never do again. Come away with the understanding that these are not people who set out to be inspirational in any way. They are simply parents living their lives in the ways they want to live them. In this keynote address, attendees will learn about myths surrounding blind people, how to recognize them, and how to challenge them.

CE: 1 Cat I in Anti-Oppressive SW Practice Content (social justice)

Please Note: This workshop earns 1 of the 3 Cat I CEUs in Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice Content (Social Justice) and fulfills the requirement by the Maryland BSWE for license renewal.

4:30 – 4:45 – Closing Announcements