Past Webinars

Supporting Grieving Families

Experienced Judi’s House grief counselors provide an educational workshop for parents, guardians, and adult community members who want to learn how to best support grieving families. This presentation helps to increase understanding about what grief is and how it can look in youth. Adults will walk away with ideas for how to support grieving families including what to say and how to best offer support.

Talking With Your Kids about Substance Use

Talking with your child about substance use is important, however, those conversations can seem scary and it might be hard to know how to start. The DPS Substance Use Prevention Team provides tips and tricks for talking with your kid about alcohol, cannabis and other drugs.

Supporting Youth Impacted by Trauma

Dina Zainy, from the DPS Trauma-Informed Practices Team provides attendees with information about the impacts that trauma has on youth, and how to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to build healthy relationships and feel safe in their environments. Dina alsos provide parents with tools for how to support their child.

Youth Substance Use: Why Youth Use, How to Prevent Use, and How to Intervene If Your Child Is Using

This webinar provides viewers understand why youth might experiment with substances, such as nicotine and cannabis, learn how adults can prevent adolescent substance use, and how to intervene when a loved one is using. Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a developmental psychologist, shares her knowledge about youth substance use. Dr. Halpern-Felsher is the founder and director of the Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, an online curricular aimed at reducing and preventing youth tobacco use. Dr. Halpern-Felsher’s research and committee work have been instrumental in setting policy at the local, state, and national level. Her research has focused on understanding and reducing health risk behaviors such as tobacco use, alcohol and marijuana use, risky driving, and risky sexual behavior.

Mental Health Issues Facing Denver Youth

Amanda Carter, a clinical social worker and counselor and program manager for the Jewish Family Services school-based program talks about the mental health issues that youth in Denver are facing today. She also shares tools that families can use with their children to grow and maintain coping skills.

What Adults Need to Know About Youth Vaping

Learn from the experts what parents and other trusted adults can do to prevent youth from vaping nicotine. You will receive information about what is currently trending, and what you can do if a young person you love is using nicotine.

Healthy Youth & Adult Relationships: Identities, Rights, and Realities

Youth council members from Rise Above Colorado, Youth Pride Coalition, PATCH, and EYE for Prevention come together to discuss creating boundaries and independence between youth and their trusted adults. Participants share more about broadening youth support systems, understand the rights of young people, and the difference in realities and perceptions that can help youth flourish in their growing independence

Recreational Marijuana in Colorado: Past, Present and Future

Learn about the impacts that the legalization of recreational marijuana has had on Colorado, what is currently happening, and what is on the horizon. Julie Dreifaldt from One Chance to Grow Up talks to us about what we have learned during the past 12 years, and what we need to know to protect Colorado kids in the future.

Raising Media Smart Kids : Tips on Managing Family Media Use & Internet Safety

Learn tips about how to raise media smart kids, including managing family media use, choosing age-appropriate media, limiting social media, choosing cell phones, and using safe district library resources.

Youth Substance Use Prevention and Intervention

Dr. Christian Thurstone, board certified psychiatrist and medical director of Denver Health’s STEP Program, explores the important role parents play in preventing substance use. Dr. Thurstone discusses how substances affect the teen brain and how to intervene and get support for your child.

Supporting Your Child’s Mental Health

Jerrica Cherry, LPC, from Children' Hospital Colorado, provides infomation about what causes childhood anxiety, and supplies parents and other trusted adults with tools for preventing and addressing anxiety and other mental heath concerns in children.

Supporting the Success of Youth Engaged in High Violence Risk Behaviors

Jonathan McMillan shares information about how to support youth populations that are at higher risk of becoming involved or impacted with violence, Jonathan is the founder and Chief Success Strategist of Be Better Than Average, a consulting company that provides assessment & strategic insight into personal development, gangs & youth violence prevention, intervention and critical response and post-incarceration support. He is a former Gang Intervention Specialist with GRID (Gang Reduction Initiative of Denver), has previously held the Director of Youth Violence Prevention position with the City and County of Denver and is currently the Director of Gun Violence Prevention with the State of Colorado.

Tools to Support Youth Navigating Anxiety

Tessa Zimmerman shares her journey of childhood anxiety and provides concrete tools you can use with your own children to help them navigate anxiety. Tessa is the Founder and Executive Director of Upstream Education, a nonprofit organization that trains and equips educators with concrete tools to help students reduce their anxiety, strengthen their resilience, and increase their well-being. Tessa founded Upstream because she grew up having severe panic attacks in the classroom and firsthand experienced the lack of mental health resources in schools. In the past seven years, she has grown Upstream to impact 50,000+ students in Colorado and nine other states.

You can watch Tessa's TEDx talk here.

How Parents Can Support Their Youth Using the “Fill Your World With Good” Campaign

Jonathan Judge from Rise Above Colorado discusses a state-wide drug prevention campaign called Fill Your World With Good, highlighting past successes, ways parents can empower their youth to participate, and how to win a free mural for their school. Jenna Garrow then shares additional free resources for parents and community members, including the latest information of fentanyl prevention efforts for the state.

DSISD Community Education Event- Fentanyl Awareness

DSISD & the Substance Use Prevention Program hosted a panel of experts to address the impacts that fentanyl is having on our community, and what parents and families can do to prevent use. Panelist included:

• Jennifer Mackender, Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention

• Beth McCann, Denver District Attorney

• Marion Rorke, DPHE Senior Substance Use Analyst for Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment

• Kellie Burroughs BSN, RN, DSISD & Morey’s Nurse
  

Addressing Youth Vaping

Daniel Nieman and Angie Kogovsek from DDPHE join the Prevention Services team for a webinar designed to help parents, guardians and other trusted adults better understand the vaping trend in the country and specifically in Colorado. The presentation focuses on what vaping is, the data about youth use, the health effects linked to vaping, and tips for talking to your young person about e-cigarette use and quitting.

EDUCA Podcast: Overview of the DPS Substance Use Prevention Program and Therapeutic Services Pilot.

During the EDUCA DPS Podcast, the team sat down with Amanda Wentz, Manager of Substance Use Prevention and Therapeutic Service Provider Programs and DPS social workers Andrea Grasso and Kirby Peterson. We talked to these experts to learn more about substance abuse and mental health.

EDUCA Podcast Uso de sustancias y servicios terapéuticos

What Parents Need to Know about Drug Overdose Prevention

Shelley Mann-Lev, MPH, with the national Opioid Response Network educates participants the dangers of fentanyl. In this webinar, you will learn more about this potent drug. We will share ways that you can help protect your children, including how to talk about these risks, ways to prevent and respond to drug overdoses and helpful resources. We will also learn what our schools and communities are doing as we work together to respond to this threat in a helpful and hopeful way.

Changing the Narrative: Tools for Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth

Levi Arithson, LGBTQ+ Program Manager at DPS, will provide information about how to change the narrative about supporting LGBTQ+ youth.

The Impacts of Substance Use on the Adolescent Brain

Dr. Thurstone, Director of Service of Behavioral Health Services at Denver Health and a professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Denver, provides information about the impact of substance use on the adolescent brain.

Back To School: Strategies to Support Your Child's Mental Health

Dr. Jenna Glover from Children's Hospital Colorado joins us to discuss children's mental health and strategies to emotionally support kids as they transition to the school year. You will learn the fundamental tools and ideas you can use to help support your child's mental health and well being today!

What Parents Need to Know About Youth Vaping

Dr. Annemarie Wolfe from Children’s Hospital Colorado will joins us to talk about the impacts that adolescent vaping has on lung health.

Planning for Prom

Lauren Nichols and Maria Hite, School Health Professionals at East High School, Northeast Early College and Abraham Lincoln High School, help parents and other trusted adults prepare to talk to their children about expectations surrounding drugs and alcohol.

Strategies for Supporting Youth Impacted by Trauma

The DPS Trauma-Informed Practices Team, which includes Dina Zainy, Monica X Padilla and Marccus Spearman, present about the effects that trauma has on youth. The DPS Trauma-Informed Team trains DPS schools to adopt trauma-informed practices which help the entire community recognize the impact of trauma and implement changes to help students build healthy relationships and feel safe to learn and grow. During the webinar, the panel of experts provide attendees with information about recognizing childhood trauma, the impacts that trauma has on students and strategies parents can use to support their children including how to advocate for your child at school.

Legal & Social Issues Facing Adolescents

Juan Silva, Senior Deputy District Attorney in the Juvenile Unit of the Denver District Attorney’s Office, provides information about the legal and social issues that can accompany youth sexting, social media and cyberbullying.

This is restricted. Please do not alter the recording or slides.

Don't Just Say No, Say Know: Tools for Talking with Your Kids about Drugs and Alcohol

Join staff from the DPS Substance Use Prevention Team as we share tools for you to use to help your child avoid substance misuse. We will help you understand just how prevalent substance use is in the DPS community and what our team is doing to combat it. We will also help you to understand what exactly is going on in the developing adolescent brain and what this means for parents, and how you, as a trusted adult, can talk to your kid about substance use and work with them to develop the skills and confidence needed to avoid misusing alcohol and other drugs.s.

 Transgender/Non-binary Allyship 101

There is no playbook on how to be a parent or caregiver. This sometimes becomes even more clear when a child comes out as transgender and/or non-binary. Parents and caregivers (including school staff, extend family, friends and anyone who loves and supports youth) can sometimes feel lost navigating complex and nuanced journeys around gender discovery. A child in transition can bring up a lot for adults: a range of questions, concerns, and emotions--from elation to fear and everything in-between. This talk will cover some high-level basics of supporting a child on a gender journey, dispel common misconceptions, and provide recommended resources as you travel this path with your student.

Preparing Your Teen for College: An Expert Panel Presents Key Conversations to Have With Your Child

Do you have a high school student off to college soon? College brings many new experiences and parents can help guide their kids by having pro-active conversations about the new challenges and expectations they will face. Our panel of experts will address strategies for talking with your teen about the health and safety risks of marijuana and alcohol and provide insight on how to help your child find mental health support on campus. Chris Lord of CU Boulder, Lynann Butler of Metro State and Dana Kobold of Red Rocks Community College join us to provide support and strategies to empower parents.

TRANSITIONING BACK TO THE FUTURE: HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD

Dr. Jenna Glover from Children's Hospital Colorado joins us to discuss how COVID-19 has impacted kids mental health. She helps attendees explore ways to emotionally support kids as they transition to the school year and to identify how to support children with connecting in a social setting. This webinar also provides strategies to help adults and youth cope with anxiety about wearing masks, COVID, and returning to a school setting amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

LGBTQ+ Supports and Why They Benefit All Students

Levi Arithson, LGBTQ+ Program Manager at DPS, provides a high-level review of LGBTQ+ policies in Denver Public Schools, why LGBTQ+ inclusive schools create more equitable schools for all students, and what you can do in your home and community to support LGBTQ+ youth.

Marijuana in Colorado

Understand the landscape of recreational marijuana in Colorado. Learn about recent policies and legislation regarding medical and recreational marijuana, understand how the potency levels of marijuana today differs from the marijuana that was around when you were young and how marijuana impacts the the health of young people,

Substance Use and the Adolescent Brain

This webinar provides information about the developing brain and what this means for parents. It will also cover ways to nurture brain development and the impact of substance use on the developing brain

Nutrition and Mental Health

Leslie Nemeth and Lauren Moore of Sollus Nutrition explain the connection between mental health and nutrition for youth.

9 Tools to Build Resilient Youth

Meet the DPS Prevention Training Team and learn about the protective factors that you can provide your child to help them thrive and prevent substance misuse.

Combat the Impact of Screen Time

It’s hard to decide if your child is ready for social media, explicit songs, action movies, etc. — and even harder to keep up with parental controls and new technology. Dr. Laura Anthony from the Pediatric Mental Health Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado will share insights on guiding children through today’s media landscape.