Show Hope launched its Empowered to Connect Conference in 2010 with the aim of equipping parents, caregivers, ministry leaders, and care professionals to better serve children impacted by adoption and foster care. Over the past 10 years, the conference has grown to include research-based tools to promote attachment and connection in families such as Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) methods developed by Dr. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross from the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at TCU. At its core, TBRI works to promote trust, attachment, and connection between caregivers and children by addressing physical and emotional needs while also disarming fear-based behaviors.

Over the years, Show Hope has had the opportunity to hear from parents, ministry leaders, and professionals on the ever-changing, complex needs they face in serving children who have been impacted by early loss and trauma. Show Hope staff members also hold rich knowledge and experience with TBRI, and we continue to learn about new research, resources, and tools that align in scope with the concepts of connection, belonging, and security. And so, with this assessment of our Empowered to Connect Conference, we have also continued to return to our mission and see with fresh eyes that Show Hope does, in fact, stand in a unique place of resourcing the Church to serve families.

The conference content is beneficial for adoptive parents, foster parents, potential adoptive or foster parents, and professionals or ministry leaders serving children.

Each adoptive and foster parent will receive a certificate of attendance. The certificates will be handed out at the end of each day, per parent. Attendees are responsible for providing the certificate to their agency, and it is at the agency’s discretion whether or not to count participation toward training credits. To be eligible with your agency to receive training credits, each participant will need to turn in to their agency a copy of each certificate and it is beneficial to also provide them the schedule of the conference. There is no need to sign up for adoptive/foster training credit.

Yes! Please visit our registration site for CE approval information and registration. An additional registration will be required for all professionals seeking continuing education. 

Continuing education is for licensed professionals only and is not the same as adoptive/foster training credits.

Structurally (outlined below), the Hope for the Journey Conference will include five high-level learning modules based on the foundational principles of TBRI along with a new teaching component, The Gospel + TBRI. Embedded within each learning module will be a “Going Deeper” teaching video on a select topic, and also included will be two practical, encouraging “Practical Perspectives” videos featuring the voices of adult adoptees as well as adoptive and foster families. 

• Learning Module 1: An Introduction to Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)
  • “Going Deeper” topic to include the importance of understanding ACES. 
• Learning Module 2: Connecting Principles
  • “Going Deeper” topic to explore biological and adoptive sibling dynamics.
•  Learning Module 3: Empowering Principles
  • “Going Deeper” topic to unpack the need to acknowledge one’s own limitations and implement self-care strategies as a care provider. 
• Learning Module 4: Correcting Principles
  • “Going Deeper” topic to feature a discussion of the challenges to and importance of finding rhythms to promote unity as parents during the day-to-day. 
• Learning Modules 5: TBRI and the Gospel 
  • “Going Deeper” topic to discuss the relational nature of God and the incarnation of Jesus as foundational cornerstones informing the efficacy of TBRI.