NACG

Supporting Adolescents and Young Adults in Their Grief Journey
2024-12-11 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
This engaging presentation will provide helpful strategies when working with adolescents and young adults who are grieving the death of a loved one. We will discuss grief reactions and changes in family dynamics, as well as ways to promote supportive relationships. We will examine interactive activities and creative approaches in young adult programming.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or working knowledge.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Describe helpful strategies when working with adolescents and young adults who have experienced a death.
Identify various creative activities that are helpful when working with young adults.
Create various interactive activities for young adult programming.

Speaker Bios:
Dana Minor is the Program Director at The WARM Place, a grief support center for children, in Fort Worth, TX. She started at The WARM Place in 1994 and has served as a houseparent, facilitator, monitor, and group director. Dana has over 25 years of experience working in children’s bereavement and began her work at El Tesoro de la Vida Grief Camp. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor and Certified School Counselor. Dana served on the Speaker’s Bureau for the National Center for Youth Issues and has taught a variety of courses in the field of psychology at Tarrant County College.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the educational event’s completion date. Records include the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, the date and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete THIS form to obtain a copy. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Crossing the Grief Bridge: Supporting Siblings Coping with Loss
2025-01-14 12:00 - 13:30
Sibling loss can have a significant impact on children. Children may struggle to understand why their sibling has died, and they may feel responsible or blame themselves for what happened. The loss of a sibling can also affect a child’s sense of identity and place within their family. They may feel like they have lost a part of themselves and struggle to navigate their new role in the family dynamic. This experiential workshop will allow attendees to learn a new therapeutic activity that can be used for siblings individually or within a group. Through the metaphor of crossing over a wooden bridge with planks representing struggles and hopes, attendees will have a deeper understanding of their grief journey. After self-reflection and discussion, attendees can facilitate this therapeutic activity with a diverse population coping with grief and loss.
Materials needed for this webinar include:

Preferably different-colored popsicle sticks. If those aren’t available, regular popsicle sticks with several different colored markers will work as well.
A hot glue gun or craft glue.
A large piece of cardstock or cardboard.
A small paper bowl.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Identify grief reactions in children coping with sibling loss.
Demonstrate self-reflection skills to deepen the learning process.
Create a therapeutic activity allowing children to process, explore, and express grief.

Speaker Bios:
Shani Thornton, MS, CCLS, has been a Certified Child Life Specialist for 17 years. She started her career in a pediatric inpatient rehabilitation setting, transitioned to the community, and launched a private practice in the Sacramento region of Northern California. Shani supports families coping with life’s challenges of illness, trauma, loss, and transitions. Using therapeutic play, creative arts, education, and empathy, she helps children process these challenges and create a coping plan to support their needs. She offers in-home visits, phone/virtual consultations, caregiver workshops, and support to community programs, hospice agencies, and schools. Shani’s expertise has been working with families coping with a terminal diagnosis, end-of-life support, and grief. She recently co-authored a chapter on private practice in The Role of Child Life Specialists in Community Settings. She has been a chair member of the Association of Child Life Professionals and the California Association of Play Therapy and volunteers as a burn camp leader for the Firefighters Burn Institute. Shani is a sought-after presenter for many local, regional, and national conferences and reaches many followers through her insightful blogs and publications.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the educational event’s completion date. Records include the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, the date and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete THIS form to obtain a copy. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Data and Evaluation Series Training #7: Visualizing and Reporting Evaluation Data
2025-02-05 13:00 - 14:30
Given limited resources and stretched capacity, data collection procedures and program evaluation strategies at the individual program level often fall short in terms of identifying gaps in service, areas for growth, and program impact. Today, philanthropic giving demands a quantifiable return on investment in exchange for donations and grants. Combining nearly 20 years of experience in designing bereavement-focused evaluation protocols with the power of the CBEM, with philanthropic support provided by the New York Life Foundation and in collaboration with the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), Judi’s House/JAG Institute offered a series of free basic trainings in 2022-23 to share best practices in data collection and program evaluation.
In 2024-2027, JH/JAG will continue to support the field in growing their capacity for evaluation and data analysis. In this seventh workshop on Visualizing and Reporting Evaluation Data, participants will learn about different ways to visualize data, how to report data to various stakeholders, and gain practical tips for using data in writing grant proposals.
The training structure includes a welcome/introduction, and for each objective: content, polls, and examples. The presenters will utilize polls and reflections to engage participants in activities focused on the evaluation content and to orient participants to how they can apply learnings in their organization. Time will be allocated at the end of the session to review each of the three objectives, discuss plans for application of learnings, and answer participant questions.

Continuing Education (CEs): 1.5 continuing education credits pending
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or working knowledge.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar
Cost: Free for All

This session is a continuation of the Data and Evaluation Training Series. To view the other sessions, click on the title below.
Session 1: Data Basics
Session 2: Program Evaluation Basics
Session 3: Theory of Change
Session 4: Program Evaluation Planning
Session 5: Evaluation Design and Analysis
Session 6: Ethical Practices for Evaluation
This session – Session 7: Visualizing and Reporting Evaluation Data

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

Select appropriate visualizations of evaluation data.
Effectively prepare for reporting evaluation results to different stakeholders.
Use evaluation data in writing grant proposals and reports.

Speaker Bio:
Maria Bartini, PhD, is the Evaluation Manager at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. With a doctoral degree in Life-Span Developmental Psychology from the University of Georgia, she has over 20 years’ experience teaching research methods, statistics, and child development at the college level. In her academic career, she also conducted evaluation research in schools, colleges, and youth sports organizations with the overarching goal of improving the lives of children and adolescents. In addition to heading the organization’s Childhood Bereavement Changemaker Initiative, Maria contributes to the evaluation and research activities at Judi’s House. Her work focuses on building evaluation/data utilization capacity in the field of childhood bereavement and evaluating the impact of Judi’s House services. She can be reached at mariab@judishouse.org.
Maddy Saunders, MS, works as a Research Associate at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. In her role, she helps lead the Childhood Bereavement Changemaker expansion, collaborating with organizations across the country to support implementation of data-informed strategies in decision-making, program implementation, and evaluation. Maddy holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Psychology with concentrations in Evaluation Research and Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She can be reached at maddyv@judishouse.org.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please ensure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and require a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note that if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the attendance policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Introduction to Grief Support Series | Grief-Tech: The Intersection of Grief and Technology
2025-02-07 12:00 - 13:00
This webinar is part of an ongoing series that will provide a foundation of introductory information for anyone working with or providing support to children, teens, and families who may be grieving. This series is not progressive; sessions can be viewed in any order.
In today’s digital age, technology is reshaping how we experience and process grief. This webinar introduces new professionals to the evolving landscape of grief-tech, exploring its history, current applications, and future potential. We’ll examine how digital platforms and tools are being used to process and support grief expression and discuss the ethical considerations of using technology in grief support. The webinar will also explore practical ways to incorporate grief-tech into professional practice. We’ll conclude by considering the future of grief-tech, including developments in AI and machine learning for personalized grief support.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Target Audience: Students, interns, individuals entering the field of childhood bereavement, new staff members, new counselors, group facilitators, volunteers, anyone who wants to invest in their practice.
Instructional Level: Novice – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Understand the evolution of grief-tech and its current applications
Identify ethical considerations and best practices for implementing technology-based interventions
Explore at least three ways to incorporate grief-tech tools or platforms into your professional practice to enhance bereavement support

Speaker Bio:
Melissa Lunardini, PhD, MA, MBA, FT, is the Chief Clinical Officer for Help Texts and CEO of Radical Grief. Melissa has 20 years of experience in program design and development in grief, loss, and trauma for healthcare, academia, for-profit, and non-profit industries. She is an international speaker and trainer. Melissa strives to remain current with trends and research in the industry as a published researcher and peer reviewer.

Integrating EMDR to Support Children Who Are Grieving
2025-02-18 12:00 - 13:30
Children who are grieving often face challenges in processing emotions and adapting to loss in developmentally appropriate ways. This presentation explores the integration of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) with play-based approaches to support children navigating the complexities of grief. Participants will delve into the core principles of EMDR, including its eight-phase protocol, and discover how to tailor it specifically for children who are grieving.
The session highlights the role of play and creative expression as vital tools to complement EMDR, making interventions more engaging and effective for young clients. Attendees will learn at least three practical, play-based techniques to help children externalize emotions, process their grief, and rebuild a sense of stability.
Additionally, participants will gain insights into three trauma-informed strategies for integrating EMDR into grief work. These strategies are designed to address the unique developmental, emotional, and cognitive needs of children, ensuring a holistic and compassionate approach to care.
The presentation includes guided worksheets to help attendees create a structured framework for future EMDR and play-based interventions tailored to their clients. By combining EMDR’s structured, evidence-based methodology with the creativity and adaptability of play, participants will leave equipped to support grieving children in processing emotions, building resilience, and discovering paths toward growth and adjustment after loss.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue that the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or a working knowledge.

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Identify the core principles of EMDR and describe its eight-phase protocol with specific applications for grieving children.
List at least three developmentally appropriate, play-based approaches to enhance EMDR interventions for children experiencing grief.
Describe at least three trauma-informed strategies for integrating EMDR into children’s grief support to facilitate emotional processing and foster resilience.
Demonstrate practical skills in applying EMDR and play-based interventions to address the complexities of childhood grief effectively.

Speaker Bio:
Stephanie Heitkemper, PhD, LPC, RPT-S, FT is the owner of Resilient Minds Counseling which specializes in working with individuals, children, and families around change including grief and trauma. Stephanie finds energy in utilizing play therapy (as a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor), creative expression, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) (EMDRIA Approved Consultant) and. bibliotherapy in her counseling practice, program creation, and presentations. Stephanie serves on the board of directors for Heart Light Center (2017), a Denver-based grief support and education center as well as Camp JoJo (2020), a camp dedicated to supporting teens impacted by suicide. In addition to Resilient Minds Counseling, Stephanie is the Clinical Director of Camp Erin NYC, which is part of Cope. Stephanie’s self-care includes early morning coffee, CrossFit, and Ironman training as well as exploring Colorado with her husband and beloved boxer.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
The presenter is approved to offer EMDRIA continuing education by the EMDRIA Credit Approval. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 EMDRIA continuing education credits. EC Program Approval Number: #24077-01.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Introduction to Grief Support Series | Basics of Leading a Grief Group
2025-03-07 12:00 - 13:00
This webinar is part of an ongoing series that will provide a foundation of introductory information for anyone working with or providing support to children, teens, and families who may be grieving. This series is not progressive; sessions can be viewed in any order.
This webinar will provide the basic tools to facilitate a grief group for children, teens, and adults. After attending this webinar, participants will be able to feel comfortable facilitating or co-facilitating a grief group. They will be given tools and ways to adapt to a quick-moving group atmosphere.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Target Audience: Students, interns, individuals entering the field of childhood bereavement, new staff members, new counselors, group facilitators, volunteers, anyone who wants to invest in their practice.
Instructional Level: Novice – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Provide leadership skills in leading a group of grieving children, teens, and/or adults
Practice and apply the skills of communication, awareness, and reflection
Apply self-care techniques better provide support for themselves to help others
Flexibility to adapt to a high-paced group environment

Speaker Bios:
Gabby Gauthier, MA, LPC, a licensed professional counselor and program director at the Children’s Grief Center, has been providing grief support for children, teens, and their families for 8 years. She facilitates groups for all ages to help families navigate their grief journey.
Gabby has a passion for encouraging the expression of grief, and teaching others how to feel comfort in the discomfort. She has provided training to volunteers at the grief center, as well as presenting at the National Alliance for Children’s Grief Conference.

Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children
2025-03-12 12:00 - 13:30
When children experience the death of a significant person, they are at a very vulnerable time in their lives. These young grievers often struggle with emotions they may hesitate to express openly. The use of play-based interventions creates an engaging and developmentally appropriate context for addressing the unique needs of bereaved children.
This webinar will provide guidelines for working effectively with young grievers. The training will delve into a diverse range of creative activities specifically designed to engage bereaved children. Attendees will learn how to use games, art, and storytelling to help children bereaved by suicide, homicide, natural disasters, mass violence, military/line-of-duty death, drug overdose, and other types of loss. These activities are adaptable for use in various settings, including support groups and individual and family sessions.
This webinar is designed for both novice and experienced grief facilitators and professionals seeking new and innovative ways to assist children in navigating their grief journey.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Describe the key factors influencing children’s grief reactions.
Identify at least 5 best practice tips when working with bereaved children.
Design a variety of creative activities to support children impacted by suicide, homicide, natural disasters, mass violence, military/line-of-duty death, drug overdose, and other types of loss.

Speaker Bio:
Liana Lowenstein, MSW, RSW, CPT-S, is a Registered Social Worker, Certified Play Therapist-Supervisor, and Certified TF-CBT Therapist who has been working with children and their families in Toronto since 1988. Liana’s 15 books are used by helping professionals all over the world, and several have been translated into Chinese, Korean, and Turkish. Her latest books, Cory Helps Kids Cope with Grief: Playful Activities for Young Children, and Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children, Second Edition, help children, youth, and families impacted by suicide, homicide, drug overdose, natural disasters, mass violence, war, military/line-of-duty death, and other types of loss. Liana is a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences and agency training events, and has provided workshops throughout North America and abroad, including China, South Africa, Israel, England, New Zealand, Australia, and Slovenia. Liana is winner of the Monica Herbert award for outstanding contribution to play therapy in Canada.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the educational event’s completion date. Records include the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, the date and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete THIS form to obtain a copy. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

"Mind"ful Camps: Embracing Practices to Create Equity for Neurodiversity
2025-04-10 12:00 - 13:30
The term neurodiversity casts a wide net, so thinking about embracing practices at camp that create more equity may feel a bit daunting. How can we cater to every youth’s needs, right? Take a moment and think … what if creating these practices could help foster inclusivity, comfort, and a sense of belonging at camp? Aren’t those things we already strive for? Join us as we talk about the benefits of embracing practices that help support neurodiversity at camp. Let’s work together as we continue to learn about neurodiversity, shift our perspectives to see all of the unique opportunities our campers bring to our programs, and find creative ways forward to create equity and inclusivity.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue that the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or a working knowledge.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Identify the importance of embracing practices to help neurodiverse campers.
Create a toolbox of neurodiverse-friendly activities and outlets to be used in the camp setting.
Demonstrate communication skills to help caregivers identify neurodiverse needs their camper may have at camp.

Speaker Bio:
Kiri Meyer, MS, LPC, NCC, RYT, is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Wisconsin, a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), and a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200). Kiri has spent over a decade helping to support individuals and families of all ages through individual/family counseling and camp-based programs. Kiri supports camp and other non-profit programs by acting as a Mental Health Professional throughout the camp program or as needed for other programs. She has conducted trainings in the areas of trauma and bereavement throughout her professional career and is now part of the Eluna Camp Erin team helping to support professionals in the Camp Erin network.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Introduction to Grief Support Series | NACG Resources
2025-04-11 12:00 - 13:00
This webinar is part of an ongoing series that will provide a foundation of introductory information for anyone working with or providing support to children, teens, and families who may be grieving. This series is not progressive; sessions can be viewed in any order.
The NACG has created a diverse set of resources through its dedicated workgroups, designed to provide information and strategies for those supporting grieving children in various roles. These free resources are easily accessible on the NACG website, where they can be shared directly, downloaded, emailed, or printed. In this webinar, we’ll dive into the NACG Resource Hub to explore the tools available and how they can enhance your work with families and communities. NACG staff and members will offer insights into the development process, practical applications, and the wide range of topics covered. Join us to discover how these resources can support your outreach and care efforts.

Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Target Audience: Students, interns, individuals entering the field of childhood bereavement, new staff members, new counselors, group facilitators, volunteers, anyone who wants to invest in their practice.
Instructional Level: Novice – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Navigate various NACG resources on the website.
Utilize tools from the NACG Resource Hub in my work.
Understand the process of how resources are developed by the NACG.

Speaker Bios:
Megan Lopez, MSW, LMSW, joined NACG in 2014 and serves as the National Program Director. Megan has served as a Social Worker and Program Leader throughout her nonprofit career and has provided support to children, teenagers, and families in a variety of settings. Megan is an experienced presenter and trainer using an interactive style in her teaching and facilitating on a variety of topics related to program management, childhood bereavement support, grief in the school setting, and group facilitation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Texas Tech University and a Master of Science in Social Work from The University of Texas at Arlington. Megan resides in San Antonio, Texas with her husband and two children.
Josephine Wheeler Ahart, MA, LPC, joined the NACG team in 2022 as the Marketing and Development Manager. Josephine has vast experience in marketing and communication from various industries, along with experience in counseling and grief work. She graduated with a bachelor’s in Applied Communication and a minor in Event Planning from Kent State University. She then received her master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Akron and is currently a Licensed Professional Counselor. Josephine thrives on finding innovative ways to seamlessly bridge and integrate her marketing expertise with the insights gained from her counseling and grief experience. She is involved with Leadership Portage County as a member of their Board of Directors and Cornerstone of Hope Bereavement Center, including as a member of their Crisis Response Team. Josephine resides in Northeast Ohio with her husband and enjoys spending time with family and friends, staying active, getting creative, and cheering on Cleveland and Ohio sports teams.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

Supporting Widowed Parents, Strengthening Families: A Holistic Approach to Grief
2025-05-06 13:00 - 14:30
This webinar will focus on the psychosocial functioning of parents who have lost a spouse or partner and are raising children on their own. The presenter will provide an overview of relevant research, insights from support groups specifically for widowed parents will be shared, and recommendations for how to support parents in ways that are also healthy for the grieving child.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue that the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or a working knowledge.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Summarize research findings relevant to this population
Understand the unique challenges facing widowed parents
Intervene with grieving families in ways that support widowed parents

Speaker Bio:
Justin Yopp, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Yopp co-directs the Widowed Parent Program, which provides support for and conducts research with parents who have lost a spouse or partner and are raising children on their own. Dr. Yopp has run support groups for the population for nearly 15 years. He co-authored The Group: Seven Widowed Fathers Reimagine Life, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2018. Prior to joining the faculty at UNC, Dr. Yopp served as a psychologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Data and Evaluation Series Training #1: Data Basics
2025-05-21 12:00 - 13:00
Given limited resources and stretched capacity, data collection procedures and program evaluation strategies at the individual program level often fall short in terms of identifying gaps in service, areas for growth, and program impact. Today, philanthropic giving demands quantifiable return on investment in exchange for donations and grants. Combining nearly 20 years of experience in designing bereavement-focused evaluation protocols with the power of the CBEM, with philanthropic support provided by the New York Life Foundation and in collaboration with the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), Judi’s House/JAG Institute offers a series of free trainings to share best practices in data collection and program evaluation.
This first workshop on Data Basics will outline where to start with essential data capture for process evaluation and highlight how organizations can capitalize on what they may already be collecting as well as what community data are available. Presenters will discuss the role of data in the childhood bereavement field, review data fundamentals (e.g., types and sources of data) using accessible examples, and provide tips on how to start strong with data gathering to help tell your story.

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience:Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

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

Identify key data sources for evaluation
Discuss types of data and when to utilize them
Explain how to establish practical strategies for gathering data

Speaker Bio:
Maria Bartini, PhD, is the Evaluation Manager at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. With a doctoral degree in Life-Span Developmental Psychology from the University of Georgia, she has over 20 years’ experience teaching research methods, statistics, and child development at the college level. In her academic career, she also conducted evaluation research in schools, colleges, and youth sports organizations with the overarching goal of improving the lives of children and adolescents. In addition to heading the organization’s Childhood Bereavement Changemaker Initiative, Maria contributes to the evaluation and research activities at Judi’s House. Her work focuses on building evaluation/data utilization capacity in the field of childhood bereavement and evaluating the impact of Judi’s House services. She can be reached at mariab@judishouse.org.
Maddy Saunders, MS, works as a Research Associate at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. In her role, she helps lead the Childhood Bereavement Changemaker expansion, collaborating with organizations across the country to support implementation of data-informed strategies in decision-making, program implementation, and evaluation. Maddy holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Psychology with concentrations in Evaluation Research and Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She can be reached at maddyv@judishouse.org.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please ensure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and require a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note that if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the attendance policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Centering Compassion Series | Mourning in Conflict: Navigating Ethical and Value Clashes in Bereavement
2025-07-08 12:00 - 13:30
This webinar will broach the complexity of conflict in bereavement within families and between patients and providers. Grief brings with it complicated emotions that can cause tension especially when members of a family or provider and patients have “value clashes.” These conflicts or value clashes can arise from differences in religious/spiritual beliefs, divergent value systems, and/or provider bias. Unfortunately, there is a lack of training and dialogue surrounding the negative ramifications when conflict occurs in bereavement. Moreover, there is a lack of solutions and resources regarding the navigation of conflict in bereavement. This training will provide an overview of common sources of conflict in bereavement as well as resources and innovative interventions to use with grieving families that help alleviate conflict. Specifically, provider will use various helping profession(s) ethical codes to provide a framework for broaching issues of conflict in childhood bereavement; particularly the Association of Spiritual and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) ethical code.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals, school professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Centering Compassion Series*:

This webinar – July 8: Mourning in Conflict: Navigating Ethical and Value Clashes in Bereavement
July 17: Light on the Dark Side of the Street: Living Well in a Loss and Trauma World
August 7: Holding Space for Ourselves: Cultivating Self-Compassion in Grief Support Work

*This members-only NACG webinar series will continue with additional sessions to be scheduled; watch for upcoming communications with details and registration links.

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Identify 3 common sources of conflict amongst family members during times of grief
Examine 3 sources of conflict that can occur between provider and patient during times of loss
Analyze 3 ethical codes as framework for navigating conflict in bereavement
Outline 2 potential sources of provider bias that can cause conflict during times of loss
Examine 3-5 tools that can be used to help reduce sources of conflict during times of bereavement

Speaker Bio:
Kailey Bradley PhD, LPCC-S, NCC, is licensed counselor who has conducted over 100 peer-reviewed presentations on topics related to bereavement. Specifically, she has presented on topics related to the ethics of spirituality and religious themes in counseling children and adolescents. She has a background in hospice bereavement care, and is also an adjunct professor in thanatology where she teaches courses on childhood bereavement, pediatric hospice care, expressive arts in counseling, and complicated grief. Lastly, she owns her own counseling practice and recently obtained a doctorate in counselor education and supervision.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Centering Compassion Series | Light on the Dark Side of the Street: Living Well in a Loss and Trauma World
2025-07-17 12:00 - 13:30
We were educated and trained in how to help grieving children and adults, but most of us had little training and preparation about how to live in healthy ways while being exposed to grief and loss on a daily basis. We often were left to develop our coping with little guidance or support. There are, however, ways of framing and approaching our work in helping those who grieve that support both ourselves and the people we serve. Too often our short-term coping strategies have created problems for coping in the long-term. Engaging too deeply leads to overwhelm and burnout. Distancing too much decreases our effectiveness and prevents us from the benefits of compassion satisfaction. In this webinar, we will explore ways to think about and do our work better for both ourselves and those we serve.

Continuing Education (CEs) are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals, school professionals
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue that the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or a working knowledge.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar
Cost: Free for NACG Members. This webinar is available to members only. Become a member today for just $125 per year. Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar, visit HERE →

Centering Compassion Series*:

July 8: Mourning in Conflict: Navigating Ethical and Value Clashes in Bereavement
This webinar – July 17: Light on the Dark Side of the Street: Living Well in a Loss and Trauma World
August 7: Holding Space for Ourselves: Cultivating Self-Compassion in Grief Support Work

*This members-only NACG webinar series will continue with additional sessions to be scheduled; watch for upcoming communications with details and registration links.

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Describe the relationships of intentionality, sustainability, and practice to self-stewardship
Identify health-promoting cognitive reframing responses to stress and suffering
Compare and contrast concepts of compassion, empathy, empathic strain, and burnout

Speaker Bio:
Greg Adams, LCSW, ACSW, FT, is Program Coordinator for the Center for Good Mourning and Staff Bereavement Support at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH). Greg has worked at ACH in a variety of roles and areas, including pediatric oncology and palliative care, since 1991. He is an adjunct professor with the University of Arkansas-Little Rock and has been an active volunteer with community and professional organizations. He is also author of Adam Gets Back in the Game, a children’s storybook about coping with grief and loss. He is married with two adult children.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information →

Data and Evaluation Series Training #5: Evaluation Design and Analysis
2025-07-23 12:00 - 13:00
Given limited resources and stretched capacity, data collection procedures and program evaluation strategies at the individual program level often fall short in terms of identifying gaps in service, areas for growth, and program impact. Today, philanthropic giving demands quantifiable return on investment in exchange for donations and grants. Combining nearly 20 years of experience in designing bereavement-focused evaluation protocols with the power of the CBEM, with philanthropic support provided by the New York Life Foundation and in collaboration with the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), Judi’s House/JAG Institute offers a series of free trainings to share best practices in data collection and program evaluation.
In 2024-2027, JH/JAG will continue to support the field in growing their capacity for evaluation and data analysis. In this fifth workshop on Evaluation Design and Analysis, participants will learn how to design an outcome evaluation, to analyze change over time in a pretest-posttest design, and to analyze change based on the level of clients’ attendance and participation in services (i.e., dosage analyses).
The training structure includes a welcome/introduction, and for each objective: content, polls, and examples. The presenters will utilize polls and reflections to engage participants in activities focused on the evaluation content and to orient participants to how they can apply learnings in their organization. Time will be allocated at the end of the session to review each of the three objectives, discuss plans for application of learnings, and answer participant questions.

Continuing Education (CEs): 1.0 continuing education credits pending
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue that the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or a working knowledge
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

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

Design an outcome evaluation and identify essential data to collect.
Analyze and interpret change through pretest-posttest comparisons.
Analyze and interpret outcomes by comparing different dosages of client program attendance.

Speaker Bio:
Maria Bartini, PhD, is the Evaluation Manager at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. With a doctoral degree in Life-Span Developmental Psychology from the University of Georgia, she has over 20 years’ experience teaching research methods, statistics, and child development at the college level. In her academic career, she also conducted evaluation research in schools, colleges, and youth sports organizations with the overarching goal of improving the lives of children and adolescents. In addition to heading the organization’s Childhood Bereavement Changemaker Initiative, Maria contributes to the evaluation and research activities at Judi’s House. Her work focuses on building evaluation/data utilization capacity in the field of childhood bereavement and evaluating the impact of Judi’s House services. She can be reached at mariab@judishouse.org.
Maddy Saunders, MS, works as a Research Associate at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. In her role, she helps lead the Childhood Bereavement Changemaker expansion, collaborating with organizations across the country to support implementation of data-informed strategies in decision-making, program implementation, and evaluation. Maddy holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Psychology with concentrations in Evaluation Research and Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She can be reached at maddyv@judishouse.org.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please ensure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and require a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note that if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the attendance policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Supporting Schools in the Aftermath of Crisis
2025-08-05 12:00 - 13:30
Children’s bereavement centers/programs/providers can play an important role in supporting a school after a major crisis event due to school or community violence. The following topics will be covered: how you and your center/program can prepare for consultation in this context; practical advice and support that can be provided to staff, students, and families; clarifying the distinction between trauma and grief; the potential goals of grief support in schools; providing training and professional development to educators on how to support grieving students using freely available resources; considerations related to commemoration and memorialization; and promoting staff support and professional self-care for educators. Guidance on when and how to seek additional support, including partnering with the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, during short- and long-term recovery will be discussed. The session will also address how to advise schools and caregivers on how to talk to children who are only indirectly impacted by violence through the news or social media. Ample time will be provided for questions and discussion.

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue that the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or a working knowledge
Format: Live Interactive Webinar
Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Describe your program’s goal and strategy for consultation to schools after a crisis involving school or community violence.
Outline practical advice and support that can be provided to staff, grieving students, and their families in this context.
List 2-3 appropriate goals for training of educators to support grieving students and freely available training materials.
Describe when and how to partner with the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement or similar resource to support short- and long-term recovery within the school.
Advise schools and caregivers on how to talk to children indirectly impacted by violence through news or social media.

Speaker Bio:
David J Schonfeld, MD, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician, founded the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement (www.schoolcrisiscenter.org) at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The NCSCB coordinates the Coalition to Support Grieving Students which is comprised of over 140 professional organizations representing educators, medical professionals, and other interested groups. For 35 years, he’s supported schools/communities after crises and loss, including the COVID-19 pandemic, shootings/stabbings in Winder, GA, Parkland, FL, Santa Clarita, CA, Newtown, CT, Las Vegas, NV, Aurora, CO, & Osaka, Japan; hurricanes Helene (TN), Maria (San Juan), Sandy (NYC/NJ), Katrina (New Orleans), & Ike (Galveston); tornadoes in Joplin, MO & Alabama; wildfires in Maui, HI, Butte & Sonoma Counties, CA, Sevierville, TN; & Sichuan, China earthquake. His school-based research (e.g., funded by NICHD, NIMH, NIDA, MCHB, WT Grant) involves children’s understanding of and adjustment to serious illness and death and school-based interventions to promote adjustment and risk prevention. He is Chair of National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters and a member of the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Children and Disasters, and former Commissioner for the National Commission on Children and Disasters and Sandy Hook Advisory Commission.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Continuing education credits have been applied for with the following agencies.
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Centering Compassion Series | Holding Space for Ourselves: Cultivating Self-Compassion in Grief Support Work
2025-08-07 12:00 - 13:30
Professionals and volunteers who support grieving children and families often show up with deep empathy and open hearts—yet may find it difficult to extend the same care inward. This webinar explores the transformative power of self-compassion as a protective resource for those doing emotionally demanding work in the field of childhood bereavement.
Grounded in the research-based Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program developed by Drs. Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer, this session will offer practical tools for responding to personal distress with kindness, reducing caregiver fatigue, and fostering emotional resilience. Participants will learn how self-compassion can strengthen their ability to stay present with grief—both their own and others’—without becoming overwhelmed or burned out.
Through a blend of guided practices, reflective exercises, and discussion, this webinar invites participants to explore how cultivating compassion for ourselves enhances our capacity to hold space for others. Whether you’re a counselor, social worker, educator, or volunteer, this session will support your ongoing journey of sustainable, heart-centered service.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Centering Compassion Series*:

July 8: Mourning in Conflict: Navigating Ethical and Value Clashes in Bereavement
July 17: Light on the Dark Side of the Street: Living Well in a Loss and Trauma World
This webinar – August 7: Holding Space for Ourselves: Cultivating Self-Compassion in Grief Support Work
September 9: Supporting Staff and Volunteers in Challenging Times

*This members-only NACG webinar series will continue with additional sessions to be scheduled; watch for upcoming communications with details and registration links.

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Recognize the role of self-compassion in grief work and emotional resilience
Identify common barriers to self-kindness among helping professionals
Practice core self-compassion techniques applicable in daily life and work
Understand how mindful awareness supports healthy emotional boundaries

Speaker Bio:
Vira Salzburn, MS, MSc, is a certified teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) with extensive experience delivering evidence-based compassion training to individuals, educators, healthcare professionals, and community leaders. With a professional background in trauma-informed care, public health, and behavioral science, Vira integrates MSC practices into resilience-building programs that promote emotional wellbeing, reduce burnout, and strengthen communities.
Vira holds a Master of Science in Management and Organizational Leadership from Troy University and a Graduate Certificate in Human Behavior from Harvard University Extension School. In addition to her role as Executive Director at Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council, she serves as a trusted trainer and speaker on topics related to self-compassion, mindfulness, and resilience. Her teaching is known for being practical, heartfelt, and deeply human—offering participants tools to meet life’s challenges with kindness, courage, and clarity.

To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

Centering Compassion Series | Supporting Staff and Volunteers in Challenging Times
2025-09-09 13:00 - 14:00
Join us for a meaningful session in our Centering Compassion Series, focused on Supporting Staff and Volunteers in Challenging Times. Executive Directors from four childhood bereavement organizations across the country will come together to share how they lead with compassion, transparency, and adaptability. Whether you’re supervising staff, coordinating volunteers, or shaping organizational culture, this panel offers honest reflection and practical ideas for supporting your team with empathy and intention—sustaining those who make the mission possible every day.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar
Centering Compassion Series:

Mourning in Conflict: Navigating Ethical and Value Clashes in Bereavement
Light on the Dark Side of the Street: Living Well in a Loss and Trauma World
Holding Space for Ourselves: Cultivating Self-Compassion in Grief Support Work
This webinar – Supporting Staff and Volunteers in Challenging Times

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Tina Barrett is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Tamarack Grief Resource Center in Montana. A licensed counselor, Barrett’s commitment to excellence in grief and trauma care is matched by her profound commitment to healthy organizations and setting teams up for success. Weaving stories from over 30 years of experiences as an Executive Director, Board Member, staff member, supervisor, supervisee, and volunteer, she is committed to strengths-oriented care and healthy, effective workplaces. Dr. Barrett’s workshops pull from her work in schools, hospitals, private practice, group homes, treatment centers, and nonprofits and the clients and colleagues she’s had the honor of working alongside. She serves on the Leadership Team for Project Tomorrow Montana, the Presidents’ Circle for the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), and the Advisory Board for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). Barrett received the Community Educator Award from the Association for Death Educators and Counselors (ADEC) in 2019. She is delighted and honored to be a part of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief.
Deirdra Flavin, MSc, CFRE, (moderator) is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the needs of children who are grieving and providing education and resources to those who support them. With over twenty years of experience in nonprofit leadership, marketing, and development, Deirdra’s career has centered on advancing social impact and fostering meaningful connections within communities. Deirdra joined the NACG in 2019 as the National Marketing and Development Director, and her work is focused on driving organizational growth, enhancing organizational recognition, and fostering collaboration, which has resulted in increased resources and support for the organization’s programs and initiatives. Before transitioning to the nonprofit sector, Deirdra held senior roles in marketing and sales, where she gained extensive experience in strategic planning, relationship management, and achieving measurable results. Her ability to translate corporate strategies into mission-driven successes has defined her work in the nonprofit world, where she blends business acumen with a deep commitment to creating meaningful change. A native of Cork, Ireland, Deirdra holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters Degree in Marketing Management from University College Cork. In 2021, she earned her Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) credential. Deirdra resides in Virginia with her husband and three children.
Annette R. March-Grier, RN., C.F.S.P., is a native Baltimorean, and Vice President of a family business; March Funeral Homes located in Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia. She is a registered nurse, a mortician and the visionary of Roberta’s House Inc., a non-profit Family Grief Support Center founded in 2007, by the March family in honor of their matriarch, Julia Roberta March. Annette is the President, and has lead the way for grief education and support for grieving children and families in Baltimore for more than 38 years. A teacher, counselor, trainer and leader, with her compassionate staff, provides a safe place for children and adults to heal and recover from the death of someone close. Roberta’s House provides trauma informed care and addresses grief as a public health service through education and over 15 peer support programs. Children, adults, and families suffering the loss or death of a loved one receive support and a safe place to heal and recover. To date Roberta’s House has provided support services to more than 10,000 children and adults and trained over 800 community volunteers that support their programs. Roberta’s House conducts grief support programs for individuals of all ages and types of death losses as well as professional workshops for the community. It is the first bereavement center to be founded by African Americans in the U.S. to address the inequities for people of color with grief and mental health resources. In January of 2021, March-Grier fundraised and successfully completed the construction of the first bereavement center in Baltimore Maryland to serve children and families. The center is located on the same landmark that her parents operated the funeral home from 1957-1980. The 22,000 square foot facility is a state of the art bereavement center that is one of a kind in the US to provide bereavement care and counseling for the underserved and people of color.
Annette is a recipient of numerous awards and achievements. She received the National Caring Award in October, 2016 which includes her induction into the Caring Hall of Fame located in the Frederick Douglas Museum on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. In addition, she was selected by CNN, the world leader in news, as one of the top ten CNN heroes, 2014 for changing the world.
Debbie Meyer, MNM, has an extensive background in leading nonprofits as the present executive director of Erin’s House for Grieving Children for the past 17 years. Debbie is a proud board member and current board president for the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG).
Debbie is an adjunct lecturer in nonprofit courses for Huntington University, Purdue University, and Arizona State University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Indiana Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in nonprofit administration from the University of Central Florida. In her spare time, she loves to read, travel, shop, and cheer on Notre Dame football with her family.
Fun facts:

Erin’s House and Debbie are a featured chapter in American Spirit by Taya Kyle and Jim DeFelice, 2019 – Pages 164-172.
Debbie was also the marketing director for a winning Indianapolis 500 race car driver, Eddie Cheever.
Erin’s House was recently featured in the Peacock documentary “Here Come the Irish” with Coach Marcus Freeman, in August 2024.

Brennan Wood has served as the Executive Director of Dougy Center: The National Grief Center for Children & Families based in Portland, Oregon since 2015, where she has been on staff in various roles since 2004. Brennan’s professional background and expertise are grounded in fundraising, strategic planning, organizational development, and capacity building. She is the author of, A Kids Book About Grief and is a member of the National Advisory Council for the COVID Collaborative as well as the Advisory Council for Hidden Pain. She was the 2020 Light-a-Fire Award Extraordinary Executive Director and a 2022 Women of Influence Award recipient. Brennan is passionate about Dougy Center’s mission to provide grief support, resources, training, and community response to children, teens, young adults, and their families who are grieving before and after a death, and those who support them. Brennan walked through the doors of Dougy Center for the first time in 1987 when her mother, Doris, died three days after she had turned 12-years-old. Her experience in a peer support group at Dougy Center shaped her life and she has strived to provide the same opportunity that she had to other children and families who are grieving in her community, across the country, and around the world ever since. Under Brennan’s leadership, Oregon Business named Dougy Center as a “Best Nonprofit to Work For” for the past six years, and local CEOs voted Dougy Center as a “Most Admired Company” for the past four. Since becoming Executive Director, Brennan has championed Dougy Center’s commitment to equity and inclusion and has brought innovative partnerships, programs, and resources to the field of childhood bereavement. Brennan is committed to making the world a more grief-informed place where we all can acknowledge grief as a natural and normal response to loss that is interwoven into a sociocultural context.

Introduction to Grief Support Series | Why Evaluation Matters
2025-09-12 12:00 - 13:00
This webinar is part of an ongoing series that will provide a foundation of introductory information for anyone working with or providing support to children, teens, and families who may be grieving. This series is not progressive; sessions can be viewed in any order.
In this webinar, we will discuss why program evaluation should be considered an essential practice for all childhood bereavement support agencies. If you are new to the field, you will learn about program evaluation in general and more specific applications for the bereavement field. We will also provide examples of how you may be included in the evaluation process, regardless of your role, and describe resources that can support evaluation work.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

This session is part of the Introduction to Grief Support Series. To view the other sessions in the Fall 2025 Series, click on the title below.
This session – Session 1: Why Evaluation Matters
Session 2: Providing Long-Term Grief Support versus Crisis Intervention
Session 3: Create Engaging and Meaningful Activities for Individual and Group Grief Support

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Understand the purpose of program evaluation.
Understand your role in program evaluation.
Understand how to continue to grow evaluation.

Speaker Bios:
Maria Bartini, PhD, is the Evaluation Manager at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. With a doctoral degree in Life-Span Developmental Psychology from the University of Georgia, she has over 20 years’ experience teaching research methods, statistics, and child development at the college level. In her academic career, she also conducted evaluation research in schools, colleges, and youth sports organizations with the overarching goal of improving the lives of children and adolescents. In addition to heading the organization’s Childhood Bereavement Changemaker Initiative, Maria contributes to the evaluation and research activities at Judi’s House. Her work focuses on building evaluation/data utilization capacity in the field of childhood bereavement and evaluating the impact of Judi’s House services. She can be reached at mariab@judishouse.org.
Madeline (Maddy) Saunders, MS, works as a Research Associate at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. In her role she helps lead the Childhood Bereavement Changemaker expansion, collaborating with organizations across the country to support implementation of data-informed strategies in decision-making, program implementation, and evaluation. Maddy holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Psychology with concentrations in Evaluation Research and Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She can be reached at maddyv@judishouse.org.

Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

The Power of Goodbye Rituals: The Importance of Involving Children in the Bereavement Process
2025-09-16 13:00 - 14:30
This presentation will focus on the importance of goodbyes and the surrounding rituals that families participate in during times of bereavement. The death of a loved one is a significant life event which often occurs within the healthcare environment. Child Life Specialists support children and families in various settings during critical stress points in their lives. In the hospital setting, Child Life Specialists provide procedural preparation, support, distraction, play, education, bereavement support, legacy activities, memory making, and help promote positive coping mechanisms. Additionally, Child Life Specialists provide emotional safety during distressing situations which aids in minimizing both short- and long-term effects associated with trauma. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Policy Statement (2021) highlights that “child life services are associated with improved quality, outcomes, and patient and family experiences as well as decreased costs in pediatric care.”
“An estimated 6.3 million children in the United States will experience the death of a parent or sibling by age eighteen” (Judi’s House and JAG Institute, 2024). The death of a loved one may impact the psychosocial and emotional development of a child and can lead to anxiety, depression, behavioral related problems, poor school performance, social withdrawal, and feelings of insecurity and vulnerability. Muriel et al. explain the “profound impact” a parent’s early death has on “children and the adults they become,” (Muriel et al., 2019).
Rituals provide personal connections between the bereaved child and dying family member. Incorporating legacy building and memory making into bereavement interventions may enhance a child’s ability to cope with death and loss. In addition, these activities provide the opportunity for children to take an active role in the process of saying goodbye to their loved one. Goodbye rituals, done with or apart from the dying loved one, help children recognize, grieve, and honor special relationships in their lives.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue that the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or a working knowledge.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Summarize the necessity of providing goodbye opportunities for children and adolescents.
Restate the importance of respecting families’ unique values, spiritual beliefs, and traditions.
Identify 2-3 legacy building and memory methods.

Speaker Bio:
Olivia Buzminsky, holds a MS in Child Life, Administration, and Family Collaboration with Post-Baccalaureate Certificates in Family Professional Collaboration and Autism Studies from Towson University and a BA in Psychology from Mount Saint Mary College. She currently works as a Child Life Specialist at Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital in the pediatric emergency department and University of Maryland Medical Center in the pediatric emergency department, PICU, and proton radiation unit. Olivia is newly married, lives in Northern Baltimore with her husband and has a passion for animals especially dogs.
Cami Frickman received her BFA with a Certificate in Art Therapy from School of Visual Arts in New York. Cami is a Certified Child Life Specialist, Certified Grief Support Specialist and completed her Certification in Thanatology from Hood College. Over the past twenty-five years, Cami has worked in various hospital and school settings with children and families. She currently works as Child Life Specialist for Adult Services at Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital/Inova Fairfax Medical Campus supporting children of adult patients and teens hospitalized on adult units. Cami lives with her husband, 5 children, and one pup in the Northern Virginia suburbs.
Alicia Field received her BS in Family Child Development from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Alicia has close to 30 years as a Child Life Specialist. She began her career at Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC and transitioned to Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital/Inova Fairfax Medical Campus supporting children of adult patients, teens hospitalized on adult units. Her most prized award was from The EVAN Foundation, where she was honored for her dedication and service to children with cancer in 2020. She lives in Northern VA with her husband and 3 children and their lovable dog Cooper.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information →

Data and Evaluation Series Training #2: Evaluation Basics
2025-09-24 12:00 - 13:00
Given limited resources and stretched capacity, data collection procedures and program evaluation strategies at the individual program level often fall short in terms of identifying gaps in service, areas for growth, and program impact. Today, philanthropic giving demands quantifiable return on investment in exchange for donations and grants. Combining nearly 20 years of experience in designing bereavement-focused evaluation protocols with the power of the CBEM, with philanthropic support provided by the New York Life Foundation and in collaboration with the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), Judi’s House/JAG Institute offers a series of free trainings to share best practices in data collection and program evaluation.
This workshop on Evaluation Basics will provide key information on what evaluation is and how participants can begin evaluating their programs. Presenters will discuss the purpose of evaluation, how it helps organizations in reaching goals, and why it’s important. The workshop will outline the two basic types of evaluation, what questions they answer, and what considerations should be made as organizations begin to evaluate. Presenters will review the core steps in conducting evaluation so participants will walk away with clear next steps for how to integrate evaluation into practice.

Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Explain the purpose of program evaluation and why to evaluate.
List the two types of program evaluation (process and outcome).
Identify the 5 core steps of implementing evaluation (ask, plan, act, reflect, improve).

Speaker Bios:
Maria Bartini, PhD, is the Evaluation Manager at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. With a doctoral degree in Life-Span Developmental Psychology from the University of Georgia, she has over 20 years’ experience teaching research methods, statistics, and child development at the college level. In her academic career, she also conducted evaluation research in schools, colleges, and youth sports organizations with the overarching goal of improving the lives of children and adolescents. In addition to heading the organization’s Childhood Bereavement Changemaker Initiative, Maria contributes to the evaluation and research activities at Judi’s House. Her work focuses on building evaluation/data utilization capacity in the field of childhood bereavement and evaluating the impact of Judi’s House services. She can be reached at mariab@judishouse.org.
Jeff Lin, PhD, is the Director of Evaluation and Research of Judi’s House/JAG Institute. He has a passion for applying research evidence to develop public policies and practices that best serve the community. With decades of experience working in partnership with public and non-profit agencies, he has seen the impact that good research can have on people’s lives.
Jeff was a sociology professor for 15 years, focusing his research and teaching on addressing pressing public issues such as criminal justice and youth services reforms. This experience deeply informs his commitment to producing data and evidence that can help bereaved children and families.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please ensure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and require a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note that if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the attendance policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Introduction to Grief Support Series | Providing Long-Term Grief Support versus Crisis Intervention
2025-10-03 12:00 - 13:00
This webinar is part of an ongoing series that will provide a foundation of introductory information for anyone working with or providing support to children, teens, and families who may be grieving. This series is not progressive; sessions can be viewed in any order.
This session is designed to discuss immediate grief during a crisis and long-term grief, with a particular emphasis on the transitional aspects of this process. Session attendees will learn how to collaborate effectively with local partners who are able to provide immediate support to children and families in moments of crisis. There will be discussion about the importance of facilitating engagement and ensuring that families are properly guided through the transition to long-term grief care when a crisis first occurs.
The session will explore best practices in collaborating with partner organizations who are equipped to provide immediate crisis interventions, and in turn, how to train these partners to refer to bereavement centers where children and families will receive extended support system that addresses their evolving needs over time. This includes learning about CBC’s “Self Care After Loss” workshops in order for session attendees to be prepared to assist communities after the immediate crisis and support for children, teens, and their families in the long term. The evidence based techniques discussed during the session will help attendees learn how to best guide children and families from crisis to healing, while maintaining emotional and psychological support throughout the journey.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Identify the key characteristics of crisis intervention versus long-term grief support.
Explain how to build partnerships with organizations who are able to provide immediate crisis interventions.
Summarize the psychological and emotional processes children and teens immediately face in crisis versus overtime in the grieving journey.
Name self-care activities which can be practiced with children and teens in the months after a crisis.

Speaker Bios:
Julissa Reynoso, LMHC, serves as the Director of Programming for the Children’s Bereavement Center (CBC). She is also a Licensed Mental Health Counselor having received her Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University. In work with The Children’s Bereavement Center, she oversees the grief support group program and program development. Her trainings and collaboration with local community agencies has expanded grief support in communities of need. As a licensed therapist, Julissa has worked with youth and adults providing individual, group and family counseling in areas of grief, traumatic loss, and other areas impacting individuals of diverse backgrounds.
Debra Albo-Steiger, LCSW, has 20 years of experience in education, advocacy, and social service administration and is currently the CEO of Children’s Bereavement Center located in Miami, Florida. Debra began her career in Chicago Public Schools as a School Social Worker supporting students largely impacted by gang violence in Spanish-speaking communities. While working at CPS, she implemented both School-Based Program Solving and Positive Behavior Intervention & Support (PBIS) to help students succeed in school. On a daily basis she provided counseling sessions in individual, group, and family settings. Since returning to Miami-Dade County in 2005, Debra has worked to give a voice to the most vulnerable in our community, namely children, youth, and families experiencing trauma such as the loss of a loved one and/or homelessness. Within the Miami-Dade County Public School system, Debra broadened the scope of services through Project UP-START, the Homeless Education Program. And within the community, Debra helped to create and lead the Miami-Dade County Youth Homeless Initiative, the HOMY Collective (Helping Our Miami-Dade Youth), as well as founded and co-chaired the Youth Homeless Working Group through Miami-Dade County’s Homeless Trust. Along with national partners, Debra has presented to others about the unique and complex challenges faced by homeless children, youth, and families and collaborated with many stakeholders to make systemic changes in order to better serve this population. This includes being a sponsor for the 100-Day Challenge to end youth homelessness in 2018-2019.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which includes: name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and are in need of a copy of your CE certificate, please fill out this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note that if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Empowering Schools to Sustain Grief Support: A Train-the-Trainer Model for Lasting Change
2025-10-09 13:00 - 14:30
In this session, we will explore how Good Grief and the Trenton School District have partnered to build sustainable grief peer support systems within schools, proving that the “train-the-trainer” model is both feasible and effective. Grief centers are often hesitant to allow schools to implement peer support programs and curriculum due to concerns about fidelity and long-term impact. However, by equipping schools with the right training, resources, and ongoing support, we have seen firsthand how this approach can become embedded in the school culture, making a lasting difference in the way grief is addressed.
This presentation will walk attendees through our partnership journey, showcasing the strategic steps we took to ensure school personnel were prepared to adapt our resources to their unique communities. We’ll highlight the importance of customizing grief support to fit the specific needs of each school, shifting the focus from external service providers to internal champions who can lead these efforts long after the initial training.
Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how the train-the-trainer model not only ensures fidelity but also empowers schools to take ownership of grief support, fostering resilience and shifting how grief is talked about within their communities. This model offers an adaptable, scalable approach to making grief support a permanent and transformative part of school culture.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CEs) Available: 1.5 hours
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals, school professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Define the Train-the-Trainer Model.
Explore Strategies for Customizing Grief Support.
Identify Key Components for Sustainable Implementation.

Speaker Bio:
Evelynn Moon, MA, has over 15 years of experience training thousands of educators and professionals on topics such as peer leadership, social emotional learning, empathy, self-care, and grief support.
At Good Grief, Evelynn works with schools and districts to enhance grief literacy through workshops, training, and curriculum. She prepares volunteers to lead peer support programs in the Family Centers, oversees virtual learning initiatives, and curates a monthly webinar series for continuing education. Evelynn is also a key organizer of the annual Good Grief Spring Symposium and contributed as a subject matter expert in developing the Good Grief Schools eLearning platform.
In addition to her role at Good Grief, Evelynn coaches clients at BetterUp, where she focuses on clients who are experiencing a transition and would benefit from non-judgmental support and accountability.
Before joining Good Grief, Evelynn worked in Social Emotional Learning, Mentorship, Peer Leadership, DEIB in Schools, and Comprehensive Sex Education with the Center for Supportive Schools.

Melda Grant, MA, EdS, holds a BA in Sociology from Howard University, an MA in Counseling from Rider University, and an Ed.S. Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from The College of New Jersey. She is currently employed with the Trenton BOE as the Coordinator of the Trenton School Based Youth Services Program.
Ms. Grant has developed programming, which has included youth, inmates, and communities religious congregations, and the community at-large. She has traveled extensively serving as Master Trainer of educators and community service providers for various State Departments of Health, including the U.S. Virgin Islands. She has also served as a Facilitator for the New Jersey Human Development Corporation’s Project Rebuild – Family to Family Program.
Ms. Grant is a Fellow of Leadership Trenton, Chartering President of the Howard University Alumni Club of Metropolitan Trenton, Member of Chi Sigma Iota, Chartering Member and Health Committee Chair of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women – Central New Jersey Chapter, a Member of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, and a graduate of the 5th New Jersey State Police Citizen’s Academy. She is also certified as a teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) Instructor.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

CBEM Key Topic Report 2025: Examining Childhood Bereavement at the County Level
2025-10-21 14:00 - 15:30
The Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model (CBEM) developed by Judi’s House/JAG Institute in partnership with the New York Life Foundation approximates rates of U.S. children and youth who will experience the death of a parent or sibling. Each year, Judi’s House releases CBEM Standard and Key Topic reports exploring childhood bereavement across the nation, in each state, and in relation to the intersection of childhood bereavement with associated factors such as race/ethnicity, cause of death, or household income. This webinar’s focus in on the 2025 CBEM Key Topic Report examining childhood bereavement in the United States at the county level.
Geography is associated with social and health outcomes in the U.S., including patterns of bereavement. Annual CBEM estimates produced at the state level show that childhood bereavement varies substantially across states. CBEM county level findings demonstrate considerable variation within states, as within state county differences can be vast. Webinar presenters will discuss the rational for producing county level bereavement estimates, describe the data and methods used to generate the results, and summarize findings. Possible reasons for disparities in bereavement estimates across counties, and their implications for families, community organizations, advocates, and policymakers will be discussed.

Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals, school professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Calculate the magnitude of difference in CBEM results between the counties with the lowest and highest childhood bereavement in U.S. states.
Summarize the common characteristics of high- and low-bereavement counties in the U.S. by identifying demographic statistics that can help contextualize the variations.
Propose practical strategies for understanding and addressing childhood bereavement in their communities and consider approaches to address communities with the highest needs.

Speaker Bio:
Jeff Lin, PhD, is the Director of Evaluation and Research of Judi’s House/JAG Institute. He has a passion for applying research evidence to develop public policies and practices that best serve the community. With decades of experience working in partnership with public and non-profit agencies, he has seen the impact that good research can have on people’s lives.
Jeff was a sociology professor for 15 years, focusing his research and teaching on addressing pressing public issues such as criminal justice and youth services reforms. This experience deeply informs his commitment to producing data and evidence that can help bereaved children and families.

Michaeleen (Micki) Burns, PhD, is the Chief Executive Officer at Judi’s House/JAG Institute (JH/JAG) and adjunct faculty at the University of Colorado. JH/JAG is a comprehensive family bereavement center in Metro Denver. She serves as the vice president of the U.S.-based National Alliance for Children’s Grief board of directors and is an advisor to Speaking Grief, a public media initiative seeking to improve the grief experience. A Licensed Psychologist with more than two decades of experience providing therapeutic assessment and support to families facing adversity, Micki has witnessed the lasting impact of unaddressed grief. Her practice is focused on supporting families who have experienced the loss of a child, and she specializes in working with those grieving suicide and overdose deaths. She is dedicated to ensuring appropriate care is available for all and raising childhood bereavement to a level of critical public importance. Before becoming the CEO, Micki oversaw the direct service, research, and training departments at JH/JAG, working towards a vision where no child is alone in grief.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Introduction to Grief Support Series | Create Engaging and Meaningful Activities for Individual and Group Grief Support
2025-11-07 12:00 - 13:00
This webinar is part of an ongoing series that will provide a foundation of introductory information for anyone working with or providing support to children, teens, and families who may be grieving. This series is not progressive; sessions can be viewed in any order.
The development of activities that effectively address the topic of grief aids in the retainment of grief-related education. The incorporation of activities can enhance the learning, growth, and connection that grief support provides. Participants will learn how to design and implement activities that are both interactive and therapeutic, as well as see examples. In addition, they will better understand the importance of incorporating current interests of youth into the activities for further engagement. Attendees will explore the various types of activities, including physical activities, artistic expression, and mindful practices. Also, participants will learn various ways to measure the effectiveness of their activities in age-appropriate ways. The session will equip attendees with the knowledge, tools, and strategies needed to enhance their grief care by incorporating activities into grief support.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Students, interns, individuals entering the field of childhood bereavement, new staff members, new counselors, group facilitators, volunteers, anyone who wants to invest in their practice.
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Develop interactive activities for children and teenagers that facilitate productive discussion.
Identify relevant trends and interests of youth to incorporate into activities and maximize engagement.
Create activities that foster expression by incorporating various art mediums and levels of instruction.
Apply developmentally appropriate modifications to activities to maximize comprehension and effectiveness.
Utilize a variety of activity types to ensure different types of learners are engaged.

Speaker Bios:
Laurel Neitling joined the team in July 2023 as the Circles of Hope Program Manager. She previously graduated from Central Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minor in management, and she graduated with an MBA from Western Governor’s University in 2024. She previously volunteered with New Hope as a support group facilitator. She experienced the loss of her father as a young child, and that led to a passion for helping bereaved families get the support they need. Laurel has presented at numerous Grief Sensitivity Training sessions and the 2024 NACG Grief Conference. Laurel has had the privilege of watching many of our participants grow through their grief journeys, and she is grateful to work alongside such dedicated volunteers and staff members to offer grief support services to the bereaved.

Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

Data and Evaluation Series Training #6: Ethical Practices in Evaluation
2025-11-12 12:00 - 13:00
Given limited resources and stretched capacity, data collection procedures and program evaluation strategies at the individual program level often fall short in terms of identifying gaps in service, areas for growth, and program impact. Today, philanthropic giving demands quantifiable return on investment in exchange for donations and grants. Combining nearly 20 years of experience in designing bereavement-focused evaluation protocols with the power of the CBEM, with philanthropic support provided by the New York Life Foundation and in collaboration with the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), Judi’s House/JAG Institute offers a series of free trainings to share best practices in data collection and program evaluation.
In 2024-2027, JH/JAG will continue to support the field in growing their capacity for evaluation and data analysis. In this sixth workshop on Ethical Practices in Evaluation, participants will review the purpose of evaluation, learn about ethics in evaluation practice and research, and learn to map evaluation questions to evaluation surveys and measures.
The training structure includes a welcome/introduction, and for each objective: content, polls, and examples. The presenters will utilize polls and reflections to engage participants in activities focused on the evaluation content and to orient participants to how they can apply learnings in their organization. Time will be allocated at the end of the session to review each of the three objectives, discuss plans for application of learnings, and answer participant questions.

Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals. This is an intermediate level training, so it would be beneficial to have completed the initial Data & Evaluation series.
Instructional Level: Intermediate- This best describes a topic or issue that the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or a working knowledge.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

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

Understand the goals and purpose of evaluation and ethical practice.
Apply ethical principles to data collection practices.
Use measure mapping to accurately match data collection to evaluation goals.

Speaker Bio:
Maria Bartini, PhD, is the Evaluation Manager at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. With a doctoral degree in Life-Span Developmental Psychology from the University of Georgia, she has over 20 years’ experience teaching research methods, statistics, and child development at the college level. In her academic career, she also conducted evaluation research in schools, colleges, and youth sports organizations with the overarching goal of improving the lives of children and adolescents. In addition to heading the organization’s Childhood Bereavement Changemaker Initiative, Maria contributes to the evaluation and research activities at Judi’s House. Her work focuses on building evaluation/data utilization capacity in the field of childhood bereavement and evaluating the impact of Judi’s House services. She can be reached at mariab@judishouse.org.
Maddy Saunders, MS, works as a Research Associate at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. In her role, she helps lead the Childhood Bereavement Changemaker expansion, collaborating with organizations across the country to support implementation of data-informed strategies in decision-making, program implementation, and evaluation. Maddy holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Psychology with concentrations in Evaluation Research and Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She can be reached at maddyv@judishouse.org.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please ensure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and require a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note that if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the attendance policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Grief and Bereavement of Children with Intellectual Disabilities: Current Research and Practice
2025-12-10 12:00 - 13:00
The development of activities that effectively address the topic of grief aids in the retainment of grief-related education. The incorporation of activities can enhance the learning, growth, and connection that grief support provides. Participants will learn how to design and implement activities that are both interactive and therapeutic, as well as see examples. In addition, they will better understand the importance of incorporating current interests of youth into the activities for further engagement. Attendees will explore the various types of activities, including physical activities, artistic expression, and mindful practices. Also, participants will learn various ways to measure the effectiveness of their activities in age-appropriate ways. The session will equip attendees with the knowledge, tools, and strategies needed to enhance their grief care by incorporating activities into grief support.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Students, interns, individuals entering the field of childhood bereavement, new staff members, new counselors, group facilitators, volunteers, anyone who wants to invest in their practice.
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue that the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or a working knowledge.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Describe ways that children with ID understand and process a loss
Provide examples of how children with ID engage in Caring Connections
Demonstrate developmentally inclusive support strategies

Speaker Bios:
Arlen Gaines, PhD, MSW, LCSW-C, LICSW, APHSW-C, is a psychosocial leader in the field of palliative care and hospice, providing system-wide leadership to social workers in palliative care at MedStar Health. Over close to 20 years of caring for patients and their families with serious illness and at the end of life, she developed a specialization in supporting individuals with developmental disabilities in their grief and speaks nationally on this subject. She is the co-author of the award-winning I Have a Question series, which addresses complex topics for children, inclusive of those with developmental disabilities, such as I Have a Question about Death and I Have a Question about Cancer. As the first social worker in the inaugural doctoral program in Palliative Care at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, she completed her dissertation research on the grief and bereavement experiences of children with intellectual disabilities.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Evaluation & Dissemination of a Bereavement Support Intervention for LGBTQIA+ Youth
2026-01-21 13:00 - 14:30
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender non-conforming youth, are impacted by high rates of traumatic loss, as well as by the experience of suffocated and disenfranchised grief, much of it caused by the stigma, shaming and violence directed at LGBT people. These youth can also have unique bereavement concerns, distinct from their heterosexual and cisgender peers, given the ways that the developmental trajectory of LGBT adolescents can intersect with the processes of mourning and grief.
The Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) is one of the nation’s oldest and largest LGBT youth-serving organizations, providing primarily Black and Latino youth with mental health services and an array of youth development programs. In response to the numbers of bereaved youth seeking counseling services at HMI, and the regularity with which our community mourns the loss of young people, many of whom die by violence and suicide, the Institute has developed a curriculum-driven group intervention to support bereaved youth, focused on resilience, coping with loss, and finding connections with LGBT ancestors. The curriculum teaches youth about LGBT history and collective responses to loss and trauma, so that youth can learn how to transform pain through creative expression, social action, and community celebrations. The intervention, titled “Survivance and Queer Youth,” is grounded in Shawn Ginwright’s concept of “Healing-Centered Engagement” which is a strength-based approach, and views those exposed to trauma as active agents in the creation of their own healing. Healing-Centered Engagement advances a collective view of healing, and re-centers culture, healthy identity, and a sense of belonging as central features in well-being.
Staff from HMI will present on the implementation and dissemination of this community-based bereavement support program, and will share results from our program evaluation which includes quantitative data from seven (7) youth centers located across the country, and qualitative data about the Facilitator Training.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals, school professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Recognize and articulate the types of non-death losses experienced by LGBT youth, and the reasons for higher rates of bereavement and early death among this population.
Identify and understand the psychosocial phenomenon of disenfranchised grief and suffocated grief among LGBTQ youth communities.
Articulate best practices for counseling and supporting bereaved LGBTQ youth and adolescents using approaches drawn from Healing-Centered Engagement

Speaker Bio:
Zola Bruce is a dynamic social worker, educator, writer, and interdisciplinary artist whose work centers on experiential learning, leadership development, creative program design, healing, and community-based education. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Zola relocated to New York to attend Sarah Lawrence College, where they studied psychology and sculpture. Their global perspective was further shaped by a semester abroad in Kingston, Jamaica, with The School for International Training, focusing on Gender and Development.
Zola earned their Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University in 2001 and spent over a decade advancing youth development initiatives across New York City. Their work with organizations such as the Center for Family Life, McBurney YMCA, the LGBTQ Center, and The Center for Anti-Violence Education emphasized therapeutic programming for youth and families, with a strong commitment to social justice and healing.
Internationally, Zola founded Unified for Global Healing, a nonprofit dedicated to grassroots community health initiatives in Haiti, Ghana, and India. Through the use of art as a universal language, they fostered cross-cultural dialogue and connection beyond barriers of language, class, and culture. They also led youth programming in Kyoto, Japan, as part of World Learning’s Arts & Culture initiative.
Blending their passions for art, activism, and social work, Zola served as Associate Director of Communications & Impact at The Center for Anti-Violence Education and continues to consult and speak at activist events. Currently, they serve as Manager of Bereavement and Mental Health Services at the Hetrick-Martin Institute and teach as an Adjunct Professor at Hunter College.
Zola resides in Brooklyn, where they remain deeply engaged in creative and community-centered work.

Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

Brothers in Grief: The Hidden Toll of Gun Violence on Black Boys and Their Schools
2026-02-25 13:00 - 14:30
The webinar will introduce and illustrate the main findings from my new book, Brothers in Grief: The Hidden Toll of Gun Violence on Black Boys and Their Schools.
Brothers in Grief spotlights the neglected aftermath of neighborhood gun violence and its consequences for racial and educational equity. Drawing on two years of school-based ethnography and more than five years of digital ethnography at a single-sex charter school in Philadelphia, sociologist Nora Gross examines how Black teen boys manage their grief after losing friends to gun violence and how school leaders and teachers balance their educational mission with often incomplete understandings of students’ emotions. The book conceptualizes the progression of institutional responses to student grief as a set of stages: the easy hard, hard hard, and hidden hard. In the aftermath of multiple student murders, the school initially recognizes the need for communal outlets for student grief, but soon the urgency of educating Black boys deemed ‘already behind’ takes priority. Relying on myths of Black resilience and male stoicism, the school ushers students back to ‘business as usual.’ Despite the adults’ best intentions, these decisions fail to mitigate the effects of peer loss on students’ social and educational trajectories. Although students’ persistent, unacknowledged grief is narrated constantly in online peer-driven social media spaces, it remains hidden from the adults making decisions about their education. Forcing students’ grief into hiding produces long-term social injuries for some students. Brothers in Grief concludes with a discussion of what can be learned from other youth and school responses to gun violence and proposes that schools could play a role in helping youth translate their collective grief into productive forms of grievance and action.

Not currently a NACG member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals, school professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Recognize and acknowledge the role of grief among Black boys in contexts of high levels of neighborhood youth gun violence.
Consider the role the schools can play in supporting grieving youth.
Consider how opportunities for activism, service, and other community efforts could play a role in youths’ healing.

Speaker Bio:
Nora Gross, PhD, is a sociologist of youth, race, and education and a documentary filmmaker. She is Assistant Professor of Education at Barnard College, Columbia University and received her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in Sociology and Education. Nora uses qualitative, multimodal, and participatory methods to understand the ways youth develop and protect their inner lives in the face of external constraints. She has published on issues related to racialized masculinity for both Black and white boys, grief and loss, political polarization in schools, teens’ social media use, youth resistance and emotional solidarity, and school supports for vulnerable youth. She has also produced several documentary films focusing on the lives of Black boys and men. Nora is the author of the ethnographic book, Brothers in Grief: The Hidden Toll of Gun Violence on Black Boys and Their Schools (University of Chicago Press, 2024), as well as co-editor of Care-Based Methodologies: Reimagining Qualitative Research with Youth in US Schools (Bloomsbury Academic, 2022).

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.
National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.
Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event.
CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.
Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.

Introduction to Grief Support Series | Talking with Children and Teens about a Death Due to Suicide
2026-02-27 12:00 - 13:00
This webinar is part of an ongoing series that will provide a foundation of introductory information for anyone working with or providing support to children, teens, and families who may be grieving. This series is not progressive; sessions can be viewed in any order.
How do we best support children and families when someone in their life has died by suicide? Explaining a suicide death to children and teens is often a daunting task for parents and guardians navigating such a profound loss. Well-meaning adults want to protect children from the truth and from the painful emotions such as guilt, shame, and regret that often accompany a suicide death. Yet, avoiding honest conversations can leave children and teens feeling confused and isolated. Parents and guardians may feel overwhelmed as they struggle with their own grief while also trying to decide what to tell their children and how to support them. For caregivers, telling the truth may feel intimidating and provoke anxiety. This workshop will explore the impact of suicide loss on families, including the layers of stigma, silence, and unanswered questions that often surround a death due to suicide. Additionally, we will discuss the unique challenges that families grapple with after a loss to suicide. Participants will receive helpful tips and information about best practices for supporting families, with suggested verbiage and phrases to use when explaining a suicide death to children and teens. This will include examples of what to say and what not to say, as well as helpful responses when children have questions. There will be ample time for discussion in this interactive presentation.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Students, interns, individuals entering the field of childhood bereavement, new staff members, new counselors, group facilitators, volunteers, anyone who wants to invest in their practice.
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Describe the grief and loss experience of children and teens who have been impacted by the death of someone in their life due to suicide.
List practical tips and tools for supporting grieving children and teens affected by a suicide death.
Discuss examples of what to say and what not to say as when talking with children and teens about a death due to suicide.
Discuss societal stigmas and their impact on bereaved children and teens.

Speaker Bios:
Pamela Gabbay, EdD, FT – Dr. Pamela Gabbay is a nationally recognized author and trainer who has served the bereavement field in many capacities during her nearly 30-year career. Dr. Gabbay is part of the Youth Programs team at TAPS – The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, and a member of the TAPS Advisory Board, as well as working closely with Coping After Suicide. Additionally, she is a National Trainer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and is the co-author, along with Andy McNiel, of Understanding and Supporting Bereaved Children: A Practical Guide for Professionals. Dr. Gabbay has served in a variety of roles in her career, including being the Director of Operations and Training for The Compassionate Friends, the Director of The Mourning Star Center for Grieving Children, and the Camp Director for Camp Erin-Palm Springs. Additionally, she served as Vice President on the Board of Directors of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG). Dr. Gabbay holds a Fellow in Thanatology from the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and earned a Master of Arts degree in Cognitive Psychology from Claremont Graduate University. She earned her Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Leadership from Brandman University/UMass Global.

Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

Tender Moments: Guiding Preschoolers and Families Through the Journey of Grief
2026-03-12 12:00 - 13:30
Participants will explore how preschoolers understand and process loss, effective ways to foster emotional expression in safe and supportive environments, and how to engage family members in meaningful conversations about healing. Drawing from both professional expertise and lived experience, this session equips educators, caregivers, and community members with tools to recognize the signs of grief, provide comfort, and build resilience for children and families navigating difficult times.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals, school professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Recognize developmental differences in how preschool-aged children understand and express grief compared to older children and adults.
Identify signs of grief in young children and family members, including emotional, behavioral, and physical responses.
Apply developmentally appropriate strategies (such as play, storytelling, and routine support) to help preschoolers process loss in a safe and nurturing way.
Engage families with sensitivity and empathy, providing resources and communication tools that promote resilience and healing within the home and classroom.

Speaker Bio:
My name is Doris McCoy, LBSW/MSW-IPR, and I bring more than 37 years of experience as a Social Work Consultant in health care, managed care, and early childhood education. I hold a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) from Prairie View A&M University and a Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Houston, where I now serve as Vice President of the Graduate College of Social Work Alumni Board Association. Much of my career has been dedicated to addressing the great needs of the communities I serve, providing advocacy, education, and practical support to families, children, and professionals. Early in my career, my retired professor, Sandra Lopez, affirmed that I have a gift and unique skills in the area of grief and bereavement. That insight has guided my path and deepened my commitment to supporting individuals and families during life’s most difficult transitions. In addition to direct service, I am a certified Community Health Worker Instructor, an American Heart Association CPR/BLS Instructor, and a TECPDS Master Trainer. My work integrates grief and bereavement into trainings that equip professionals with strategies to respond with empathy, build resilience, and strengthen the capacity of communities to heal and thrive.

My name is Jackie Hopkins, RN, and I bring a wealth of diverse knowledge and experience as a Registered Nurse. In addition to my clinical background, I am a TECPDS-certified Trainer and Certified CPR Instructor, dedicated to equipping individuals and organizations with the skills they need to succeed. I am especially passionate about teaching and supporting my community in the areas of **grief and bereavement**, where I see a tremendous need for compassionate guidance and resources. Through my work, I strive to provide training that is both practical and meaningful, blending healthcare expertise with empathy to meet people where they are. My goal is to empower others, whether in professional development or in personal healing, by offering education and support that strengthens individuals, families, and the wider community.

Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.
To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
