Registration is still open for the fifth annual North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) Behavioral Health & Children and Family Services Conference, scheduled for Oct. 20-23, at the Bismarck Event Center. The conference will also be available via online livestream.
The conference brings together behavioral health and child welfare professionals from across the state to connect, learn, share best practices and engage in professional development. Behavioral health advocates, service providers, child welfare professionals, business and community leaders, faith-based organizations, first responders, law enforcement and tribal representatives are encouraged to attend.
This year’s theme is Empower 2025 with more than 20 speakers offering sessions on a wide range of behavioral health and child welfare topics. This year’s conference offers an ethics preconference on Oct. 20, and a supervision post conference on Oct. 23. Regular conference programming begins Tuesday, Oct. 21, with eight keynote addresses and 15 breakout sessions to follow over the next three days.
Featured speakers include:
- Lara Love Hardi, Hidden Stories, Second Chances
- David Ambroz, A Place Called Home
- Thad Shunkwiler, Ethics preconference, Rediscovering Your Why and The Rise of Gambling in Teenagers
- Jessica Lahey, The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence
- Dr. Kathryn Gordon, Suicidal Thoughts: Reducing Stigma, Enhancing Communication and Cultivating Hope
- Matthew Anderson, Using the Superpower of Relationships to Foster Workplace Engagement
Continuing education units (CEUs) are available for:
- North Dakota Board of Licensed Addiction Counselors
- North Dakota Board of Social Work Examiners
- North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners
- North Dakota Marriage and Family Therapist Board
- HHS Certified Peer Support Specialists
New for 2025, two awards will be presented:
- Fearless Roughrider Team Award: Recognizes a provider or agency team demonstrating courage, innovation, adaptability and a fearless commitment to doing what is right. This award honors teams that pioneer new solutions and strengthen the lives of North Dakotans.
- Legendary Service Award: Honors a professional with 10 or more years of service whose dedication and best practices have profoundly impacted the lives of North Dakota’s most vulnerable.
Registration is $200 for the full conference and $50 for university students, kinship providers and foster and adoptive parents. On-site registration is available. All conference activities are at the Bismarck Event Center, 315 Fifth St., Bismarck.
To register or learn more, visit empower2025.vfairs.com.