Entrusted Conference

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Entrusted Conference

A resource of ECHO Family Care Partners, providing education, encouragement, and connection for kinship, foster, and adoptive families.

02/09/2026

SUPPORT STARTS WITH CONNECTION

At its core, a support group is simply people gathering together who understand each other’s lives, choosing connection over isolation. It’s a place where stories don’t need long explanations, where hard moments are met with knowing nods, and where encouragement comes from people who truly get it.

That’s the heart behind our Caregiver Collective Training on March 21st. Yes, there's structured learning, practical tools, and training certificates. But underneath all of that, this is an opportunity for connection and relationship-building to sustain us.

We can’t do this work alone. Foster care, adoption, and kinship care are beautiful, meaningful, and often exhausting journeys. There’s something powerful about gathering regularly with people who understand the highs and the hard parts without explanation.

And it’s not just for the adults.

Children benefit too. Siblings meet other siblings who live this life. Children in foster care see other foster families and realize their story isn’t isolated, it’s shared. That sense of belonging matters more than we often realize.

If you’ve been longing for community, encouragement, and practical support, this space was created with you in mind.

Register here: https://www.wearetheecho.org/event-details/caregiver-training

And, if you're interested in volunteering on March 21, you can sign up here: https://wearetheecho.typeform.com/to/x3MkHZpQ

02/05/2026

Professional Development for Social Workers!

We’re honored to partner with 3e Restoration and Fred Liggin, to host a training designed specifically for those serving children and families. This session will focus on trauma-responsive care, building resiliency, and strengthening families, as well as the professionals who support them.

🗓 Monday, February 9 | 12:30–4:30 PM
📍 200 John Tyler Lane, Williamsburg
🍽 Lunch included

This training is free to attend thanks to a generous community grant. But, seats are limited, so register today to save your spot!
https://www.wearetheecho.org/event-details/building-trauma-resiliency-for-social-workers

01/30/2026

✨ A new year. A new rhythm. A deeper focus on community.

This year, our goal is to host small, intentional gatherings throughout the year. Spaces designed to build relationships, encourage growth, and help kinship, foster, and adoptive families walk alongside one another in meaningful ways. Our vision is a collective community of people doing life together.

These gatherings will include:
• Inspiring speakers, practical breakout sessions, and a shared meal
• A children’s program where kids don’t just get childcare, they learn and practice the same themes as adults, building emotional regulation and resilience in age-appropriate ways

Over time, these shared experiences will help us better understand the unique needs of kinship, foster, and adoptive families and offer more thoughtful, effective support.

First Collective Gathering: Saturday, March 21, 3:30–7:00 PM, in Yorktown
💵 $30 per family (includes training, meal, and childcare) or $10 per person and scholarships are available if cost is a barrier.
⚠️ Children's program spots are limited, so register early!
👉 Register here: https://www.wearetheecho.org/event-details/caregiver-training

We believe growth happens best in consistent connection, shared practice, and community that lasts beyond a single gathering.

And, if you're interested in volunteering on March 21, you can sign up here: https://wearetheecho.typeform.com/to/x3MkHZpQ

We hope you’ll join us in this new season.

10/31/2025

One of my go-to trauma parenting tips is to prepare for dysregulated moments and create a plan to manage them.

Halloween can be a day full of triggers for kids impacted by trauma, which sends them into survival mode (and includes big and challenging behaviors). Having a plan ahead of time helps!

1. Keep your day as routine as possible: remember, routines are predictable, and predictability feels safe!
2. Prepare your child: "After dinner, we will walk around the neighborhood in our costumes. We will trick-or-treat at our neighbor's homes but not go inside. You will get some candy! And then we'll go home, eat 5 pieces of candy, and then get ready for bed. We'll pack extra candy in your lunch tomorrow!"
3. Have an exit plan! For our family, we converted an old garden wagon into a sensory-safe retreat. We pack our sensory headphones and our child can choose to spend the evening in the wagon. Even then, an adult usually heads home early with a few overwhelmed (and over-sugared) kids.

What works for your family? How do you avoid trauma triggers on Halloween?

10/24/2025

Celebrating the Power of Community 🎃

We’re so excited to join CHKD, Chesapeake Parks & Recreation, and RE/MAX Connect for their Annual Adaptive Fall Festival tomorrow! It's a special event designed for (bio, foster, kinship, and adoptive) families raising children with special needs.

Families parenting children with special needs face higher risks of burnout, isolation, and involvement with the child welfare system. And at least one-third of children in foster care have a disability.

That’s why events like this matter so much. They remind us that support isn’t optional—it’s essential. Every family deserves to know they are not alone.

ECHO is honored to be part of this incredible event because we believe in a community united in purpose and illuminated by compassion—where no vulnerable child, or weary caregiver, goes unseen.

10/14/2025

Sensory Processing, Dysregulation, & Disabilities: Managing Challenging Behaviors
Virtual Training | November 13

Parenting a child with trauma, sensory processing disorder, or intellectual disabilities can feel like trying to untangle a dozen threads at once. You may find yourself wondering, “Is it autism? Is it trauma? Is it just them?” — and the truth is often, yes… to all of the above.

This training is for caregivers navigating big feelings and behaviors while also managing a disability—because many of us are walking that road. Whether you’re a kinship, foster, adoptive, or biological parent (or someone looking to learn more!), this training will help you better understand how sensory needs and dysregulation overlap. We'll learn how to discern what kids need (help calming due to overstimulation or engaging due to under stimulation) while finding creative ways to navigate challenging behaviors and relational needs.

Join us for this virtual training and gain tools, hope, and perspective for the journey.
🔗 Register at: https://wearetheecho.typeform.com/to/j3QQVley

09/11/2025

We try to live in the “AND.”

Because this life—foster care, adoption, trauma, medical complexities—it feels like holding opposite truths at the same time.

And pretending the hard doesn’t exist doesn’t help.

It’s hard AND worth it.
It’s unfair that we are raising someone else’s children AND an incredible honor we don’t take for granted.
It’s broken AND beautiful.
It’s exhausting AND worthy of sacrifice.
It’s incredibly lonely AND the few people who truly get it are priceless.

We’ve stopped trying to tie it all up in a neat bow.
Stopped pretending that love fixes everything.
Stopped glossing over the hard just to focus on the good.

Instead, we’ve started honoring all the feelings.
Because we’re complex people, living complex stories, and we can hold joy AND grief, hope AND exhaustion, beauty AND brokenness, strength AND fragility—all at the same time.

And maybe that’s the most honest way to live.

So here’s to the parents and caregivers out there showing up day after day. To the ones who feel invisible, exhausted, unsure how or even if they can do it—
We see you. We are you.
And we believe this matters.

And, if you’re not a foster parent, can you ask yourself:
How can I show up for someone who’s living in the “AND”?

09/07/2025

👵👴 It’s National Grandparents Day!

Did you know that many grandparents across Virginia are raising their grandchildren full-time? This is called kinship care—when a child can no longer safely live with their parents, and a family member steps in to provide a safe and loving home.

In Virginia alone, more than 67,000 grandparents are caring for their grandchildren. That’s 67,000 families who need encouragement, support, and to know they’re not walking this journey alone.

At ECHO, we believe in building a community lit by compassion—so no vulnerable child or family goes unseen. Maybe there’s a grandparent in your neighborhood or church carrying this responsibility. Today is the perfect day to celebrate them, encourage them, and connect them with the support they need.

💙 Because connection changes everything.

09/06/2025

Happy Read a Book Day! 📚🎉 Today, we're celebrating the power of storytelling with a good book. Share your current read with us!

09/01/2025

Kinship care—when children are placed in the care of relatives—offers stability while preserving family bonds and cultural identity.

In Virginia, more than 62,000 children are being raised by relatives. Without community support, these families face higher risks of breaking apart, often leading children into foster care.

But with the right help, 96% of kinship placements lead to permanency—meaning that by age eighteen, nearly all of these children are still in the care of their safe, stable, and loving family.

08/25/2025

Every behavior tells a story.
For a child who has lived through trauma, the big (and often challenging) behaviors aren’t random—they’re survival strategies learned to endure neglect and abuse.

Safe, regulated caregivers can help them discover healthier ways to express their needs and feelings. It begins by replacing old lies with new truths:

You are SAFE.
You are LOVED.
You are WORTHY.
You are CARED FOR.
You MATTER.

When a child begins to believe these truths, their emotions change—and over time, so do their behaviors.

08/23/2025

Saturday Smile //

What made you smile this week? What is one way God showed His goodness?

Address

Hampton, VA
23661

Telephone

+17576843246

Website

http://entrustedconference.com/

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