Understanding Acculturation and Supporting Immigrant System Involved Youth

Nicole Kelly & Nancy Acosta

Training Description

Given how many immigrants are in the United States it's important for service and support providers to understand how to effectively work with immigrant families. This training will provide an overview of immigration issues that can arise such as cultural barriers, assimilation, acculturation, etc. Participants will learn strategies to partner with immigrant families more effectively. This training will provide an overview of acculturation, stages of acculturation, and biculturalism. The training will also discuss strategies that can be used to support caregivers in raising culturally diverse youth.

Learning Objectives

· Participants will be able to explain assimilation and identify one component of acculturation.

· Participants will be able to identify one barrier to engaging immigrant families.

· Participants will be able to identify at least one strategy to support immigrant youth and families.

Agenda

10:00-10:15am  Welcome and Introductions

10:15-11:30am  Immigration overview

· Definitions

· Immigration in the United States

· Immigration in California

· Process of becoming a US citizen

· Mixed status families

· Trauma of immigrants

· Unaccompanied foster youth

11:30-11:45am  Break (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

11:45am-1:00pm  Supporting youth

· Behavioral health challenges

· Challenges in school

· School-to-deportation pipeline

· Trauma-informed care with immigrant youth

· Strengths of immigrant families

· Strategies for family serving organizations

1:00-2:00pm  Lunch (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

2:00-3:15pm  Acculturation

· Defining acculturation

· Related definitions

· Impact of ancestors on us

· Levels of acculturation

· Experiences of acculturation

3:15-4:45pm

· Immigrant paradox

· Ethnic identity

· Biculturalism

· Raising culturally diverse youth

· Culturally informed care

· Trauma-informed care

4:45-5:00pm  Questions & Answers, closing

Meet Our Trainer

Nicole Kelly is a clinical psychologist who has worked with trauma survivors for 14 years. She currently consults with agencies on trauma-informed care, programming for commercially sexually exploited youth, vicarious trauma, and leadership development. Nicole has been training multidisciplinary audiences on trauma-related topics since 2015 and provides guest lectures at local universities on human trafficking.

Nancy Acosta is a bilingual therapist who has 7 years of experience working with trauma at a sexual assault center. She has provided services to children and adults in various settings including outpatient community mental health centers, college counseling centers, crisis centers, and in an integrated behavioral health setting. She has completed training in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy as well as Cognitive Processing Therapy. She has experience providing training and supervision to doctoral level graduate students in trauma related topics including crisis intervention, vicarious trauma, and grounding techniques. In addition to developing a training manual for a student training program at a rape and crisis center, she also has experience supervising practicum students and providing support to staff and advocates. Nancy has experience working as a behavioral health consultant with multidisciplinary staff to improve recognition, treatment and management of behavioral problems and conditions.

This course meets the qualifications for (5.75) BBS CE hours for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.