LHDC Head Start Hosts Noted Consultant and Author
On October 8, 2010 , the Lincoln Hills Development Corporation (LHDC) Head Start program hosted noted national consultant on child welfare issues, and author, Naomi Haines Griffith, for a daylong staff training and professional development event.
Ms. Griffith is a frequent speaker at conferences throughout the United States and Canada , and is known as a storyteller who uses humor and her own experiences to challenge and inspire her audiences in business, education, juvenile justice, mental health, child abuse prevention, and family violence systems. Griffith is a true Southerner, having grown up in Alabama and Mississippi. She holds a BS from the University of North Alabama , an MA from George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Alabama. She worked in the North Carolina and Alabama child welfare systems and became Executive Director of PACT , a pioneer child abuse prevention agency she helped to found. She has also served on the State Board of the Alabama Department of Human Resources.
Ms. Griffith is the author of Red Clay and Vinegar: Looking at Family through the eyes of a Southern Child, and co-authored another book, The Unkindest Cut - The Emotional Maltreatment of Children .
According to LHDC Head Start Director, Suzette Zellers, nearly 100 staff attended the training by Ms. Griffith, including not only LHDC’s Head Start staff, but also staff from the agency’s Healthy Families, Early Head Start, and Family Preservation/Child Welfare Services programs. Ms. Griffith’s training included a morning session titled “Invisible Scars: The Effects of Emotional Maltreatment” , and an afternoon session on “Stress Management with Humor and Practicality.” She also previewed her new parent education series, a resource utilized by LHDC in its Head Start program, “Parenting from the Heart” – a complete instructional package for early childhood teachers, home visitors, parent educators and other professionals working with parents of young children. The material and curriculum were created by Ms. Griffith to teach parents basic skills and concepts that promote healthy family functioning.
October is Head Start Awareness Month. To learn more about the Head Start program and services, call LHDC at 1-800-467-1435 , extension 227.
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