2026 Monroe County Childhood Conditions Summit

Over the past decade, the Summit has been guided by the concept that ‘what surrounds us, shapes us.’ Children and youth are shaped by the relationships they are a part of, the neighborhoods they live in, the places they learn and play, and the policies and practices developed by the organizations and institutions with which their families interact.

The (CDC) developed a framework called Essentials for Childhood intended for communities committed to the positive development of children and families. When children have access to safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments (SSNREs) they are more likely to thrive - and thriving children are more likely to grow into thriving adults. What we do as a community and in the community affects those conditions.

From safe and affordable housing, to economic security, to zoning, to climate resilience to healthcare access and beyond, these social and structural determinants impact the capacity of children and their caregivers alike, to develop and thrive. When systems and the people within them are being stretched, what opportunities do we have to shape what surrounds us in a way that embeds safety, stability and nurturance into our community?

This year at MC3 we are looking at opportunities to shape what surrounds us, and we look forward to seeing you in November to build stronger relationships as individuals and organizations to and impact the conditions affecting kids and families in Monroe County and beyond!

(note: some of the session title and descriptions have been slightly adjusted to fit within the word limits of Eventbrite)

Info: This session discusses how to empower youth and young adults to lead with confidence using a strength based framework called Positive Youth Development. Participants will explore how PYD positions young people as capable contributors whose lived experiences, ideas, and leadership are essential to community well being.

The workshop guides participants in creating a Youth Engagement Plan that elevates youth voice through shared decision making, youth led project design, community needs assessments, skill building opportunities, and structured reflection. These components directly support civic engagement by giving youth meaningful roles in identifying issues, proposing solutions, and leading community strengthening initiatives.
Participants will leave with strategies to cultivate socially conscious young leaders who are prepared, confident, and equipped to create lasting impact.

Info: Systems and professionals often focus on trauma and adversity without equal attention to what fosters healing. While understanding trauma, ACEs, and adverse community experiences is essential, lasting change happens when we intentionally build HOPE, the experiences that support safety, connection, and healthy development.

This session introduces a HOPE-centered, neuroscience-informed framework that highlights how Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) buffer adversity and promote resilience across the lifespan. Participants will explore how trauma affects the nervous system and shift toward protective experiences that strengthen regulation, relationships, and well-being.

Through reflection, discussion, and real-world examples, participants will examine the four building blocks of HOPE and how they show up in everyday interactions, programs, and systems. Participants will leave with a shared language for HOPE and practical strategies to embed protective experiences into their work.

Info: Join researcher and advocate Olivia Smith of the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute for a deep dive on what lies ahead for families and advocates in 2027 - from the budget-building Indiana General Assembly session that kicks off in January, to the wave of federal policy changes going into effect later next year. Participants will learn all about the state’s budget process, get a better understanding of the fiscal challenges Indiana is facing because of these federal changes, and be equipped with new knowledge to engage in advocacy opportunities that support Indiana families.

Info: Serving youth communities in Monroe county means dealing with geographic problems. Whether it involves figuring out how accessible services are through different forms of transportation or looking at patterns in social risk factors, a lot of the time it's helpful to put it on a map. But mapping data can have a tough learning curve and require expensive software. Timothy Clark and Benjamin Grubbs from the Indiana Geographic Information Office present an interactive hands on workshop oriented towards youth workers. The session begins with a survey of IndianaMap's open data platform and resources. Then, we walk attendees through creating a Community Account with IndianaMap, which opens the door to dozens of powerful free tools for mapping and analysis. The workshop will leave attendees with the tools and the confidence to use IndianaMap's data and mapping software to solve advocacy problems in their own contexts.

Info: Black girls are often taught to be resilient before they are ever taught how to feel safe, supported, or emotionally seen. This session explores the emotional weight many Black girls carry and the importance of creating safe, affirming spaces where they can develop confidence, identity, emotional wellness, and self-worth beyond survival mode. Drawing from lived experience, social work practice, and direct facilitation of Teen Strut Circle programming in local schools, this session will discuss the impact of adultification, social pressure, lack of representation, emotional suppression, and limited access to mentorship and supportive environments. Participants will leave with practical ideas for fostering emotionally safe, culturally responsive spaces that empower Black girls to feel heard, valued, supported, and free to simply be girls.

Info: Youth workers are often the trusted adults best positioned to recognize concerns and respond when young people are at risk of exploitation. But where do we start? Join us for an interactive and engaging session that combines real-world examples, group discussion, and practical tools to help participants strengthen their awareness and response efforts.
Together, we'll explore key terms and concepts related to youth exploitation, examine current data that helps us understand the scope and impact of the issue, and discuss how organizations can create a culture where awareness, prevention, and response are everyone's responsibility. Participants will also learn the essential components of a developmentally appropriate exploitation action plan that supports youth safety, dignity, and well-being.

Info: This session will train individuals and organizations to collect and use data to support and promote their work. Participants will learn why data matters and how it can be used to celebrate community strengths, demonstrate program impact, identify opportunities for improvement, and strengthen grant applications. The session will provide practical guidance on collecting meaningful measures and transforming data into actionable insights. Participants will also learn how to use youth participatory evaluation to engage young people as partners in the evaluation process. Emphasis will be placed on collecting culturally responsive data in collaboration with youth to ensure their perspectives are represented and their voices are amplified.

Info: We can shape what surrounds us through broad and popular organized activity. People acting en masse are a force that has changed the world over and over, but too often, we place undue emphasis on ideas. Ideas by themselves do not hold significant power. People power requires unexpected allies across a broad coalition driven by shared purpose. Achieving this kind of coalition means prioritizing shared issues and trusting in the process of collective struggle to bridge differences and overcome previous barriers. Learn about historical examples and participate in hands-on workshops creating tactical, issue-based alliances at the scale necessary to shape a better world.

Info: The Monroe County branch of the NAACP (MCBNAACP) put out a call to the community in February 2026 to consider the Freedom School model used in the summer of 1964 in Mississippi to engage Black youth with their community, teach about what they might no longer be learning in public school regarding United States history, and give elders a chance to connect and offer confidence and reassurance to worried youth that they can and will make it through difficult times.

This call brought together interested community members, many with backgrounds in education and teaching, to determine how to proceed. In this presentation we will explain the history of Freedom Schools and what this call from the MCBNAACP means for this community. We will share the pilot program content and longer term plans to make a program like this a part of learning and growing up in Monroe County, Indiana.

Info: Immigration has long played an important role in the communities across the United States. In the past year and a half, policies have drastically shifted, impacting immigrant youth, their families, and the whole community. This session will explore mental health conditions among immigrant youth, including relevant statistics and common barriers to accessing care. Participants will learn about ways to ensure our community is providing culturally and linguistically competent support and care for the immigrant children and families in Monroe County. Additionally, this session will provide an overview of the history of humanitarian immigration policies in the United States, highlighting considerations that youth-serving organizations should understand when supporting youth and their families. Through an understanding of these intersecting factors, participants will gain practical knowledge to help create more responsive, accessible, and supportive services for youth and their families.

Info: What if an entire community had spaces that looked, felt and operated in an inclusive, youth-centered way? This session will explore environmental prevention through an interactive activity called, Fun for All! - a game from the Prevention Toybox, curated by the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV). Environmental prevention strategies focus on the changes we can make to our physical environments that influence community-level risk and protective factors for violence. The facilitator will draw from experiences implementing a youth-centered model to change the environment of a health center as well as coordinating violence prevention strategies alongside youth. This session is for anyone interested in co-creating inclusive environments whether it be for violence prevention or youth work in general.

Info: Becoming a parent for the first time is a significant shift. Birthing people experience radical physiological and psychological changes, are charged with learning new skills, and must incorporate a new identity as a parent. What happens when birthing and postpartum people are under-resourced, have limited role models for parenting, are navigating health decisions for themselves and their babies, live in communities without parenting resources, experience health care provider mistrust or distrust, or cannot afford to "buy" the village they need to support them? Who becomes their role models? Who teaches them to parent? Enter social media.
This session seeks to name the issues at hand as digital natives enter their childbearing years. Together, we will explore the impact of social media on maternal mental health, the downstream impact on infants and future parenting, what new parents need from their communities, and how social media influences identity, parenting, and health decisions.

Info: Low cost doesn't mean low impact. Leveraging existing community strengths and building on protective factors can change the way families interact with each other by increasing social supports, which can ultimately help to prevent domestic violence and child abuse. Let's talk about how to use low-cost options by meeting communities where they are, working through community partnerships to create opportunities, and strengthening protective factors by fostering family engagement. In this session, Jeanelle will share about two projects that were implemented through a CDC grant in rural Grant County, Indiana, which focused on creating protective factors in the rural community, with a focus on engaging and supporting fathers and families. She will highlight practical examples for prevention professionals to understand how non-clinical and non-punitive approaches can reduce isolation and increase social support.

Info: Safety, responsibility, and care are reinforced through peer influence and community partnership. This session will explore how youth-serving professionals can help create this culture through the example of traffic safety, which is shaped not only by individual choices, but by the environments, relationships, and community norms surrounding young people every day.

Participants will engage with interactive strategies that help young people recognize their ability to influence one another, advocate for safer behaviors, and contribute to healthier community outcomes. The session emphasizes opportunities for youth voice, civic engagement, and cross-sector collaboration among schools, families, prevention professionals, and community organizations.

Attendees will leave with adaptable activities, partnership ideas, and engagement tools designed to strengthen protective factors, encourage positive social norms, and empower youth to actively shape safer communities for themselves and peers.

Info: Have you ever felt challenged by facilitating a group or meeting? This session is an opportunity to first participate in facilitated group processing focused on reflecting on your own work, then analyze that session experience to learn more about the practices that make for productive facilitation. Facilitator Molly Mendota will guide attendees through the session in the form of an interactive group meeting, while sharing her approach to facilitating a group. The session will end with Q&A and discussion about groups of all kinds. All are welcome: come to experience being held in the context of your care work with others, come to discover what it takes to hold space for groups or meetings, come to reflect and connect at the end of this day of Shaping What Surrounds Us. Molly looks forward to sharing this time with you!

Info: Adolescence is a critical window for mental and physical health, and the environments young people grow up in play a powerful role in shaping how they cope, connect, and thrive. Research consistently shows that protective factors like social connection, stable routines, and a strong sense of belonging help buffer youth against a range of risks, including disordered eating, anxiety, and emotional distress.
This session examines the role of protective factors in supporting the overall wellbeing of at-risk youth. Participants will explore how social connection, shared mealtimes, and a sense of belonging help build resilience and safeguard against a range of adolescent health concerns, including eating disorders.
Clinicians, caregivers, and educators will be equipped with practical, actionable strategies for building connection-centered environments at home, in schools, and in clinical settings, that strengthen the support networks young people need to heal and thrive.

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