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Human Services Network of Colorado

Upcoming events

  • Motivational Interviewing - Aug 5,7,12,14

    • 08/05/2025
    • 08/14/2025
    • 4 sessions
    • Zoom webinar
    • 0
    • 33 registrants
    Registration is closed

    This evidence-based approach has consistently shown positive outcomes in dealing with resistance and defensiveness. Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative conversation style for strengthening a person's own motivation and commitment to change. It has been successfully used with populations where resistance is prevalent, including adults and adolescents who deal with legal problems, substance abuse and mental health issues. 

    Motivational Interviewing provides a “tool box” of techniques and strategies which will help you to be more effective in working with clients who bring a wide range of challenges. This is a four-day online training with a four-hour session each day. A broadband Internet connection and working webcam are required for participation. You must be on-camera during the event to receive a certificate of completion.

     Attendees will: 

    • Understand the basic principles and skills of Motivational Interviewing

    • Experience a collaborative versus an authoritarian communication style and see how you can effectively decrease defensiveness in clients​;​

    • Learn and practice resistance skills​;

    • Learn and practice directive skills that help move a client towards positive behavior change​;​

    • Be able to elicit commitment language from a client that is correlated to positive outcomes​;​

    • Explore proven implementation strategies that help improve your Motivational Interviewing skills in the field​.

    _____

    Presenter: Avani G. Dilger, MEd, MA, LPC, BC-DMT, CAS 
    Avani specializes in substance abuse prevention and treatment with adults, teens and their families. She is the founder and director of the “Natural Highs – Healthy Alternatives to Drugs & Alcohol” nonprofit program. Avani has been training professionals in in Motivational Interviewing and other evidence-based practices worldwide for over 20 years. Find out more about Avani HERE.

    Eligible for 16 hours MINT Certificate of Completion, valid worldwide.

    Show details

  • MI for Supervisors & Champions - Aug 19 & 21

    • 08/19/2025
    • 08/21/2025
    • 2 sessions
    • Zoom Webinar
    • 16
    • 15 registrants
    Register

    MI_cartoon

    Motivational Interviewing provides a “tool box” of techniques and strategies which will help you to be more effective in working with clients who bring a wide range of challenges. This one-day advanced Motivational Interviewing Training is the next step for teams who are serious about an evidence-based implementation of Motivational Interviewing skills. The development and maintenance of MI skills is a challenge for front-line workers. Participating in the workshops is a great start but ongoing feedback and mentoring are needed in order for most workers to use MI skillfully. This workshop can help enhance both supervisor MI skills and the quality and nature of the mentoring process. It’s a win-win for clients and agency staff alike.
    This advanced MI training is only for those who have already taken the Motivational Interviewing Basic Two-Day training series. The training builds on the two-day MI Skills Training and teaches supervisors and professionals who are passionate about MI how to keep the practice of MI alive within their teams. If you have not undergone the MI Basic Series, please register for that course instead of this one; we conduct MI Basic regularly.

    Participants will leave with an understanding of:
    • the research-based building-blocks of a successful MI implementation
    • MI coaching skills
    • how to facilitate MI practice sessions
    • a manual with tailored MI exercises to build & sustain their team’s MI skills

    _________

    Presenter: Avani G. Dilger, MEd, MA, LPC, BC-DMT, CAS 
    Avani specializes in substance abuse prevention and treatment with adults, teens and their families. She is the founder and director of the “Natural Highs – Healthy Alternatives to Drugs & Alcohol” nonprofit program. Avani has been training professionals in in Motivational Interviewing and other evidence-based practices worldwide for over 20 years. Find out more about Avani HERE.

    ________

    Eligible for 8 hours Certificate of Completion

    Show details

  • Mandatory Reporting and Child/Elder Abuse

    • 08/26/2025
    • 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
    • Zoom Webinar
    • 48
    • 2 registrants
    Register

    Human service providers, therapists and many other professionals are mandatory reporters. This presentation will provide an overview of mandatory reporting, and go into detail regarding concerns about child abuse and neglect, as well as the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of at-risk elders and adults. This workshop will also include information about emergency procedures and mandates that lead to breaking confidentiality to report individuals who express a serious threat to themselves, others, or target entities.

    Objectives:

    • Participants will be able to define mandatory reporting, and have additional understanding of who is required to report and what situations must be reported.
    • Participants will have an understanding of the Colorado Revised Statutes that are relevant to reporting child abuse and neglect, as well as abuse, neglect, and exploitation of at-risk elders and adults. An understanding of Colorado Revised Statutes that are relevant to danger to self or others and grave disability, as well as duty to warn.
    • Participants will be able to define physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, caretaker neglect, and exploitation, and be able to identify signs of each.
    • Participants will have an understanding of the consequences of failure to report.
    • There will be several case presentations, during which participants will apply their new knowledge about mandatory reporting to particular cases, utilizing a discussion format.  

    Presenter: Ashley Charbonneau, LCSW, LAC

    I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Addiction Counselor, and Colorado Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) Full Operating Treatment Provider and Evaluator. I started Enso Counseling in 2016. I specialize in providing individual therapy to address substance abuse, healthy relationships, unhealthy sexual behavior, and trauma. Read more about Ashley HERE.

    Eligible for 3 hours Certificate of Completion

    Show details

  • Financial Health for human service providers - Advanced Tools for you

    • 09/02/2025
    • 09/09/2025
    • 2 sessions
    • Zoom Webinar
    • 43
    • 7 registrants
    Register

    What habits and behaviors are within your control in order to feel more reflective of how hard you work? You are more than your portfolio - financial life isn't just your investments or just your retirement. Understanding your money story is your starting point, and financial goals are your next stops on the journey.

    Continuing the focus of the introductory workshop on financial empowerment, this in-depth workshop series will cover:

    June 30: What’s the Point of Balancing Money Stuff? (WIP)

    Let's talk about building on financial basics: investing and managing risk. Think of it like spreading your assets across different areas — diversification, three key buckets, and buffer assets — to stay resilient. The main takeaway? Economics can be tricky, but you don’t have to be a pro to keep your finances steady and balanced. Come join us and discover the true meaning of financial diversification — it's more than just a strategy, it's a pathway. Let us show you how taxable and nontaxable accounts can work together to empower your financial journey. Together, we'll explore how to navigate and balance different risks, tailoring them to your unique timeline. This is your chance to take control, unlock your future, and build confidence in your financial balance.

    JUly 10: Not Just Death and Taxes

    Wrapping things up and looking ahead: distribution, leaving a legacy, and making sure everything happens just the way you want. This might include things like trusts, appointing guardians and definitely should include writing a will and designating someone to make medical decisions for when you can’t. What’s the goal? Facing retirement and end-of-life planning doesn’t have to feel daunting. This workhop will help make sense of it all.

    Presenters

    JO Suttles: I have always considered myself a Helper. The first stop on my professional journey was as a Police Officer in Texas. It was in this position I worked diligently to develop relationships using a “community policing” philosophy where trust and understanding are critical, as they are similarly essential in financial planning.  I left police work at the end of 2016 to attend The University of Texas at Dallas as a non-traditional student. I graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance (BSF) and started my new career in financial planning. I have found my professional home with Better Pockets Financial.

    Sarah Lassberg: I’m a veteran of the financial industry, starting in 2005, through the Great Recession of 2008 and the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. I have seen and experienced how quickly life changes while we are each simply trying to survive. I was able to leave the corporate world in 2019 to found Elf Army of Light – a 501(c)3 providing nonreligious resources and support for families experiencing pregnancy loss and infant death. My heartfelt motivation for helping others with finance resulted from my years as an analyst, underwriter, and process consultant where I talked to many people who suddenly had to confront their financial plans, leaving them feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable. The opportunity to combine my passions, activism, and professional skills ultimately led me to Better Pockets Financial, where I can focus my time on what I enjoy the most: being a resource and service to help those who help others.

    Better Pockets Financial: We understand that achieving financial wellness can be intimidating and overwhelming. We care, and we want to help you align your financial life with your values. We believe that family, life experiences, creating memories, and bettering our community are more valuable than money. We see organizations - businesses and non-profits - as agents for change. We believe in empowering our clients through education and engagement. As fiduciaries, we will ALWAYS act in your best interest, no matter what. Because everyone deserves financial advice, we strive to make advice accessible, available, and affordable so we do not have a minimum asset requirement. Our fees are clear and transparent and we don't earn commissions of any kind. Our process is about intention and behavior, so we meet you where you are and walk through it together.

    Eligible for three-hour Certificate of Completion.

    Show details

  • CPR and Opioid Overdose First Aid

    • 09/03/2025
    • 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
    • Castlewood Library Rm A, 6739 S Uinta St, Englewood, CO 80112
    • 16
    • Be the first
    Register

    Do you know how to help someone you think has overdosed on opioids? This interactive, in-person workshop will provide you with the skills, knowledge and confidence you need to respond to a known or suspected opioid overdose emergency.

    CPR? Yes, an opioid overdose can lead to cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops beating or beats too ineffectively to circulate blood to the brain and other vital organs. In the First Aid for Opioid Overdoses course, you'll learn when CPR is the appropriate care to give for a suspected opioid overdose. Take the next step. Learn how to perform this potentially life-saving technique.

    Who should attend? This training is targeted to service providers interested in feeling confident in emergency situations. The focus is learning how to perform CPR and spot signs of the need for medical attention, along with additional education about opioid overdose procedures.

    Key Learning Takeaways

    • Explain how CPR is helpful
    • Recognizing Emergency Situations
    • Understand Good Samaritan Laws & consent
    • Risks of disease when giving care
    • Navigating an injured individual and keeping all parties safe with communication
    • Knowledge of how to recognize the signs of life-threatening requirements
    • Shock, Breathing Emergency, Cardiac Arrest, Heart Attacks (definitions)
    • Student successfully knows how to perform CPR effectively

    Additional Learning:

    • Know how to spot an opioid overdose
    • Understand the importance of these tools
    • Gain knowledge of administering types of overdose tools
    • Extra resources on opioid overdose

    PRESENTER

    Liona Dean is an American Red Cross Licensed Training Provider and Founder of One More Chance Safety. Her teaching style is direct and conversational. With the ability to engage the audience on the presented material with overly forced humor. Her passion for teaching falls back on her beliefs of providing equal access to knowledge and educational resources to all. Liona brings over 15 years of experience working with nonprofits with a focus on supporting at-risk communities. She holds a degree in Psychology and currently serves on the Board of the Human Services Network of Colorado and Environmental Learning for Kids.

    After attending the course, if you are interested in receiving a two-year OSHA-compliant Certificate, please contact One More Chance Safety at support@onemorechancesafety.com.

    Show details

  • Healing (Trauma)-Informed Care

    • 09/11/2025
    • 09/12/2025
    • 2 sessions
    • Zoom Webinar
    • 37
    • 13 registrants
    Register

    This training provides a foundation of knowledge and skill in providing Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) to clients of all walks of life. This training focuses on enhancement of knowledge, skill and confidence of direct care providers in work with those stressed and/or traumatized. Information regarding stress and trauma will include common terms (e.g. secondary trauma, burn-out, compassion fatigue, etc), and will create an understanding of the holistic effects of stress and trauma on individuals, as well as the effects on direct service providers. This content will also provide an understanding of the impact of trauma on the brain, planning, processing, learning, relating and more. Motivational Interviewing and other approaches will be utilized to apply TIC and other concepts to client scenarios.

    By the end of the TIC training series, you will be able to...

    • Explain TIC to a colleague;

    • Understand the ways stress/trauma might impact clients or you;

    • Explore ways you can be more healing-informed in your work;

    • Identify at least one thing you could do for effective self-care

    • Apply TIC approaches to client scenarios; and

    • Develop a plan for utilizing TIC strategies on the job.

    __________

    WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Front-line workers and supervisors across mental health and human services sectors. Includes (but is not limited to) those working in assisted living, homelessness, domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, community and family services, juvenile justice, corrections.

    Testimonials

    • For someone new to the field, this was extremely helpful!
    • This training really improved my interactions and gave me the push I needed.
    • Use information on a daily basis. Helps structure meetings and address critical issues.

    • Loved this training! So applicable and valuable in our positions

    Eligible for 6 hours Certificate of Completion

    ___________


    Presenter: Melinda Marasch, LCSW
    Aspire Training & Consulting
    It is my honor to do exciting work with the amazing, compassionate people in the nonprofit world! It has been my life’s passion to help others, first as a psycho-therapist and now as a consultant. I specialize in clinical supervision in the form of training (in-person and online), as well as individual and group sessions. We serve licensed and unlicensed individuals, as well as programs and organizations. I have expertise in many areas, including HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, mental illnesses and much more. I also provide coaching to clients who are motivated to maximize their assets.
    Show details

  • Addiction Treatment and Co-occurring Disorder

    • 09/24/2025
    • 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
    • Zoom Webinar
    • 45
    • 5 registrants
    Register

    Have you recognized mental illness and substance abuse in working with participants?  Perhaps you weren't sure which symptom needed which approach. Learning more and developing resources and partners to address co-occurring disorders can help you provide more efficient, targeted services and referrals, and help your participants feel better.

    For those who seek to enhance their ability and understanding of Addictions and Co-occurring Disorder; this workshop will present a solid foundation for recognizing substance abuse as well as understanding and working with these issues. "Co-occurring Disorder" is descriptive of people who struggle with both a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder. It is often difficult to tease out a co-occurring disorder, especially when the person is in acute phases of instability.

    There are numerous issues we will discuss related to the struggle of managing this disorder. Stigma and stability issues consistent with the individuals specific combination of disorders, support access, legal, medical health, and cultural uniqueness create a complexity for the care providers approach and management of services for these clients. We will discuss basic strategies, and practical guidelines for providing early intervention, stability and integrated services for Co-occurring Disorder clients.

    Participants will leave with:

    • The ability to identify symptoms of substance abuse and mental health disorders;
    • A working definition of the “co-occurring disorder” and a look at the stigma attached to that definition;
    • An understanding of the most common difficulties (and clues) in recognizing co-occurring disorders
    • Practical strategies in managing co-occurring clients, including; basic CBT skills, Medication compliance concerns, high risk stability, sobriety management, and multiple systems coordination;
    • An understanding of the stability concerns with co-occurring disorder clients; and
    • Approaches to practical and culturally sensitive assessment.


    Presenter: Tracy L. Hutchinson, LPC, MAC, LAC 

    Tracy has been working in the field of Addictions and Mental Health for the past 40 years. Currently, through her Counseling and Consulting private practice, Tracy is a facilitator of professional growth and development for team building. See more information about Tracy HERE.

    Eligible for 6 Hours Certificate of Completion.

    Show details

  • Motivational Interviewing - Oct 7,9,14,16

    • 10/07/2025
    • 10/16/2025
    • 4 sessions
    • Zoom webinar
    • 30
    • 1 registrant
    Register

    This evidence-based approach has consistently shown positive outcomes in dealing with resistance and defensiveness. Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative conversation style for strengthening a person's own motivation and commitment to change. It has been successfully used with populations where resistance is prevalent, including adults and adolescents who deal with legal problems, substance abuse and mental health issues. 

    Motivational Interviewing provides a “tool box” of techniques and strategies which will help you to be more effective in working with clients who bring a wide range of challenges. This is a four-day online training with a four-hour session each day. A broadband Internet connection and working webcam are required for participation. You must be on-camera during the event to receive a certificate of completion.

     Attendees will: 

    • Understand the basic principles and skills of Motivational Interviewing

    • Experience a collaborative versus an authoritarian communication style and see how you can effectively decrease defensiveness in clients​;​

    • Learn and practice resistance skills​;

    • Learn and practice directive skills that help move a client towards positive behavior change​;​

    • Be able to elicit commitment language from a client that is correlated to positive outcomes​;​

    • Explore proven implementation strategies that help improve your Motivational Interviewing skills in the field​.

    _____

    Presenter: Avani G. Dilger, MEd, MA, LPC, BC-DMT, CAS 
    Avani specializes in substance abuse prevention and treatment with adults, teens and their families. She is the founder and director of the “Natural Highs – Healthy Alternatives to Drugs & Alcohol” nonprofit program. Avani has been training professionals in in Motivational Interviewing and other evidence-based practices worldwide for over 20 years. Find out more about Avani HERE.

    Eligible for 16 hours MINT Certificate of Completion, valid worldwide.

    Show details

  • Direct Service Provider Series 2025

    • 11/05/2025
    • 12/03/2025
    • 4 sessions
    • Zoom Webinar
    • 42
    • 8 registrants
    Register

    Join our live, virtual sessions and learn practical therapeutic theory and approaches that you can implement immediately to provide effective and efficient direct care services. Theory and techniques have been successfully modified to fit helping relationships that are not primarily therapeutic in nature. The goal of each workshop is to enhance knowledge, skill and confidence in providing effective, efficient, client-centered care.

    Topics include Direct Professional Success, Self Care, Healing (Trauma) Informed Approaches, Boundaries, and De-Escalation. Please see the learning objectives below for more information. Attendants are encouraged to define their own learning objectives, as well, for example, “I want to … feel better/have more energy at the end of the day… jump to solutions less & allow participants to work harder…use more empathy.”

    This series of four intensive workshops will be conducted in October and November (specific dates TBD). All are four-hour webinars. The goal of each session is to enhance knowledge, skill and confidence in providing effective client-centered care.

    16 hours of intensive personal online training with 6 hours of supplemental virtual training for a total of 22 hours training.

    Learning Objectives

      • Define my Success
      • Understand Self Care
      • Review Best Practices in Case Management/Navigation
      • Understand the Process of Change
      • Learn about the Care Cycle (Intake through Discharge)
      • Learn about Therapeutic Communication
      • Understand Crisis Management
      • Learn about the Care/Treatment Cycle (Intake through Discharge)
      • Apply MI and Other Skills in Work with Clients (Intake through Discharge)
      • Apply Information and Skills to Case Scenarios
      • Plan to Implement Information & Skills on the job

    Supplemental Online Trainings cover the following topics:

      1. Helper as a Person (50 minutes)
      2. Therapeutic Communication (40 minutes)
      3. Multiculturalism (1 hour 10 minutes)
      4. HIPAA (45 minutes)
      5. Mandatory Reporting (45 minutes)
      6. Stages of Change (40 minutes)
      7. Harm Reduction (30 minutes)
      8. Service Planning/Monitoring (40 minutes)
      9. Approaches to Difficult Situations (30 minutes)

    Optional Coaching Sessions - Dates TBD - 9–10:30am 

    Put theory and approaches into direct practice with Coaching. Join others who want to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency by applying Trauma (Healing) Informed Care, Motivational Interviewing & other approaches in this group setting. Melinda will facilitate discussion of relevant direct care topics and will follow your lead. Our goal is to celebrate successes and problem solve struggles with participant scenarios. Available to DSP attendees for an additional fee of  $50 per session or $160 for all four. Registration for coaching opens after DSP ends on June 29.

    Direct Service Provider Certificate: Aspire Training will provide a 22 hours Certificate of Completion for the Direct Service Provider Certification Program, documenting all hours of both in-person and online trainings.

    Presenter: Melinda Marasch, LCSW

    Aspire Training & Consulting

    It is my honor to do exciting work with the amazing, compassionate people in the nonprofit world! It has been my life’s passion to help others, first as a psycho-therapist and now as a consultant. I specialize in clinical supervision in the form of training (in-person and online), as well as individual and group sessions. We serve licensed and unlicensed individuals, as well as programs and organizations. I have expertise in many areas, including HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, mental illnesses and much more. I also provide coaching to clients who are motivated to maximize their assets.

    Show details

Event Schedule

View the Network's projected training topics and other training information here. To view event information and fees (including member discounts) before registering, click Show details in the lower right -hand corner of each event description above.

 Cancellation Policy

  • Substitutions are welcome; please let us know in advance.
  • No-shows and cancellations 7 days or less prior to an event will be granted neither credit nor refund.
  • Up to 8 days prior to event:  25% refund will be issued in the form of a credit towards future registration.
  • Up to 15 days prior to event: 50% refund will be issued in the form of a credit towards future registration.
  • Up to 29 days prior to event: A full refund will be issued.

Human Services Network of Colorado
PO Box 24788 · Denver, CO 80224

p: 720-252-3628
e: info@thenetwork-co.org

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