Human Services Network of Colorado upcoming events

Understanding and supporting LGBTQ+ clients and co-workers (07/28/2026)

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT

How can anyone know ALL there is to know about LGBTQIA+? That's a helluva lot of acronyms to get your head around! As a service provider, it is likely you know some things, but are open to other ways of looking at this population and gaining a better understanding and insight around working with them.

This course is designed to create a solid foundation for supporting persons who identify as LGBTQIA+ and to help you work and communicate better with this population as a human services professional.

GOAL: To increase knowledge about LGBTQIA+ and working with this population.

OBJECTIVES: By the end of this training you will:

Gain a better understanding and awareness of the history and social determinants of health in the LGBTQIA+ community and how to better serve this population;
Develop strategies to mitigate potential adverse effects of implicit biases and inherent power imbalances;
Learn better communication styles with clients and co-workers.

PRESENTER: Savanna Depew

Savanna is a trained facilitator and experienced case manager who has been directly involved with human services work for more than 5 years. She has coached hundreds of participants through a multitude of goals including navigating housing, connecting to mental health support, and preparing for education and employment opportunities. Savanna Depew She is currently the Manager of Community Programs, Center for Work Education & Employment

Eligible for one-hour Certificate of Completion

MI for Supervisors & Champions - August 4 & 6 (08/04/2026)

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT

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, LPC, CAS, ADS, AAT
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

MI for Supervisors & Champions - August 4 & 6 (08/06/2026)

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT

_________

________

Eligible for 8 hours Certificate of Completion

Motivational Interviewing - August 11,13,18,20 (08/11/2026)

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT

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, LPC, CAS, ADS, AAT
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.

Motivational Interviewing - August 11,13,18,20 (08/13/2026)

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT

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.

_____

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

Motivational Interviewing - August 11,13,18,20 (08/18/2026)

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT

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.

_____

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

Motivational Interviewing - August 11,13,18,20 (08/20/2026)

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT

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.

_____

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

Healing (Trauma)-Informed Care (08/26/2026)

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT

This two-day workshop 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 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 8 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.

Healing (Trauma)-Informed Care (08/27/2026)

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT

By the end of the 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.

__________

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 8 hours Certificate of Completion

_________

PRESENTER: Melinda Marasch, LCSW
Aspire Training & Consulting

Mandatory Reporting and Child/Elder Abuse (09/02/2026)

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:00:00 GMT

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