Empowering Communities: MidSOUTH’s Training for Change in Child Welfare and Beyond
MidSOUTH is a training and education organization that equips practitioners, providers, and advocates with the essential tools to empower oppressed and vulnerable populations and make community-wide improvement through continuing education in the areas of child welfare, healthy families / family support, prevention, and addictions.
Upcoming Courses and Conferences
Explore our upcoming training opportunities. Select a course title to learn more and register.
| Course Title | Date |
|---|---|
2025 Peer Recovery Conference: Commitment to ExcellenceInstructor: 2025 Peer Recovery Conference: Commitment to Excellence Location: Benton Event Center Description: This conference has a limit of 300 participants, so register as soon as possible. Please ensure you will be available to attend before proceeding with registration. An optional Pre-Conference Ice Cream Mixer will take place from 6:00-9:00pm on August 26th at the Fairfield Inn in Benton, AR. Registration will be available during this time. An All-Recovery meeting will be held on Wednesday and Thursday morning from 7am-8am in the meeting room on the bottom floor of the Fairfield Inn. The Awards Banquet will take place from 6:00-9:00 on August 27th. This will include appetizers, annual Peer Support awards, dinner, and national speaker, Justin Volpe. Come ready to celebrate and dress to impress! Awards Banquet tickets will be available on a first-come-first-served basis upon registration (limit 2 per person). 14 continued education hours will be offered during the 2025 Peer Conference. For more information contact: Amanda.M.Vardaman@dhs.arkansas.gov, Casey.Copeland2@dhs.arkansas.gov, or mjkirchner@midsouth.ualr.edu Scholarship rooms have previously been awarded. Recipients of scholarship rooms must register for the conference to attend and receive their room. | 8/27/25 to 8/28/25 |
Beamer's Buddies ToolkitInstructor: Beamer's Buddies Toolkit Location: Zoom Webinar Description: The Beamer's Buddies Toolkit is designed for young people ages seven to 12 who have been affected by alcoholism or other drug misuse in the family. Through activities, stories and sharing led by trained counseling staff, children learn to identify and express their feelings, develop coping and self-care skills, deepen communication with their parents or adult caregivers, and recognize they are not alone in navigating the challenges of growing up with an addicted family member. Equipping young people who are at increased risk of substance misuse due to genetic or familial factors with healthy living skills is an effective form of prevention. | 8/18/25 to 8/18/25 |
Relapse Prevention PlanningInstructor: Relapse Prevention Planning Location: Zoom Webinar | 8/14/25 to 8/14/25 |
Xylazine and other Toxic AdulterantsInstructor: Xylazine and other Toxic Adulterants Location: Zoom Webinar Description: Pharmacologically active compounds, impurities, or breakdown products from drug manufacturing and industrial chemicals (collectively referred to as toxic adulterants) have been increasing detected in illicit drug supply around the world. This training activity will discuss the increasing prevalence and dangers of toxic adulterants in the illicit drug supply. The training will focus discuss the prevalence of various toxic adulterants but, will focus on the dangers of the most- commonly-detected adulterant, xylazine (aka "tranq"). The training will include the most up-to-date evidence and information regarding xylazine's clinical effects, health impacts and complications associated with its' chronic use and review the most current recommendations for providers to detect and treat xylazine exposure. Objectives: Describe the pharmacology of xylazine. Review the epidemiology, trends and increasing prevalence of toxic adulterants in the illicit drug supply. Recognize the frequent indicators, signs and symptoms and treatment of xylazine toxicity, overdose, and withdrawal. Discuss the most common clinical effects, health impacts and complications associated with xylazine use. Discuss appropriate patient education and harm reduction strategies associated with xylazine exposure and other adulterants. | 8/13/25 to 8/13/25 |
Teen InterveneInstructor: Teen Intervene Location: Zoom Webinar Description: Teen Intervene is a tested, time-efficient, evidence-based program for teenagers (twelve to nineteen years old) suspected of experiencing a mild or moderate substance use disorder, covering all drugs but with a special focus on alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine use. The program is designed to include teens' parents or guardians. The Teen Intervene program incorporates the stages of change model, motivational interviewing, and cognitive-behavioral therapy and offers a full Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) model. | 8/11/25 to 8/12/25 |
Community ToolboxInstructor: Community Tool Box Location: Four Points by Sheraton Little Rock Description: Community Tool Box Training helps individuals take action, teach, and train others in organizing for community development. Participants will learn how to assess community needs and resources, address social determinants of health, engage stakeholders, create action plans, build leadership, improve cultural competency, plan an evaluation, and sustain prevention efforts over time. The Community Tool Box is a public service of the University of Kansas. It is maintained by the Work Group for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas. | 8/4/25 to 8/7/25 |
Pharmacotherapy: Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD)Instructor: Pharmacotherapy: Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) Location: Zoom Webinar Description: The growing knowledge of alcohol's neurobiological effects on the brain has led to the development of effective FDA-approved pharmacotherapy options for use in the treatment of alcohol use disorder. Also, with the high prevalence of untreated opioid use disorder and continued increase in opioid-related overdoses nationwide has created a greater need to increase access and availability to the three medications approved by the FDA to treat opioid use disorder. Instructor will discuss the high prevalence, morbidity, and mortality associated with alcohol and opioid use disorders and the current evidence, effectiveness, and pharmacological profiles of the current FDA-approved pharmacotherapies indicated. Participants will review prescribing guidelines and protocols for each of the FDA-approved pharmacotherapy options, general patient and medications considerations in treatment selection, and special considerations for high-risk and specific patient populations. Also, review recent research findings indicating specific improved outcomes associated with each pharmacotherapy option, and discuss practical strategies for patient engagement and increasing use of pharmacotherapies for alcohol and opioid use disorder in the clinical practice setting. Objectives: Discuss the current practice guidelines for screening, assessment, and treatment planning for alcohol and opioid use disorder. Describe the current FDA-approved pharmacotherapies for the management of these two disorders Review the current epidemiologic trends and death rates for these disorders. Review the goals of medication treatment. Summarize the clinical pharmacology, efficacy, and safety of prescribing for these disorders. Recognize the unique patient- and medication-specific considerations when selecting pharmacological treatments. Describe best practice recommendations for initiating and stabilizing medications. | 7/30/25 to 7/30/25 |
Implementation, Improvement, Sustanability and Coaching of the ASAM CriteriaInstructor: Implementation, Improvement, Sustanability and Coaching of the ASAM Criteria Location: Zoom Webinar Description: Important: - Full attendance and participation is required in all 5 sessions to receive full credit. Partial credit cannot be issued. - Participants are expected to have a solid foundation and understanding of the ASAM Criteria. - A registration survey will be linked on your registration confirmation. You must fill out the survey prior to the training start date. - All participants receive an in-depth electronic training journal to guide the training experience and as a resource for continuing skill application, as part of the training. This training is an evolution of a Training for Trainers model. The training goes beyond the single strategy and frequently ineffective belief that more trainers and training creates change. Although training and local expertise is an important component of implementation, it is commonly the only piece and is typically ineffective for implementation and sustainability. This training teaches the NIA Tx model for process improvement in conjunction with the ASAM Criteria Implementation Guide as a foundational, straightforward way to implement, improve and sustain fidelity to the ASAM Criteria. Focusing on the NIA Tx Five Principles, the training provides a science-based foundation for evolving a culture of continuous improvement within the organization, not only for The Criteria but for any improvement or implementation project, Trauma Informed Care, Motivational Interviewing, CBT, Decreasing "no shows," EHR, Treatment Plan Quality, Documentation, etc. Each session takes place from 1:30pm to 3:30pm on the following dates: - Tuesday, July 29th - Friday, August 8th - Tuesday, August 12th - Tuesday, August 19th - Friday, August 29th | 7/29/25 to 8/29/25 |
Stimulant Use DisorderInstructor: Stimulant Use Disorder Location: Zoom Webinar Description: The increasing usage of synthetic stimulants has led to an escalating trend of mortality associated with stimulant use disorders. This session covers information from the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), evidence-based strategies, and standards of care to improve quality of care for individuals with Stimulant Use Disorder (StUD). The training reviews neurobiology and pharmacology of stimulant use disorders, harmful medical and psychiatric consequences, and evidence-based strategies for working with individuals, including interventions and observations. | 7/23/25 to 7/23/25 |
Chronic Disease of Addiction/Neurobiology of AddictionInstructor: Chronic Disease of Addiction/Neurobiology of Addiction Location: Zoom Webinar Description: The advances achieved in neurobiological research over the past several decades has transformed our understanding of addiction as a chronic disease of the brain and elucidated many of the key disruptions in neural pathways and neurotransmitter signaling that underlie the etiology, mechanisms, and clinical characteristics of addictive disorders. Facilitators will guide participants through the foundational neurobiological findings and concepts that have driven the new standards of care for the disease model of addiction treatment and given shape to the changing recovery landscape, review the most recent research linking genetic mutations and epigenetic changes involved in the disease of the addiction and the implications for future treatment and prevention strategies. The learner will gain an understanding of the relationship between the neurobiological and neurochemical disruptions that occur in addiction and contextualize this knowledge as it pertains to characteristic behaviors common to addictive disorders, the subsequent clinical implications, and treatment strategies. Also, participants will gain a broaden understanding of addiction as a chronic disease of the brain and increase awareness of the evidenced-based treatment guidelines and recommendations supporting the use of both medication and behavioral treatments in an individualized and patient-centered model of treatment. Objectives: Describe the role and function of the brain's dopaminergic reward circuitry and the predominant regions of the brain involved in the disease of addiction. Describe the three most common reinforcing properties of addictive substances and their impact on the brain. Summarize the primary neurobiological disruptions occurring in each of the three identified stages of the disease cycle of addiction. Examine the neurobiology of addiction in relationship to emotional responses, compulsivity, and executive functioning and their clinical implications in the treatment of substance use disorders. | 7/21/25 to 7/21/25 |
Print Your MidSOUTH Training Certificates
Access and print your training transcripts for all MidSOUTH programs by following these steps:
- Click the button below to visit the Training login page.
- Log in to the online registration system using your credentials.
- From the “My Account” menu, click History to view your completed trainings.
- Click on Certificates to view your completed trainings (you can sort by Course Code, Course Title, or End Date by clicking on the individual headings).
- Click on Get My Certificate next to the course you need and a .pdf will automatically generate in a new window that you can then download or print for your records.
*To request a training transcript for all of the courses you have completed, or for a specific date range, please email registration@midsouth.ualr.edu with the transcript criteria needed and one will be provided to you.