Title: From Involvement to Empowerment: Bridging the Gap of Caregiver Connections
Date: February 21st, 2025
Time: 10:30amC/ 11:30amE
Description: The Tennessee Regional Intervention Program, “RIP” Model, has centered on peer support & lived experience since its inception, maintaining prominence through every iteration & replication of the Program. In this session, we will explore the data that demonstrates the importance of both community and parent resilience and why parent-peer connections are so vital to the process. You will leave with an understanding of how RIP makes it happen every day and strategies to support parent connectedness & empowerment.
The TDMHSAS Regional Intervention Program (RIP) is a parent-implemented, professionally supported program for young children and their families who are experiencing challenging behaviors. RIP has been serving families with young children since 1969. This unique, internationally recognized program guides parents in learning the skills to work directly with their own children while they receive training and support from experienced RIP families.
Presenters(s):
Melissa Binkley, M.S., ECMH-E®
Melissa Binkley, MS, ECMH-E® is Director of the Office of Infant & Early Childhood Initiatives in the Division of Children & Youth at the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. In this role, Melissa provides support the state-wide implementation of the Regional Intervention Program. She has worked for over 15 years in child-serving agencies to support Promotion, Prevention, and Intervention efforts specifically focused on fostering positive cognitive and social emotional development in young children. She most enjoys working alongside children and their caregivers as they make plans & solve problems. She lives in Nashville with her husband & kindergartener.
Jaime Herndon, CFSS
Jaime Herndon, CFSS is the Program Coordinator for the Regional Intervention Program (RIP) within the Division of Children & Youth at the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Jaime is a Certified Family Support Specialist in the State of Tennessee, where she serves RIP families with the unique perspective of having completed the program her with her own family. Her personal experience with the program sparked a desire to join RIP’s mission of empowering parents as teachers and advocates for their children.