Medically Complex: Annual Spring 2026 Virtual and In-person breakout sessions option 2
Medically Complex: Annual events are offered at no cost for DCBS parents.
- 11:45 AM – Disability Resources for the Medically Complex Child
- 1:00 PM – Cleft Palate
- 2:30 PM – Injury Prevention
- 3:45 PM – Failure to Thrive
Registration Deadline March 12, 2026
12 in stock
Description
This is a conference-style training event with virtual sessions on Friday and Saturday, March 13 & 14, 2026, and in-person sessions on Saturday, March 21, 2026. The virtual sessions will be held from 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM EDT and 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM EDT on both days. The in-person sessions will take place on Saturday, March 21, 2026, from 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM EDT. Conference check-in for Saturday, March 21, 2026, opens at 9:30 AM EDT. This event will provide DCBS and private agency Medically Complex Foster/Adoptive Parents the opportunity to obtain 12 hours of ongoing training needed for recertification. You must attend all sessions on March 13 & 14, and March 21 to receive the 12 hours of credit.
For the in-person training sessions, participants will be able to choose from a variety of breakout topics to attend the sessions most relevant to the needs of the child in their care.
The in-person sessions will continue through meal times. Therefore, attendance at meals is required to receive full training credit.
Foster/Adoptive Parents must be in an approved Medically Complex Foster Home to attend.
Information for Friday & Saturday Virtual Sessions March 13 & 14, 2026:
The virtual training will take place via virtual live Zoom meeting. Participants will be required to have a laptop or tablet with reliable internet connection to participate in the live, interactive training. Participants will be asked to utilize camera and microphone capabilities, and will be asked to participate using chat features, Q&A and polls.
All four sessions, over the two days, must be attended via Zoom in order to gain the full credit and continue to be certified as a medically complex parent.
Information For In-Person Sessions:
Embassy Suites
1801 Newtown Pike
Lexington, KY 40511
March 21- 2026
Registration Begins At 9:30 AM.
The in-person session will be conducted through the meals. Therefore, attendance at meals is required to receive full training credit. All 12 hours of training must be completed by attending ALL SESSIONS (virtual & in-person) on March 13 & 14, & March 21.
Foster/Adoptive Parents must be an approved Medically Complex Resource Home in order to attend.
Special Information for In-Person Sessions:
While children are welcome at the venue, children cannot be allowed in the training. This includes the lunch and dinner sessions. Please make sure your children have a care provider with them at all times, and that you have informed your worker/agency of lodging needs for children and care providers. Space will be provided for children and their care providers until they can check-in to their room.
Cell phones are allowed in training sessions, but you are asked to keep them on “silent”, and if you must take a call, please step out of the room.
Registration for the training begins at 9:30am. Attendees should plan to arrive early enough to allow time to register and receive their training materials.
Training participants with a private agency will be required to pay $28.00 through the LMS system for meals ($10.00 for lunch & $18.00 for dinner), which is provided at the event and is part of the training. Training is conducted through the meal so attendance at the meal is required to receive full training credit. Private agency participants who choose overnight lodging for Friday are also responsible for their overnight lodging, which is $161.38 including room, taxes, and transient fees for Friday, March 20, 2026. Payment for lodging for private agency participants is also being done through the LMS system. Private agency participants should request their lodging via the UK Learning Management System to receive the discounted rate and not make arrangements separately.
Note: All overnight guests (both private agency and DCBS participants) will be required to provide a credit card upon check-in and a refundable deposit (hold) of $50 will be placed on their credit card for incidentals.
Breakfast is not provided at the training. Breakfast is only provided for overnight guests of the hotel. Please feel free to bring your own snacks and drinks to the training sessions. These items will not be provided. There is a vending area available at this location.
Participants with special dietary needs or restrictions (vegetarian, allergies, etc) or special lodging needs, should register those in the system or must contact Bryan Back at bryanback@uky.edu in advance of the training. Every effort will be made to work with the venue to accommodate those requests.
Hotel accommodations will be available at 3:00 p.m. EST on Friday, March 20, 2026. Check out time is 11:00 am EST on Saturday, March 21, 2026. Any attendee wishing special consideration for late checkout should inquire at the front desk on Saturday, March 21, 2026, the day of departure.
The training will be located in the Conference Center located on the 1st floor.
Note: Each person must register for the conference individually.
Advanced registration is required.
| # | Time | Presentation Title | Presentation Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11:00 AM -11:30 AM | Navigating the Medically Complex World with David Giannini MS, LCADC | This brief presentation serves to introduce the annual medically complex training. Attendants will be welcomed, process of training will be described, and there will be a few minutes for questions concerning processes of daily training. |
| 2 | 11:45AM -12:45 PM | Disability Resources for the Medically Complex Child | This session will focus on understanding and obtaining various disability resources for those living with complex medical conditions and their caregivers. Topics covered will include identifying individual resources, detailing processes for efficient access to resources, and determining what new resources are needed for medically complex parents. |
| 3 |
1:00 PM -2:00 PM |
Cleft Palate | This session will discuss the basics of cleft lip and palate, and the overall journey of cleft care. Included will be details on the cleft palate (anatomy, effects on appearance and function), how to care for cleft palate, and a discussion of global health care and its impact on cleft palate. |
| 4 | 2:30 PM -3:30 PM | Injury Prevention | Adventure with Safety – Injury Prevention for Medically Complex Foster Children at Home, Outdoors and on the Road will address injury prevention strategies indoors at home, outdoors and during travel, including safe sleep, child passenger safety, prevention of hot car deaths, drowning prevention, safe storage of guns, fire prevention/detection/escape, bike helmets, teen driving, equestrian/farm safety, and occupational issues for working teens, especially those who are medically complex. |
| 5 | 3:45 PM -4:45 PM | Failure to Thrive | In this session, we will discuss Failure to Thrive (FTT). We will focus on the following subtopics: how this is diagnosed, possible treatments, changes in this diagnosis over time. We will also discuss warning signs for this disorder and what foster parents can do to assist children with this diagnosis. |
| 6 | 5:00 PM -6:30 PM | Diabetes | As Diabetes is a common problem for medically complex children, this presentation will cover a broad overview of issues housed in the thyroid and endocrine systems. There will be a focus on the disorder, treatment, and course of the disease. Additionally, this will provide a generalized understanding of the sources of these issues, as well as helping parents recognize warning signs to better assist medically complex children |
