20th Annual ICAN Childhood Grief and Traumatic Loss Conference

INTRODUCTION

The Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN) will hold our 20th annual conference on “Childhood Grief and Traumatic Loss, Restoring Joy to Children and Families” on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at the California Endowment.

Losing a loved one can be one of the most difficult experiences in one’s life. For some, it can be an earth-shattering experience with far-reaching implications. There are cultural, gender-based, and age-related differences, etc., in one’s grief experience and reactions. A child’s loss experience and grief reaction, for example, differs greatly from that of an adult, and professionals who work with families should be able to identify normal and abnormal childhood grief responses. Personally, we may have experienced the recent loss of a loved one from a separation, divorce, or death, bringing up a tremendous amount of emotional distress and limiting our ability to function effectively in our jobs, school and in our personal relationships. This annual conference is a great opportunity to share knowledge about loss, trauma, the grieving process and specifically, how children experience and cope with grief and loss. Learn about the importance of self-care, when is the best time to intervene, seek help and restore wholeness and hope.

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CONTINUING EDUCATION (CEs)

ICAN Associates is a recognized CAMFT-approved Continuing Education Provider (Provider Number: 131324). This conference meets the qualifications for 5 hours of Continuing Education (CEs) for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. ICAN is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for social workers, therapists, community organizations, students, and advocates who work with children and families that have been affected by domestic violence. ICAN maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.

LCSWs and LMFTs requesting CEs will be required to sign in for the event no later than 8:30 a.m. and must stay until end of the conference day at 4:00 p.m. The CE certificate will also be sent two to three weeks after the conference via email. The initial CE certificate and one replacement (if needed) are provided free of charge. However, there may be a fee of $5.00 for any additional replacement certificates.

If there are any questions about CEs or the issuing of certificates, please contact ICAN Associates at icanassociatesteam@gmail.com or Requests for refunds must be made in writing via email and received by ICAN on or before March 23, 2026. If you need to cancel, please contact ICAN Associates at icanassociatesteam@gmail.com and include the following information: full name, e-mail address used to register, and confirmation number. There is a $5 charge for cancellations. For explanation regarding this fee contact icanassociates@gmail.com or tajunj@dcfs.lacounty.gov .

GRIEVANCES

The Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN) is fully committed to ensuring that all conference activities are in conformance with the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) Continuing Education Standards. ICAN assures that its training conference is appropriate for LMFT and LCSW professional development and that ICAN is suitable for BBS license renewal.

Furthermore, ICAN Associates will comply with all legal and ethical responsibilities to be non-discriminatory in promotional activates, program content and in the treatment of program participants. The monitoring and assessment of compliance with these standards will be the responsibility of the ICAN Conference Chair in consultation with the Grief Conference Planning Committee and ICAN Executive Director.

While ICAN Associates goes to great lengths to assure fair treatment for all participants, and ensure conference content is in compliance with CEU standards, there may be occasional issues that come to the attention of the conference staff. In most circumstances, a solution can be easily identified. However, if, in the rare circumstance, the situation rises to a more serious level, the grieved individual must immediately request to speak with the Conference Chair or the ICAN Executive Director who will in turn, attempt to arbitrate the situation. In addition, within 48 hours, the grieved individual must submit their grievance in writing for a record of the incident to be kept on file.