AUGUSTA — GEAR Parent Network, a program of Crisis & Counseling Centers, will host two free presentations by Dr. Ross Greene, educator and author who has devoted his life to helping children and teens with behavioral challenges.

Greene will present from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Williamson Auditorium in Fairfield and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 19, at the South Portland Community Center.

Both presentations are free and open to the public. To register online, visit the GEAR website, www.gearparentnetwork.com, or call the program toll-free number, 1-800-264-9224.

Greene is the author of “The Explosive Child” and “Lost at School,” has appeared on television shows like Oprah and Dateline, and founded a nonprofit organization, Lives in the Balance, www.livesinthebalance.org, providing web-based resources to parents, educators and other caregivers of children with social emotional and behavioral challenges.

The presentations will teach parents how to problem-solve collaboratively “Maine is particularly receptive to our message,” Greene said. “There are numerous schools throughout the state that have been implementing my model, impressive reductions in discipline referrals, detentions and suspensions. And the model played a meaningful role in help to improve care in the state’s two juvenile detention facilities, where the lower recidivism rate has become a national example.

Carol Tiernan, GEAR parent network director, said of the presentations, “I want parents to know that we’re in this together and there are resources available to them.”

GEAR hosts free monthly support groups, workshops and a toll-free phone line for parents of children with behavioral health needs.