Workshop Topics
Day One:
Wednesday, May 10th, 2023
Six Pillars of self-care
Dr. Jaya Daptardar
This workshop will cover the management of self-care and prevention. Six pillars will be discussed in detail: diet and nutrition, physical activities, Restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and social and family engagement. This workshop will discuss the brain and gut connection for good behaviors and how food and physical activities can help in stress control, recovery, and anger management.
Conducting Successful Joint Investigations
Tony DeVincenzo
Child abuse investigations are often complex, unpredictable, and fast moving. So, it is no surprise that conducting multidisciplinary team investigations can be a challenging process. In this workshop, participants will discuss the core concepts that need to be in place to conduct successful team investigations and explore strategies to develop these concepts with your team.
Risks and Realities of Abuse for Children with Disabilities During Modell Consulting Group
Dermot Whelan
During this presentation, participants will learn the appropriate use of language when referring to children with disabilities, historical treatment of individuals with disabilities, statistics/incident rates related to individuals with disabilities, and common biases and assumptions related to communicating with children with disabilities.
Grooming: Making You See What I Want You to See and Believe
Chris Newlin
The investigation of child abuse is challenging, and the pursuit of evidence associated with the grooming of children, caregivers, and the community environment provides opportunities for investigators to pursue additional evidence. This workshop will provide an overview of research related to grooming and proposes a new framework for the concept of grooming which could dramatically modify current investigatory practices, in addition to enhancing current forensic interviewing efforts
Engaging Trafficking Survivors: Lessons Learned From the Field
Juno Dina and Kristina Filomena
This workshop will focus on engaging with survivors of trafficking throughout the different stages of change. Although there is no cookie cutter approach when working with survivors of trafficking, Kristina and Juno will share insight from their experience in the field.
Why Parents Don't Believe
Chris Newlin
Parents and caregivers, when faced with emerging allegations involving the abuse of their child, are suddenly confronted with a situation for which they are poorly prepared. This is not significantly different from other situations involving parents’ reactions regarding the well-being of their children. However, the ambiguity of child abuse allegations creates heightened challenges, and this same ambiguity is also a challenge for MDT members involved in the investigation and intervention. This session will identify the difference between belief and ambivalence and how all professionals involved in child abuse cases can assist parents to be supportive and engaged with their children.
Vicarious Trauma Presenters
Jennifer Lusa
This workshop is designed to provides its audience with a user-friendly comprehensive understanding of the pitfalls of vicarious trauma as well as strategies to combat it. Vicarious traumatization can be defined as experiencing or feeling intense emotions and negative beliefs about self and others due to being exposed to, hearing about, or reading about someone else traumatic experience rather than through personal experiences.
LGBTQ+101
Robin McHaelen
LGBTQ+ youth and adults disproportionately experience sexual violence, both within their family of origin and in the community at large. Providers, law enforcement, prosecutors and others who are tasked with the prevention and treatment of sexual abuse may not feel fully cognizant of the unique concerns of their LGBTQ+ clients. In addition, emerging definitions and concepts can seem quite unfamiliar. This workshop will review the definitions, identify risk and protective factors relevant to sexual abuse, and offer lots of opportunities for participant questions.
Race, Racism and Human Trafficking
Yvette Young
We must look at the history of exploitation that has brought us to this point in order to understand our current human trafficking crisis. This presentation will examine the historical context of human trafficking through a racial justice lens as well as explore the continuation of the intersection of race and human trafficking in our nation.
Risks and Realities of Abuse for Children with Disabilities During Modell Consulting Group
Dermot Whelan
During this presentation, participants will learn the appropriate use of language when referring to children with disabilities, historical treatment of individuals with disabilities, statistics/incident rates related to individuals with disabilities, and common biases and assumptions related to communicating with children with disabilities.
And Us Too: Human Trafficking of Boys
Taylor deGraffenried
This curriculum is designed to enhance an individual’s understanding of child trafficking with an emphasis on boys. The training assists participants in identifying male victims, understanding the unique warning signs and the impact of victimization and exploitation. Participants will learn definitions, prevalence of trafficking of boys, and who are the buyers/ exploiters of this crime. The training spends significant time exploring the added barriers and social shame/stigma that prevent boys from disclosing abuse and receiving support.
Utilizing Physical and Digital Evidence to Corroborate Difficult Cases
Kathleen Nolan
Corroborative evidence can often be the deciding factor on whether a case moves forward for charging. Many cases of abuse and assault often appear to only have the victim and suspect as the “witnesses”. This presentation will explore ways that police and prosecutors can look beyond those two witnesses and identify ways to present compelling, corroborating evidence. Using traditional methods of physical evidence and advancing ideas in technology, attendees will be encouraged to think outside the box.
Maternal Darkness: Illuminating Female Perpetrators of Crimes Against Children
Kathleen Nolan
The research on female perpetrators of abuse against children has historically been lacking. As more is learned about this unique population of predators, police and prosecutors must develop an increased understanding of the unique dynamics of these crimes. This workshop will examine several issues that surround the investigation and prosecution of female perpetrators.
Child Exploitation Investigations 101
Kathleen Nolan
This workshop will equip multidisciplinary teams with practical investigative and prosecutorial strategies for technology-facilitated child abuse cases. Topics include systemic best practices for conducting abuse investigations, locating potential sources of corroborative evidence, understanding offender communication strategies, and utilizing hearsay exceptions.
Human Trafficking Investigations
Detective Leonardo J. Soto
This workshop will cover what human trafficking is, how to identify victims of trafficking and explore ways to achieve successful arrests. The presenter will utilize real case examples to illustrate these points. Following this presentation, participants will have a deeper understanding of what trafficking looks like and how to respond.
Child Exploitation Investigations 101
Kathleen Nolan
This workshop will equip multidisciplinary teams with practical investigative and prosecutorial strategies for technology-facilitated child abuse cases. Topics include systemic best practices for conducting abuse investigations, locating potential sources of corroborative evidence, understanding offender communication strategies, and utilizing hearsay exceptions.
Developing a Multidisciplinary Team Approach Using TFCBT-for Children with Problem Sexual Behavior
Patrick Keenan, NCC, LPC and Cori Capuano, LPC
This presentation will briefly describe the treatment model TFCBT for children under twelve years old with problem sexual behavior treatment enhancements. We will explore de-identified cases to elucidate state challenges and the need for more training. Addressing problematic sexual behavior is most effective through a collaborative multidisciplinary team approach.
How to Have Conversations about Race
Jamal Jimerson, M.S., M.A.B.C
This workshop focuses on major cross-cultural communication theories, ways that cultural values, power, privilege, and differences affect how we communicate, tools for questioning assumptions, and ways to improve cross-cultural communications.
Day Two:
Thursday, May 11th, 2023
Preventing Child Sexual Abuse to Advance Health Equity
Kelsey Alexander and Amanda Mendoza
Preventing and ending child sexual abuse is not only possible but a social and moral imperative. Children are full of opportunity, and it is our collective responsibility to help them realize it. In the United States, about 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 20 boys will experience sexual abuse before the age of 17. Child sexual abuse is a health equity issue; it is linked to an array of health issues across the lifespan, including substance use, adolescent pregnancy, and suicide. As with other forms of violence, not all children experience equal risk or burden of sexual abuse, or equitable access to support and healing. It is critical that adults recognize our own power and responsibility to prevent grooming and sexual abuse of children, and seek to create safer communities where children can reach their full potential. This workshop will provide practical examples and exercises all adults can adapt for their own organizations, families, and spheres of influence to prevent child sexual abuse.
Impact of Compassion fatigue in trauma-focused treatment. A multi-perspective review
Christopher Marino
Compassion fatigue can occur when we open our hearts and minds and dedicate efforts to care for others who may have experienced traumatic events. But we aren’t the only ones at risk. The children and their caregivers are also highly susceptible to compassion fatigue during treatment. In this session, we will discuss how managing this type of burnout can improve outcomes in trauma-focused EBTs; as well as direct our attention to the compounding impact COVID-19 has had on the families we serve and our helping professionals.
Exploring Victimization During Forensic Interviews
Monica Vidor Madigan, LCSW, Lisa Murphy-Cippola & Danielle Williams, PhD.
The purpose is to educate participants about the impact of exploring multiple forms of maltreatment when investigating cases of child abuse. Participants will increase the understanding of how poly-victimization impacts children, families and cases. The workshop will Identify the importance of addressing poly- victimization in the forensic interview and will better prepare investigative partners to appropriately respond to disclosures of multiple forms of maltreatment in the forensic interview and screen for forms of maltreatment not previously disclosed.
Adolescent Substance Use: The Illicit Drug Market: Myths, Dangers and Strategies for
Robert Lawlor Jr & Anna Gasinski
During this session we will review myths, trends, and emerging threats in substance abuse in adolescents. Presented by Robert Lawlor Jr, Drug Intelligence Officer for the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (NEHIDTA) Overdose Response Strategy and Anna Gasinski, the CT Public Health Analyst for the CDC Foundation and NEHIDTA Overdose Response Strategy (ORS) this session will discuss the overall drug culture affecting adolescents both locally and nationally. Participants will learn about specific drug categories including opioid/fentanyl, Adderall, marijuana, and edibles as well as drug prevention strategies. This training is intended for all professionals working in various roles with children and adolescents, parents, educators, and community members.
LGBTQ+ Professional Roundtable
Robin McHaelen
This is an advanced LGBTQ+ conversation. Organized as a round table, the facilitator and participants will bring their experiences, cases examples, strategies and ideas for prevention and treatment of sexual abuse with LGBTQ+ children and youth. This workshop is designed for clinicians, lawyers, law enforcement and other members of the prevention to share information. What are best practices with this population? What might prevention look like? What do treatment providers need to know in order to provide the best outcomes?
Language of Violence: A Call for safety
Polly Martson, PhD
The recent spate of school shootings has brought the issue of school safety back into the national spotlight. While much attention has been paid to the violent tactics of the perpetrators, little has been said about the thousands of calls for safety that occurred in the years leading up to these tragic events. It’s important to note that school shootings are almost exclusively perpetrated by boys, which should be a red flag for school officials, mental health professionals, and community stakeholders. This suggests that things may not be going well for boys in school and that we need to take a closer look at the role of gender role conflict in these incidents. In this workshop, we will define gender role conflict theory and explore its impact on violent expression in boys and men. We will also outline the negative impact of restrictive gender roles on the global functioning of boys and men and examine the role of school culture on gender role conflict. Additionally, we will review the anti-violence framework developed by the presenter which incorporates an anti-racist and anti-sexist approach.
Cognitive Bias and its Impact on Child Abuse Investigations
Tony DeVincenzo
While the human brain is adept at processing information, research has shown us that bias plays a significant role in the way we perceive information and make decisions. During child abuse investigations, team members are not immune to cognitive bias impacting individual and team decisions. In this workshop, participants will explore several of the common cognitive biases that have the potential to impact MDT investigations and how they can take steps to identify and limit the impact of bias during investigations.
Medical Exams: Why bother if they are almost always normal?
Heidi Schwab
We all know a medical exam is part of the process when there are allegations of child sexual abuse. However, if the exams are always normal why do children need them? The goal of this presentation is to answer your questions about medical exams and explain why it’s “normal to be normal”. We will go through some discussion of what happens at a visit, genital anatomy and some case studies to discuss findings. We hope you will leave with a better understanding of the medical exam and why it is important and can be helpful for the family, the child and the investigation.
Communicating with Children with Disabilities (Part I) Modell Consulting Group
Dermot Whelan
This presentation is intended for multidisciplinary professionals seeking to advance their understanding of basic communication techniques that are reliable, legally defensible, effective, and accommodation for children with disabilities who are alleged victims of abuse or neglect. Considerations and adaptations to account for individual disability, language capacity, and cultural background will be discussed.
Communicating with Children with Disabilities (Part I) Modell Consulting Group
Dermot Whelan
Communicating with Children with Disabilities (Part II) Participants who attend this presentation will learn some advanced strategies for communicating with children with disabilities including pre-interview considerations that assist professionals in meeting the needs of children with disabilities. Participants will learn about using a strength-based perspective, effective question types, and other information on eliciting reliable information from children with disabilities.
Fatherhood and Prevention: From Conception to Forever
Doug Edwards
Fathers are a social and emotional resource for Moms, for children, and for communities. Good fathering includes healthy relationships that enhance prevention. We will look back and start from early childhood to trace the preventive elements of fathering along with the skills and assets family men bring to the lives of children. We’ll look forward, finding ways to address unconscious bias about family men while highlighting the value of fatherhood in your work. Together, we’ll have a lively interactive conversation using a multi-sensual approach, with research, music, photos, and videos.
Understanding the Aftermath of Trauma and the Importance of Trauma-Informed Approaches: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Eileen Russo
This workshop will include a trauma-informed definition/understanding of trauma, provide a brief overview of the aftermath of trauma, and provide a lens for trauma-informed approaches. This session will take a look at the importance of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study and the expanded ACE questions based on the work of The Philadelphia ACE Project.