Brief Overview: Participants will explore strategies to engage AI/AN children and families in culturally responsive ways, improving access to and participation in the CAC process. This will ideally lead to increased criminal prosecutions and accurate safety assessments improving public safety. Expert Presenters: Lisa Stark, MSW, (Ojibwe) provides training and technical assistance to tribes and agencies engaged in developing trauma-informed child welfare systems and tribal child advocacy best practices. Trained as both a clinician and a child welfare worker, Lisa has a wealth of direct practice experience in tribal child welfare, including work as a case manager/ICWA Representative for the Bad…

Brief Overview: When it comes to program evaluation, do you find yourself stuck in a survey rut? Are your surveys getting you the info you need? If you’re looking to improve your surveys and learn what other methods are out there, this webinar is for you. We will walk you through the difference between quantitative and qualitative evaluation approaches and explain the value of a mixed-methods approach. We will offer a variety of methods that can be used based on your evaluation questions and goals. Participants will walk away with a broader set of evaluation methods and a greater understanding…

Brief Overview: Medical evaluations are an important part of a child sexual abuse investigation. Their importance is often mis-understood due to the typical absence of physical “evidence” from the exam or lab findings. This course will explain the role of the medical provider in cases of suspected sexual abuse as well as an overview of why many of the exams are “normal.” Examples of visual aids and literature resources will be provided that could be used by medical or non-medical professionals to clarify the expectation of physical findings in legal proceedings. Expert Presenters: Karen Farst, MD is a board certified…

Brief Overview: This training will discuss strategies for organizing forensic interviews with young children, specifically when multiple forms of maltreatment or multiple incidents are disclosed within the same interview. It will also cover linguistic strategies for interviewing young children. Expert Presenters: Rachel Johnson Rachel Johnson is the Lead Forensic Interview Specialist with Zero Abuse Project. Rachel most recently served as the Program Director for the Minnesota Children’s Alliance and has over a decade of experience in work related to forensic interviewing, multidisciplinary teams, advocacy, child abuse, prevention education, sexual assault and family violence, both domestically and abroad. Prior to Rachel’s…

Brief Overview: Do you have a love/hate relationship with data? Do you ever wonder what it’s all for? Are you interested in using data to grow or improve your work but don’t know where to start? This workshop is for you! This session will help participants restore faith in data and reflect on the important role data can play in serving children better. We will introduce you to some simple terms, tools and techniques to help you get started on your data utilization journey. Expert Presenters: Nora Robinson, MSW, strategy director for WithInsight, helps organizations think and act strategically, from…

Brief Overview: With the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana in many states and the increase in prescription drug abuse, the issue of substance exposed newborns and drug endangered children continues to be in important topic for the many professionals that serve women of child-bearing age, pregnant women and young families. This presentation will provide an overview of the impacts of prenatal drug and alcohol exposure including the latest information about the impact of exposures to marijuana and prescription drugs. It will outline the effects of parental substance use/abuse on mothers, infants, children & families and outline a plan for…

Brief Overview: The role of Victim Advocates in general and within CACs has evolved in scope and complexity over time, striving to be understood and valued as its own unique discipline. The NCA Accreditation Standards (2017) underscore Advocates’ critical role in helping children and families pursue safety, healing and justice. Guidance offered through OVC’s Model Standards has also helped contribute to promoting and sustaining practice excellence and professional integrity for victim service providers. This presentation explores the strengths and challenges in the Victim Advocate role on MDTs in CACs, and discusses strategies for aligning their role and practice with both…

Brief Overview: This session’s goal is to bridge work of the Duluth Model Coordinated Community Response (CCR) in conjunction with the Child Advocacy Center model. Domestic violence and child abuse maltreatment co-occurrence is exceptionally high in child abuse investigations. These cases are further challenging due to intentional or unintentional contamination of memories ensuring secrecy by a batterer. Multi-disciplinary team members and systems partners may not recognize protective factors utilized by survivors and/or the non-offending caregiver. This session will incorporate research on protective measures and the experiences of domestic violence survivors from focus groups conducted in Duluth, MN. The session will…