MDT Development

About MDT Development Training

Ongoing training prepares multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) to be on the front line of child advocacy with the most current knowledge and best practices.

MDT Development Trainings are offered on a contracted basis and can range from 2-hour advanced topics to a day(s) long private MDT Development Training to a session designed specifically with your teams’ needs in mind.

First Witness’ Advanced Webinar Series offers trainings that many MDT members may be interested in and benefit from those trainings. More information on the Advanced Webinar Series can be found here.

Contact Operations Director Madeline Kvale with any questions or to schedule an MDT Development training.

Dates fill up quickly; please allow for a minimum of 3-months before the training occurs.

Available MDT Development trainings include:

Community Collaboration: How to Support Youth and Families Experiencing Child Abuse

Learn how agencies in Duluth support children, teenagers, and families following a disclosure of child sexual abuse. This session will offer insight on engaging families through the forensic interview, investigation, and prosecution processes and how advocates support victim-survivors and their families through systems in a collaborative multi-disciplinary approach. We will also discuss how advocates support families through these systems using the self-identified needs of the individuals they serve. Attendees will leave this session with a better understanding of the importance of a strong community response to child sexual abuse and how to connect to local resources available to families and providers.

Media and Pop Culture: How Our Culture Impacts Perceptions of Child Abuse

This session will examine examples in our media, pop culture, and entertainment industry related to child abuse and maltreatment. These examples will highlight how public perception of child abuse is impacted and often normalized in ways we may not always realize.

Proactive Cultural Response Initiatives in the Human Services Field

Organizational cultural competence is a dynamic process that does not have a start or end date. It begins with awareness of the issue and evolves into proactive culturally responsive policies and procedures. Proactive cultural responsiveness is important to provide clients with the opportunity to access services that reflect their cultures and values. This presentation will discuss working within the communities you serve and adapting your practices instead of expecting clients to adapt to you. For organizations that have begun this work, a structure for next steps will be discussed to continue serving the self-identified needs of our communities.

Trauma- Informed Leadership Methods in Victim-Serving Organizations

This session will review the research behind the characteristics and workplace environments of the victim-serving organizations to increase general understanding of the effects these characteristics have on secondary trauma, mental health, job satisfaction, and burnout. Leaders and supervisors will leave with recommendations for trauma-informed leadership methods to effectively respond to the needs of their supervisees.