Trauma Informed Advocacy in Practice

January 23, 2025

$50

Being “trauma-informed” is a term that is heard a lot in this field, but what does it actually look like in your advocacy practice? This session will discuss how to be more trauma-informed within your current advocacy practice and perspective. In this session we will consider how childhood and historical trauma impacts both the physical and mental health of the families we work with, as well as the power of resiliency factors. Participants will also take this information and learn how to apply this knowledge to their advocacy practice from the first meeting through any ongoing advocacy, including community advocacy. The session will end with the acknowledgement that healthy advocates are more effective advocates, and will discuss self-care, secondary trauma, and how to prevent burnout.

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Poverty vs. Child Neglect

May 29, 2025

$50

In 2022, child neglect was the number one reason children entered the foster care system, at 62%. As advocates, social workers, mandated reporters, and supports for children, we must have the tools in our toolbox to differentiate child neglect from a child experiencing poverty. This training will discuss the statistical context of the impact systems can have on families experiencing poverty, legal differences between poverty and child neglect, strategies to differentiate child neglect and poverty, as well as how we can offer additional support to families experiencing poverty.

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Drawn to the Facts: Utilizing Drawings in Forensic Interviews

February 18, 2025

$50*

Many tools can be used during forensic interviews such as anatomical diagrams, anatomical dolls, and things children draw during the interview. Utilizing drawings during forensic interviews can help the interviewer gain more information and understanding regarding what the child is discussing. The presenter will speak on multiple ways to use drawings during the interview and discuss what research says regarding utilizing drawings in forensic interviews. Real-life examples will be given, and participants should walk away from this presentation with a better understanding of how children’s drawings during the interview can help provide the team with more information.

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Recantation: Why Does it Happen and What Do We Do?

June 26, 2025

$50*

This presentation will discuss the dynamics behind recantations of child abuse disclosures, both in forensic interviews and outside of forensic interviews. This session will review frequently asked questions about recantation, such as “why does recantation happen?”, “can we avoid recantation?” “how do we minimize the likelihood of recantation”, and “what do we do now?”. Participants will leave with an understanding of recantation and child abuse dynamics, follow-up recantation forensic interviews, and next steps for investigative team members in child abuse cases that involve full and partial recantations/retractions of children’s statements.

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Interviewing and Working with Queer Youth: Understanding the Cultural Context

October 30, 2025

$50*

This session will cover the dynamics of interviewing and working with queer youth who are potential victims of violence or abuse. Topics discussed will include dynamics of abuse and violence in the queer community, barriers to service, historical context and power dynamics, risk factors, and suggestions for building inclusion into your practice, both on the individual level when interviewing queer youth, as well as the organizational level when working with queer youth in general.

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*Scholarships may be available for advanced forensic interviewing sessions.

Global Warming as a Global Warning: The Effects of Climate Change on Child Abuse

April 29, 2025

$50

Climate change and, in turn, the growing number and intensity of natural disasters has many implications – one of them being the prevalence of child abuse. This presentation examines the relationship between climate change, natural disasters, and child abuse. Participants will leave with a better understanding of this relationship and how this issue affects children in our community and around the world.

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Trauma- Informed Leadership Methods in Victim-Serving Organizations

August 21, 2025

$50

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.

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Understanding Victim Manipulation and the Spiral of Abuse

March 27, 2025

$50

As professionals, we have heard of the concept of victim manipulation (formerly known as grooming). What is not commonly discussed is the motivations, thoughts, and behaviors of child sex offenders; what is referred to as the spiral of abuse. We will discuss in-depth the process of victim manipulation and uncover some of the common ways in which this is carried out. I will also be walking us through the spiral of abuse to understand the evolution of sexually abusive behavior.

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Normalizing the Conversation: Talking with Families about Body Safety

November 13, 2025

$50

In this session, we will not only discuss healthy childhood development, but also go over working with parents and non-offending caregivers as they start to grow their communication skills and normalize talking about body safety with their children. Participants will be informed on what to look for in terms of victim manipulation, signs of possible child sexual abuse, and how to support caregivers in learning and understanding this information

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