Monday, June 20, 2011
8:30 - 10:00 am OPENING PLENARY Joseph R. "Beau" Biden, Delaware Attorney General
A dedicated supporter of crime victims' rights and tireless prosecutor of child abuse cases, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden established the state's Department of Justice Child Predator Unit to track and prosecute child sex offenders, and helped pass legislation to strengthen Delaware's sex offender registry statute. He implemented a Family Division--the first in the country--streamlining law enforcement resources to fight domestic violence, protect Delaware's families, and reduce juvenile crime. He has worked on issues related to missing and exploited children, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, and the Violence Against Women Act. Mr. Biden also served as a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney's Office in Philadelphia.
10:15 - 11:45 am WORKSHOPS - Getting the Most out of National Crime Victims' Rights Week
Mary Rappaport, Kim Kelberg, Kristi Rocap, Emily Bauernfeind
National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW), held each year in April, is the primary outreach vehicle for victim service providers and allied professionals throughout the country to build awareness about victimization and advocate for stronger victims' rights, protections, and services. This workshop will help participants learn how to take full advantage of the NCVRW Resource Guide, produced by the Office on Victims of Crime (OJP/DOJ) and the National Center for Victims of Crime; become familiar with technological tools (e.g., graphics, social media) to promote the week; share activities participants have sponsored; and develop new, useful ideas for this important annual observance. - Introducing S.A.F.E. Stop Abuse For Everybody: A Personal Safety Curriculum for Adults with Disabilities and Support Providers
Karla Vierthaler, Beverly Frantz
Individuals with disabilities experience higher rates of crime victimization than the general population. "Nothing for Us, Without Us," a universal disability axiom, was the guiding principle in developing the curriculum for this workshop. Presenters will discuss the importance of listening to and partnering with individuals with various disabilities in developing a comprehensive crime prevention curriculum on strategies to prevent crime victimization, and also, the disability perspective on such strategies. Attendees will have the opportunity, if they choose, to enhance their training skills by participating in a mock training, and all workshop attendees will receive a copy of the curriculum. - Raped or "Seduced"? How Language Frames Our Response to Sexual Assault
Claudia Bayliff
Discussions of sexual assault often use the language of consensual sex, implying consent and romance rather than criminal acts. We often use passive language to describe violence against women, allowing the prepetrators to remain invisible and unaccountable for their crimes. Also, judges sometimes restrict the terms victims and prosecutors can use to describe the crime. This interactive session will explore the language of sexual assault, how we talk and write about this crime. We will discuss specific examples of such language, explore how to accurately discuss sexual assault, and give participants the opportunity to recognize and practice rewriting troublesome language about this crime. - Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance
Heather Cartrwright - Civil Actions: A Victim-Centered Instrument of Healing
John C. Manly
State legislatures across the nation have enacted robust, victim-friendly civil laws that allow child sex abuse victims to seek justice and accountability, no matter when their abuse occurred. As a result, states such as Delaware and California have been the home of large civil settlements against organizations that covered up abusers, including the Catholic Church. These settlements go far beyond monetary compensation for victims. In fact, the only reason that victims enter the civil justice system is to initiate a healing process possible only through the courts. This lecture will review recent civil actions, the complex and empowering nature of the civil process, and the profound process of healing that occurs in the victim, the victim's family, and the community(ies) involved. - Helping Financial Fraud Victims Recover and Make a Difference
Pat Huddleston
Financial fraudsters never say die. Even after the SEC or state regulators expose their misconduct, fraudsters may manipulate their victims into believing their lost money can be recovered if the fraudsters remain unhindered by the SEC or criminal authorities. Many investors, when faced with having been the victim of a life-altering financial tragedy, refuse to cooperate with the regulators and prosecutors. Victims may even speak on the fraudster's behalf at sentencing hearings, out of a desperate hope their funds will be returned if the fraudsters are left free to operate. This presentation by former SEC Enforcement Branch Chief Pat Huddleston will help equip participants to guide victims, usually senior citizens, through the stages of grief to the best possible resolution of their cases and a meaningful role in helping prevent the victimization of other innocent investors. - Victims as Defendants: The Unintended Consequences of Domestic Violence Mandatory Arrest Laws
David M. Zlotnick
Mandatory arrest laws have been critical in changing police and prosecutor perceptions about domestic violence and its victims and forcing these institutions to take action. However, for some domestic violence victims, these laws have had harmful, unintended consequences (e.g., in dual arrest cases when the victim has hit first and is arrested, along with the abuser, for assault and battery). Also, victims are sometimes arrested (single arrest) as a result of false criminal charges filed by abusers to intimidate victims and insulate themselves from arrest. The workshop, based on the presenter's study of 15 years of domestic violence cases handled by the Roger Williams University School of Law Criminal Defense Clinic, will show that in the vast majority of cases involving female defendants and male complainants, the alleged "victims" actually have records of domestic violence against the female defendant (or other women). This workshop will offer strategies to identify the actual victims and help prevent their revictimization by abusers and the criminal justice system. - Parallel Justice 101
Susan Herman
Parallel Justice redefines what it means to provide justice to victims of crime-all victims, regardless of the status of the offender. This workshop will explore the theory and guiding principles of Parallel Justice, a framework designed to keep victims safe and help them rebuild their lives; explain how governments, communities, and individuals can implement it; and provide examples of creative work in progress (e.g. Parallel Justice reentry, policing, and prosecutor-based initiatives). Participants will also explore barriers to implementation and how to overcome them. - Movie Screening
- Civil Justice Training
12:45 - 1:45 pm AFTERNOON PLENARY
The Truth about Urban Trauma
LaMarr Darnell Shields, Meshelle Foreman Shields
Urban youth often show great resilience in the face of violence and trauma. Although a number of factors directly and indirectly contribute to this resilience, these cultural, ancestral, and historical factors are rarely considered when providing resources and programming for this population. This session will highlight these seldom-researched factors and explore how victim service providers can improve both prevention and intervention efforts for urban youth and their families. Presenters LaMarr and Meshelle Shields will draw on their personal experiences of urban trauma while growing up in Baltimore City and Chicago, and share how a greater understanding of these experiences has helped them provide key services and consultation across the United States and abroad.
2:00 - 3:30 pm WORKSHOPS
- The Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention: An Evidence-Based Brief Intervention for Child Victims in a Child Advocacy Setting (Part 1)
Carrie Epstein, Steve Marans, Nancy Arnow
This workshop will describe a collaborative partnership and process developed by the Yale Child Study Center and Safe Horizon in implementing an evidence-based intervention, the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) at four fully co-located Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) in New York City. An evidence-based model of early psychological intervention and secondary prevention, CFTSI is a 4-session, caregiver-child model for children and youth ages 7-18 who have experienced a potentially traumatic event (PTE), including physical and/or sexual abuse. In addition to describing the CFTSI model and the results of a randomized, controlled comparative effectiveness trial, the workshop will describe the process of implementing this model within the CAC setting and its positive impact on CAC service delivery in helping victims of crime rebuild their lives as part of a victim-centered, practice-based, research-informed approach. - Taking It to the Streets: Responding to Tragedy in Your Community
Megan O'Bryan, Sondra Miller
When 11 murdered women were found in the home of a convicted Cleveland rapist, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center took immediate action to help the community heal. The Center hosted grassroots events, established a special victim hotline, helped the media tell the story of silenced sexual assault survivors, and eventually turned tragedy into opportunity by advocating for system-wide policy changes on the local and state level. The Center will present the strategies and actions employed during this massive response and discuss the major lessons learned. Participants will learn how advocates and organizations can prepare today for the community crises of tomorrow. - Victim Services in Compensation: A Victim-Centered Approach
Cortney Fisher, Nikki Charles
One of the first rights for victims in many states throughout the U.S. was the right to compensation for out-of-pocket expenses related to injury suffered as the result of the crime. However, as the years wore on, many compensation programs became a battle between the victim seeking compensation and the compensation authority tasked with managing who gets compensation. In the process, the fact that compensation programs were created by and for victims became secondary to the goal of "investigating the claim" or "exposing victim fraud." Using and implementing the core practices of procedural justice, the Maryland Criminal Injuries Compensation Board has developed a victim-centered approach to compensation, rather than a claim- or criminal justice-centered approach to compensation. - A National Protocol for Sexual Assault Forensic Exams: Important Updates for Practice
Kim Day
The National Protocol for Sexual Assault Forensic Examinations of Adults and Adolescents was released by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2004. Since then, the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization in 2005 created the impetus for some revisions to that protocol. For example, victims must now have access to medical forensic examinations without being required to cooperate with law enforcement, and they cannot be billed for the exam. Also, recently issued CDC guidelines on STD treatment and new pregnancy prevention recommendations, as well as other factors, have affected the care of and advocacy for sexual assault victims. This presentation will give the audience an overview and summary of the changes since the 2004 protocol, which have broad implications for all SART disciplines and multidisciplinary team members. Copies of the National Protocol as well as a summary of the changes will be made available to session attendees. - Research-Based Alternatives to Bond Schedules
Cherise Fanno Burdeen, Anne Seymour
Every day, in almost every jurisdiction, police arrest individuals suspected of committing crimes against people and communities, and non-capital crime defendants can buy their way out of jail according to a pre-set bond schedule. Domestic battery? That'll be $5000. Home invasion? That's $10,000. This process, based solely on the top charge without reference to risk assessment, creates uncertainty and unpredictability for victims about bail, release times, and supervision for the offender. Join the nationally recognized panelists from the Department of Justice, American Probation and Parole Association's Victims Subcommittee, and the Pretrial Justice Institute to explore the dangerous issue of bond schedules and the available, research-based alternatives available to protect the safety of victims and communities during the disposition of cases.
- When Victims Are Limited in Their English Proficiency: Civil Rights Obligations and Best Practices
George Mazza, Debra Murphy
This workshop will address the needs of limited English proficiency (LEP) individuals when they seek services or are involved in the criminal justice system, either as victims, witnesses, defendants or interested parties. This workshop will also address the obligations of recipients of federal financial assistance to provide access to services to LEP individuals. Presenters will cover DOJ's guidance on this issue, recent court cases, and practical case studies. This workshop will not address immigration issues. - Law Enforcement and Victim Advocates: A Coordinated Response to Domestic Violence
Frederick Upshaw, Jr., Kacee Thatcher
Domestic Violence investigations require collaboration between law enforcement and victim advocates, who must work together to ensure the safety and well-being of victims and their families. To hold offenders accountable and secure victims? safety, law enforcement and advocates must trust each other and work together with the same goals in mind. This workshop discusses the history on why officers and advocates at times do not work well together, and how to make change. Presenters will briefly outline how the Las Cruces Police Department's Domestic Violence Unit and Victim?s Assistance Unit collaborate and how this model can be applied in other agencies. - The Advocate's Role in Helping Victims Stay Safe and Employed and Educating Employers
Maya Raghu, Jennifer L White
Victims of domestic and sexual violence and stalking often find that the violence affects their ability to do their job and stay safe. Victims need to take time off from work, their performance may suffer, they may be harassed or stalked at work, or they may decide to quit to relocate. Unfortunately, unions and employers are not educated enough about these issues to intervene effectively and empathetically, and victims may be fired. This workshop will help advocates identify victims' employment issues, which legal protections may apply, and the strategies to effectively intervene with employers and unions. The workshop will also demonstrate how advocates have a key role in educating employers and unions about workplace effects of violence, and helping employers adopt policies and procedures to keep the workplace and community safe and productive, including using a new OVW-funded resource center.
- Movie Screening
- Civil Justice Training
3:45 - 5:15 pm WORKSHOPS - The Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention: An Evidence-Based Brief Intervention for Child Victims in a Child Advocacy Setting (Part 2)
Carrie Epstein, Steve Marans, Nancy Arnow
This workshop will describe a collaborative partnership and process developed by the Yale Child Study Center and Safe Horizon to implement an evidence-based intervention, the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) at four fully co-located Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) in New York City. An evidence-based model of early psychological intervention and secondary prevention, CFTSI is a 4-session caregiver-child model for children and youth ages 7-18 who have experienced a potentially traumatic event, including physical and/or sexual abuse. In addition to describing the CFTSI model and the results of a randomized controlled comparative effectiveness trial, the workshop will describe the process of implementing this model as part of a victim-centered, practice-based, research-informed approach within the CAC setting and the positive impact of this model on CAC service delivery in helping victims of crime rebuild their lives. - Confronting the Problem of Sexual Assault: The Judge's Role Inside and Outside the Courtroom
Claudia Bayliff
Judges have a tremendous impact on sexual assault cases at all stages of the proceedings, yet they have ethical constraints about participating in community-based educational programs or organizations. This workshop will explore the judge's role in sexual assault cases, as well as these ethical constraints.To understand the difficult decisions judges need to make, participants will also have the opportunity to practice making sentencing decisions using the facts from an actual sexual assault case.This interactive workshop will address four issues: (1) the ethical constraints in which judges operate; (2) the difficult decisions judges must make in sexual assault cases; (3) creative ways to allow judges to ethically participate in coordinated community response teams and community education; and (4) creative ways, using existing materials, to educate judges about the relevant law and social science research on sexual assault. - Demystifying the Federal Response to Victims of Human Trafficking
Theresa Segovia, Rachel Jacobson, Marie Martinez
This workshop will allow participants to identify federal programs that assist human trafficking victims. Particpants will also learn how to assist these victims to secure available services during the investigative process and how to better utilize federal agency services for victims and witnesses of human trafficking. - Civil Justice for Victims of Campus Crime, Sexual Assault, and Other Wrongdoing
Douglas E. Fierberg
This workshop asserts that universities, campus institutions, and individuals have a duty to help victims recover from harm caused by campus violence. It will also review and discuss successful avenues to overcome roadblocks to carrying out this duty. Victims of campus violence, sexual assault, and other wrongdoing need to understand and exercise their rights under both the criminal justice system, which too often provides insufficient remedies and recourse for victims, and the civil justice system. The workshop will explore how the civil justice system can be used to empower and compensate victims and also help them obtain non-economic relief. - New Findings from the Stalking Victimization Supplement Data and Implications for the Field
Michelle Garcia, Jessamyn Tracy
The Stalking Victimization Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (2006) collected a wealth of data on stalking victimization among adults in the United States. Initial findings from the data were reported in the 2009 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, Stalking Victimization in the United States. This session will discuss further findings from the data and implication for practitioners responding to and working with stalking victims. - Managing Threats of Violence, Workplace Considerations, and Partnerships
Eric Berberich, Scott McArthur
Effectively managing potential threats of violence that may affect the workplace requires using a framework based on industry best practice and collaborative, meaningful partnerships. This presentation will provide an overview of the Microsoft Global Security Investigations team's threat management framework. The discussion will include how the team develops capabilities with their internal and external partners, discovers and assesses potential threats of violence, and employs specific security strategies to mitigate possible threats to its staff and facilities. The presentation will also review organization-specific approaches and challenges to delivering threat management services on a global scale. - Achieving Better Criminal Justice Outcomes for Crimes Against Women: Law Enforcement Investigative Approach
Marion G. Morgan, Judi Munaker
This workshop will focus on how Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) can improve their investigations of sensitive crimes (e.g, domestic violence, sexual assault) by adapting their investigative strategies to the nature of those crimes. LEOs are trained to investigate most crimes as single-incident events, often with just one victim, and-in order to make an arrest-establish probable cause that a suspect has committed a crime. Domestic violence cases, however, differ from other crimes because each incident may be one of a series of crimes with multiple victims (e.g., abused children, former intimate partners). Also, abusers often portray themselves as victims, forcing LEOs to decide whether to arrest the victim, the abuser, or both. To provide prosecutors with sufficient evidence to issue a criminal charge, investigations must establish a holistic view of the context in which the crimes occur and meet a standard of proof, beyond a reasonable doubt. This workshop will address the complexities of these cases and propose investigative strategies to strengthen prosecution and better serve victims of crime against women. - Moving Beyond Survival Mode: Promoting Mental Wellness and Resiliency as a Way to Deal with Urban Trauma
Thierry Fortune, Sr.
The workshop will help community-based organizations (CBOs), providers, and others raise community-wide awareness and influence existing attitudes and community norms about mental wellness.The workshop includes information about how mental health service providers, CBOs, school-based health clinics, and others can strengthen the protective factors that enable low-income urban youth to thrive (versus merely survive) despite the challenging realities of urban life. The session will also benefit staff from public health agencies and institutions, community-based program directors, public health researchers, faith-based institutions, and criminal justice/law enforcement personnel. The workshop will also discuss how mental health providers can offer the services that underserved communities need most; it will also engage all participants in learning to decrease stigmas about mental health services, so that people will be more likely to seek them. - Healing the Warrior Within: An Exploration of Yoga, Breath-work, and Meditation
Carly R. Sachs
Yoga brings us back to the body. Many of our emotions, stresses, and traumas are stored in the body and create fragmentation in body and mind. The Sanskrit translation of yoga means "to yoke." So, yoga teaches us to yoke body, breath, and mind. This yoking helps to cultivate the body's natural rhythm of systems working together to create/restore a fully alive and integrated being. This workshop will focus on yoga poses and breathwork that has helped survivors of trauma connect back to their bodies. The emphasis will be on techniques that calm the parasympathetic nervous system giving the practitioner a deeper sense of peace and stability.
- Civil Justice Training
Tuesday, June 21,
2011
8:30- 10:00
am MORNING PLENARY
Civil Mock
Trial
Moderator: Mark Mandell; Litigants: Rebecca Roe,
Philip Gerson
This plenary will
explore in detail the case of a developmentally disabled victim of sexual
assault. Watch two of the nation's leading crime victim civil attorneys
present an abbreviated mock trial. Workshop participants will serve as the
jury and will, after deliberation, vote on a verdict.
10:15 - 11:45
am WORKSHOPS - Promising Practices in Underserved
Teen Victim Outreach
Lisa Brito Greene, Gina
Clyde
This
interactive workshop draws from the National Center for Victims of Crime's
experiences helping more than 100 communities to build youth victim
outreach and programs. Participants will learn about the challenges and
successes experienced in projects focusing specifically on marginalized
youth, including youth who are homeless, LGBTQ, Muslim, Latino, Asian
Pacific Islander, youth of color, American Indian, and youth with
disabilities. Exercises and discussion will also address the importance of
organizational and staff readiness to serve diverse youth and
families. - Working with
Co-Victims in Cold Case Homicides
Sarah Chaikin, Sgt. Anthony Parisi
This presentation will include a
brief overview of the history of Denver Police Department (DPD) Cold Case
Unit. DPD Victim Assistance has successfully worked hand in hand with the
DPD Cold Case Unit in developing and implementing a protocol that
addresses both the needs of the department as well as the victims.
Strategies for notifying and responding to the needs of families of
homicide victims will be covered. This will include methods of dealing
with the sometimes difficult facts of the cases; destroyed or unaccounted
for evidence, the death of witnesses, and the importance of maintaining
the integrity of the investigation. Finally, some of the challenges and
responses of the diverse populations of cold case co-victims will be
detailed. Many victims have had no contact with the police
department for many years. New information about a cold case can create a
variety of responses from
co-victims. - Helping to Prevent
Elder Financial Exploitation and Fraud
Jonathan Fielding, Deborah Fogarty
Nationwide, the
incidence of financial exploitation of elders and vulnerable adults (e.g.,
fraudulent telemarketing schemes and scams that target elders) is growing,
causing significant financial losses. Also, loved and trusted family
members too often illegally and improperly use resources, causing
devastating emotional and financial damage. This workshop will provide an
overview of two nationally recognized Massachusetts programs, the
Massachusetts Bank Reporting Project and the Money Management Program,
that help identify and prevent elder financial expoitation and fraud and
help elders remain safely in the community. Presenters will discuss signs
and symptoms of financial exploitation and fraud, and simple strategies
for protecting assets. They will also present case examples that highlight
the importance of community collaborations and a multidisciplinary team
approach to battle the devastating and often irreversible impact of
financial exploitation and fraud. - Helping Crime
Victims with Traumatic Brain Injuries
Sue Parry
Victims of violent crimes, such as
assault and intoxicated driving, can suffer traumatic brain injury (TBI)
that often goes unidentified. Service providers need to be able to
recognize effects of TBI and adjust their interviewing and advocacy
strategies according to the individual's needs. Because the head is such a
common target in domestic assaults, and because victims with TBI encounter
particular issues in shelters, the presentation will focus mostly on
domestic violence, but the information is applicable to other crime
victims who have a TBI as well. This presentation will discuss common
effects of TBI, present a brief screening tool that advocates can use, and
discuss strategies for advocacy and safety-planning with victims who have
a TBI. Participants will leave with practical tools and skills they
can use in their work. - Screening:
Determining the Survivor and Abuser in LGBTQ Relationships Where There Is
Domestic Violence
Chai Jindasurat,
Jessica Newman
Screening can help any provider or law
enforcement official to determine whether they are speaking to a survivor
or abuser in a domestic violence relationship. Providers need to have this
skill when working with LGBTQ individuals to provide the right service to
the right person and to ensure safety of LGBTQ survivors. This
interactive workshop will explore the rationale for screening; provide
instruction to implement it; and offer the opportunity to practice
screening. Participants will also receive a copy of The Intimate Partner
Abuse Screening Tool. Participants must have basic knowledge of LGBTQ
communities to participate in this
training. - Violent Crime and
Identity Theft: What Victim Advocates Should Know
Laura Ivkovich, Paula Pierce Russell Butler, Lisa Schifferle,
Katrina Baum
Victim service providers who
assist victims of domestic violence, stalking, and other crimes may need
to help victims remedy the effects of identity theft-a crime that abusers
can use as a financial weapon to further exploit their victims. This
session will explore what is known about identity theft victims' trauma
reactions and how providers can empower victims, when appropriate, to
exercise their civil victim rights under federal law, as well as how to
ensure that victims' needs are
addressed. - Victim-Centered Approach to
Restitution
Stephen Hartley, Honorable Roland Steinle,
III, Kim Knox
This workshop will outline
the responsibilities of probation departments and judicial systems in
collecting court-ordered restitution. Presenters will also discuss
collaborative models and the roles of court staff in collecting
restitution, as well as innovative methods to hold offenders accountable.
Participants will also learn what happens with financial sanctions after
probation and parole. - Understanding
Homicide through the Eyes of a Child
Andra K.
Chamberlin
The degree of trauma
experienced by children who witnessed homicide or other crimes, the
child's age and development, and lack of knowledge about conducting
forensically sound interviews can affect the critical task of
communicating effectively with such children. This presentation will help
participants understand how grief and trauma affect children; help
identify challenges investigators, interviewers, and prosecutors face when
gathering information for the investigation or prosecution; and explore
methods to successfully gather information from traumatized children. - Movie Screening
- Civil Justice Training
1:30 - 3:00 pm
WORKSHOPS - Teen Dating Violence:
Intervention and Prevention through Peer Education
Helen
Atkinson-Barnes, Jeffrey Friedman
This workshop will
explore the dynamics of teen dating violence, the importance of reaching
out to potential victims in non-traditional ways, why the majority of
victims of teen dating violence do not reach out for help, the limitations
of traditional means of support for these victims, and the importance of
building awareness about these issues among service providers and teens
themselves to develop strategies to meet victims' needs. The workshop will
address peer education, as distinct from peer mediation or peer
counseling, as a crucial avenue to reach those who may not even recognize
that they are victims of crime, and who are unlikely to come forward to
seek help even if they did. The workshop will also sample some of the
specific strategies (including the analysis of media and culture and the
use and abuse of technology, role-plays in intervening to diffuse violence
and offer help, and planning community events) to educate teens, and help
them to educate others.
- Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault Crimes: Innovative Criminal Justice Models for Victim Safety and
Offender Accountability
Rebecca Thomforde Hauser, Kathryn
Ford
How can the criminal justice system improve its response
to victims of domestic and sexual violence? This workshop will address
innovative court models (e.g., domestic violence courts, integrated
domestic violence courts, youthful offender courts, sex offense courts,
and unique mental health and court support program for child
victims and witnesses of crime) now being implemented nationally. These
comprehensive programs promote justice by resolving cases, increasing
offender accountability, and enhancing community and victim safety while
protecting the rights of all litigants. By presenting interactive
case studies and recommended practices, the presenters will explore the
different strategies to implement these specialized court models, and
address challenges and lessons learned. The workshop will also discuss the
crucial role of stakeholder agencies in transforming fragmented and
reactive community responses into a seamless system for monitoring and
supervising offenders and enhancing victim services.
- Individuals with Autism and
Developmental Disabilities and Crime Victimization
Scott
J. Modell
Individuals with autism and other developmental
disabilities are disproportionately at risk for victimization. They are
more likely than others to interact with the criminal justice system as
either victims or perpetrators. This presentation will focus on the unique
characteristics and common behaviors of individuals with autism,
intellectual disabilities, and cerebral palsy that make them more
susceptible to abuse, and the factors that may contribute to increasing
their risk of interacting with the criminal justice system as a
perpetrator.
- Elder Abuse Prosecution: A
Catalyst for Change in Your Community
David W. Zellis,
Deidre Blackburn
Everyone considered one local community a
safe place for older adults until the death of an 83-year-old
assisted-living resident with Alzheimer's disease and the conviction of
those who were responsible. This workshop will recreate the investigation,
trial preparation, and trail of this case, focusing on how it served as a
springboard for change in the District Attorney's office, community
agencies, and the community at large with respect to crimes against older
adults. Presenters will highlight the creation and sustainability of a
county Elder Abuse Task Force, present victim impact and personal video
testimony from the victim's family, and share techniques to advocate and
create change in participants' own communities.
- Innovative Programs and
Practices in Indian Country
Marlys Big Eagle, Kathy
Schuette
Establishing trusting relationships
and ensuring public safety with native American populations is essential
to successfully prosecuting cases and serving victims and witnesses in
Indian Country. This workshop will explore some of the challenges and
opportunities faced by service professionals in this quest and will
present successful programs and practices initiated by U.S. Attorney's
Offices, such as Fearless Justice and Youth Listening Conferences, to
increase the participation of native community members in the federal
criminal justice system.
- Individual and Workforce
Resilience
Beth Roome
Resilience comprises the skills to adapt, adjust, and recover.
Organizational resilience builds on the health and resilience of its
individuals and teams. Building a resilient organization requires early
and ongoing involvement of staff from all levels and disciplines. Upon
completion of this session, attendees will be able to define individual
and organizational resilience; identify factors that promote resiliency
and its characteristics; understand the essential role of preparedness and
planning in building individual, family, community, and organizational
resiliency; and identify additional training and technical assistance
resources for ongoing resilience development.
- Research to Practice:
Collaborative Services for Domestic Violence Victims with Substance Abuse
Problems
William Downs, Barb Rindels
This workshop will describe: (1) our research on women in
substance abuse treatment who experienced domestic violence, and in victim
service programs who have substance abuse problems; (2) the Integrative
Services Project (ISP), based on this research, which developed
collaboration between victim service and substance abuse treatment
programs to enhance safety and sobriety for women in both fields, and (3)
the findings of a second ISP-based research project on new domestic
violence services, including gender-specific programming for women, group
and individual programming, improved screening and assessment of domestic
violence, co-facilitated groups, physical layout safety in buildings, and
increasing awareness of domestic violence.
- Engaging Young Men of Color
Harmed By Crime: A Participatory Justice Approach
Danielle
Sered
Common Justice, the newest demonstration
project of the Vera Institute of Justice, is a participatory justice
program (also known as "restorative justice") that works with victims of
serious felonies such as robbery and assault in Brooklyn, New York. While
Common Justice works with victims of crime of all ages, genders, and
races, 70 percent of the victims served by the project are men of color,
and Common Justice is dedicated building a victim service model that meets
the unique needs of this profoundly underserved population. The
presentation will offer a brief overview of the model and underlying
principles, discuss the challenges service providers face in trying to
meet the needs of young male victims in urban settings, provide examples
from recent case studies, and offer some suggestions for effective
practices drawn from the project's early
experience.
- Movie Screening
- Civil Justice Training
3:15 - 4:45 pm
WORKSHOPS
- Mandated Reporting:
Engaging Allied Professionals in the Protection of
Children
Mandy Mundy, Emily
Greytak
In Pennsylvania, the
Vision of Hope Committee helped develop a curriculum titled "Mandated
Reporting: Knowing Your Role in the Protection of Our Children," which
includes a formal evaluative component. The curriculum is designed to
train professionals and bystanders to increase bystanders' sense of duty
and obligation to prevent and intervene in child abuse and protect
children. This curriculum emphasizes adult responsibility for protecting
children and preventing child sexual assault, as well as identifying,
replicating, and disseminating best, evidence-based practices that inform
and support the work of diverse stakeholders and communities. This
workshop will highlight the development process, the key components of the
training, and the outcomes of the research.
- Witness Intimidation at the
Investigative Stage/Be a Snitch
Darlene Averick, Michael
Eberhardt, Catherine Jones, James Trusty, Brett
Parson
This
workshop will focus on strategies to help state and federal law
enforcement investigators to aid victims and witnesses who are reluctant
to come forward or testify because of threats or intimidation. The
workshop will explore some of the reasons for this reluctance to step
forward and help law enforcement prosecute crimes in their
neighborhood. The panelists will discuss strategies to leverage government
and community resources to help investigators provide the necessary
services for threatened victims and witnesses. The panel will cover the
means and the importance of gaining communities' trust and support,
as well as of "giving back and empowering the community" to step
forward. Panel members will also discuss their roles in developing
community support programs and providing services for crime victims and
witnesses.
- Enhancing Cooperation
with Immigrant Victims Crime: A Survey of Promising Tools Used by Law
Enforcement
Rodolfo Estrada, Michael Alexander, Stacey
Ivie, Edna Yang
Law enforcement must gain
the trust and confidence of all communities they serve, but differing
cultural norms and fear of police can make cooperation difficult.
Immigrant victims of crime who do not speak English well or who are afraid
of reporting crime because of fear of deportation may not cooperate with
law enforcement. An added barrier exists for victims who depend on
perpetrators for their immigration status. Moreover, immigrants are at
greater risk of being targeted by criminals because they will not report
crime. This presentation will foster a discussion about law enforcement
cooperation with immigrant communities. Topics will include promising
practices to develop strong police-immigrant relations, with special focus
on law enforcement use of the U-visa, which grants immigrant victims of
crime legal immigration status if they cooperate with law
enforcement.
- Risk-Reduction Strategies
for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
Nora J.
Baladerian
This workshop
will review what is currently known about reducing the risk of abuse, and
will provide in lecture and discussion format ideas for individual
response plans (IRPs) that can be designed for individuals with
developmental disabilities. The presenter will focus on her PODER model,
which includes cultural and practical considerations.
- Serving Gender-Variant Crime
Victims: Transgender 101
Loree Cook-Daniels, Michael
Munson
Faced with crime victims who are visibly gender-variant
or self-described as transgender, many professionals feel confused,
curious, or worried, and may alienate or offend these victims by asking
inappropriate or offensive questions. This workshop will: 1) demystify who
is under the "transgender umbrella," 2) enumerate the various "components"
of being transgender, 3) discuss the relevance of these components to the
various roles played of victim-serving professionals, and 4) disseminate
resources to support transgender crime victims and the professionals who
serve them. The workshop will include additional experiential exercises to
help participants understand the personal, interpersonal, and social
dimensions of being transgender.
- Community Partnerships:
Trust, Accountability, and True Communication: The Realities, Not
Rhetoric
Mitch Morrissey, Steve
Siegel
Denver has a long history of
successful criminal justice system and community-based advocacy
partnerships. In developing and sustaining these programs, services, and
protocols, we have recognized universal principles of trust and
accountability, which are pivotal to "victim-centered" services, and drive
the mission and vision of each unique partnership. The workshop will
describe these collaborations, which include (but are not limited to) the
Domestic Violence Community Triage Team, Family Justice Center, Sexual
Assault Interagency Council, Victim Services 2000 (including the Crime
Victims Advisory Council), Elder Abuse Intervention and Prevention, Child
Abuse and Sexual Abuse Forensic Interviewing Community Team, and Witness
Protection for Victims of Trafficking Special Collaboration.
- Stalking and the Use of
Technology
Michelle
Garcia - Mass-Marketing Fraud: Best
Practices in Identifying and Meeting the Legal and Support Needs of
Victims
Jo Borkan, Terry Campos
Mass marketing fraud, an emerging crime, affects an
increasingly high number of victims. From foreign lottery offers, to
investment scams, to the sale of fictional goods on online auction sites,
these constantly evolving crimes often wreak financial and emotional havoc
on their victims. This workshop will give victim service providers the
tools to identify and meet the unique needs of victims of mass marketing
fraud. The presentation will provide an overview of the crime of mass
marketing fraud and discuss the effect of these crimes on victims,
barriers faced by victims in accessing legal and support services,
available services to support victims in recovery, common victims' rights
issues that arise in these cases, and best practices in meeting the legal
and support needs of these victims.
- Healing the Warrior Within: An Exploration of Yoga,
Breath-work, and Meditation
Carly R.
Sachs
Yoga brings us back to the body. Many of our emotions,
stresses, and traumas are stored in the body and create fragmentation in
body and mind. The Sanskrit translation of yoga means "to yoke." So, yoga
teaches us to yoke body, breath, and mind. This yoking helps to cultivate
the body's natural rhythm of systems working together to create/restore a
fully alive and integrated being. This workshop will focus on yoga poses
and breathwork that has helped survivors of trauma connect back to their
bodies. The emphasis will be on techniques that calm the parasympathetic
nervous system, giving the practitioner a deeper sense of peace and
stability.
- Trekking Through Tech: Victim Service Technology
Policies
Rebecca Dreke, Molly Voyles
There is
so much information victim service providers need to know when it comes to
assisting victims of intimate partner stalking and violence. How do
offenders use technology to stalk, harass, and intimidate their victims?
What are the most common methods? How can advocates assist victims safety
plan around technology? Should shelters and crisis centers have policies
regarding the use of social networking sites, texting and email? This
session will explore all of these questions and more. This interactive
workshop will offer participants a better understanding of what effective
safety planning with technology can look like for both the victim and
for their organization.
- Civil Justice
Training
Wednesday, June 22,
2011
8:30 - 10:00 am WORKSHOPS
- Organizational
Growth: Enhancing Sexual Assault Services in Dual Domestic Violence &
Sexual Assault Organizations (Part 1)
Valerie Davis, Kris
Bein
Most agencies that offer supportive
services for sexual assault victims do not serve sexual assault survivors
exclusively, but are co-located or merged with agencies that also serve
domestic violence victims. This workshop offers a starting place for the
leaders of such agencies to assess their organization's methods and
approaches for consistent, coherent improvement in their capacity to
respond to sexual assault. The workshop begins with a discussion of
sustainable organizational change. Participants will then complete a
strengths-based, organizational assessment and share their learning in
small groups, reflecting on any surprises, strengths, and areas for
growth. After reaching a holistic view of the agency through the
assessment and discussion, participants will each create a unique action
plan for enhancing services to victims of sexual assault in their agency
and community.
- Domestic Violence and
Interstate Contested Custody Issues
Mary
Lowry
Many domestic
violence survivors must fight for custody of their children in contested
custody cases. This workshop will first provide a legal overview of the
Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which
determines proper jurisdiction for initial custody determination and
creates a uniform procedure to register and enforce child custody across
state lines. The workshop provides a wealth of information about accessing
legal resources and information about contested custody cases for clients
and coaching clients preparing to go to court. It will also provide
information on accessing help in disputed custody cases involving more
than one state, as well as what to do when Child Protective Services (CPS)
and court systems fail to protect children. The workshop will also provide
information on how to best combat charges of "Parental Alienation
Syndrome."
- Anti-LGBTQ Hate Violence:
Introduction and Implications for Policy and Practice
Lisa
Gilmore, Kelly Clark
The number of
hate-related suicides of LGBTQ youth across the nation demonstrates the
persistent culture and climate of anti-LGBTQ bias, hatred, and hate
violence (including hate crimes) faced by many members of these
communities. This participatory workshop will provide a basic
understanding of anti-LGBTQ hate violence and the needs of LGBTQ survivors
and victims. Participants will explore concrete tools and approaches to
creating safe and supportive environments that challenge anti-LGBTQ
hatred. Through group discussion and individual reflection on barriers to
services, participants will identify ways their organizations can best
serve the needs of LGBTQ hate violence survivors and
victims.
- Measuring Quality in Victim
Advocacy
David Voth, Nancy Lewis
What is quality in victim services and how do you measure it?
This training uses victim-centered, practice-based, and research-informed
principles to guide advocates and administrators to a big-picture overview
and provide examples of applications to help all victims improve their
safety, healing, justice and financial recovery. This workshop is about
integrating a passion for caring with a plan to make a difference so that
advocates' and program efforts are efficient and effective. This training
is NOT about data management, research or intervention styles, but is a
guide to meeting and measuring victim-centered needs.
- Strategies to Uphold Victims'
Services Funding during State Budget Crises
Kerry
Naughton, David Rogers
States across the nation are facing unprecedented budget
deficits that particularly jeopardize funding for system- and
community-based victim services. But these ongoing budget crises also
offer victim advocates an opportunity to find common ground with other
public safety policy advocates to ensure their voices are heard in public
safety policy and funding discussions. As a backdrop for small-group
discussion, this workshop will use Oregon's 2009 Safety and Savings
Act-legislation requiring that research-based cost-savings from
corrections be reinvested into other parts of the public safety system,
including community-based victims' services and the state police. This
workshop will review current research on state budgets and public safety
costs, explore challenges and opportunities, and facilitate individual and
small-group activities on strategies participants can implement in their
states.
- Addressing Secondary
Traumatic Stress in Direct Service Staff (Part
1)
Katherine Manners, Lisa Tieszen
Victim advocates and allied practitioners are dedicated,
hard-working, and committed to the mission of putting victims first.
Working with traumatized populations is both satisfying and rewarding, as
well as distressing and disturbing. How does this work affect our
professional and personal lives? What are secondary traumatic stress,
compassion fatigue, and burnout? This workshop will explore these terms
and their manifestations in ourselves, our colleagues, and staff. It will
explore the negative effects of the work, personal and professional
strategies that help minimize that impact, and the role of our
organizations in addressing these aspects of our work. Attendees will
participate in easy, stress-reducing exercises and examine a group model
used in Massachusetts since 2000. This workshop will be followed by a
second session open only to attendees of this workshop to learn more about
and receive a copy of the curriculum used in Boston.
- Research-to-Practice: Results
from National Pilot to Build Resiliency in Child Abuse Staff and
Volunteers
Karen Irene Kalergis, Abyssinia Washington,
Deedra Baker
The Institute on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault recently completed an OVC-funded, two-year
training and technical assistance project to create an evidence-based
program to build resiliency in staff and volunteers who work with child
abuse victims. This workshop will present the results of the project's
pilot process, which engaged 12 organizations representing court-appointed
special advocates, children's advocacy centers, and/or child welfare
programs to implement and evaluate the organizationally based model.
Panelists will provide an overview of the strength-based model; describe
the strategies implemented through policy, supervisory techniques and/or
competency-based training; and discuss the evaluation findings. Presenters
will share recommendations on how to replicate the model in other
organizations. This project demonstrates how research-to-practice
collaborations can move evidence-based practice forward and improve
services for victims.
- Victim-Offender Dialogue in
Crimes of Severe Violence: Ensuring a Safe and Victim-Centered Approach to
Offender Accountability
Jon Wilson
For some,
Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD) in Crimes of Severe Violence remains a
controversial initiative. Despite almost two decades of practice, only 25
states offer VOD in such cases, and many victim advocates have legitimate
concerns about the potential perils of this approach. Sadly, a number of
VODs have been conducted by poorly trained facilitators or mediators who
insufficiently understand the needs of victims/survivors or the nature of
incarcerated offenders, resulting in failure to meet survivors' needs or
to change offenders' level of accountability. Yet there are reliable ways
to help ensure a rigorously victim-centered VOD preparation and dialogue
process with the overarching objective of meeting victim/survivor needs.
This workshop explores the promise and the peril of VOD and the challenges
of ensuring a thoroughly victim-centered approach for corrections-based
victim service agencies.
10:15- 11:40 am
WORKSHOPS
- Bail Bonds and Victim Advocacy: Making
the Connection
Eric Granof, Nancy
Russo
With over 86% of bail bond agents having meaningful
interactions with a crime victim at least once a month, this unique and
untapped victim touch-point has the potential to be an extremely valuable
resource for victim advocates. As the largest and only national brand
in the bail bond industry, the ExpertBail Network has positioned itself as
an available and important resource in the world of victim
advocacy. While the bail bond industry is often a misunderstood and
misrepresented profession to most, the reality is that bail plays a key
role in ensuring that crime victims get a chance at justice. As an
insurance product, a commercial bail bond provides financial
accountability that ensures a defendant will show up to court to have his
case adjudicated. The important role of the bail agent is to make sure
that happens. By doing so, the crime victim is given a chance at
justice. Join us for our workshop on Wednesday June 22nd to learn how
the bail process works, how bail agents assess risk and underwrite these
unique insurance policies and then monitor defendants while they are out
on bond to ensure they show up in court. Judge Nancy
Russo will also talk about how she works with bail agents
everyday to help protect victims' rights in the criminal justice system
and prevent future victims.
- Organizational
Growth: Enhancing Sexual Assault Services in Dual Domestic Violence &
Sexual Assault Organizations (Part 2)
Valerie Davis, Kris
Bein
Most agencies that offer supportive services for
sexual assault victims do not serve sexual assault survivors exclusively,
but are co-located or merged with agencies that also serve domestic
violence victims. This workshop offers a starting place for the leaders of
such agencies to assess their organization's methods and approaches for
consistent, coherent improvement in their capacity to respond to sexual
assault. The workshop begins with a discussion of sustainable
organizational change. Participants will then complete a strengths-based,
organizational assessment and share their learning in small groups,
reflecting on any surprises, strengths, and areas for growth. After
reaching a holistic view of the agency through the assessment and
discussion, participants will each create a unique action plan for
enhancing services to victims of sexual assault in their agency and
community.
- Next Wave for Victim Services:
Infrastructure
Eric Smith, Beverly Mclain, Cindy
Denker
- Encouraging
Inclusiveness and Leadership: The COVA Victim Services Intern
Program
Ami Gerstner, Sterling Harris
The COVA Victim Services Intern Program, which addresses the
disparity between the high number of crime victims from historically
underserved or marginalized communities and the low number of victim
service professionals of similar backgrounds, recruits and places student
interns from underserved populations who have the passion to work with
crime victims. The program's philosophy is that those who have experienced
the trauma of violent crime are more likely to trust and be comfortable
with victim advocates from a similar cultural background. Since 1992, the
program has placed students in paid internships in host agencies
throughout metro Denver to cultivate a new generation of leaders and
increase the inclusiveness of victim services. The program recruits local
college students; collaborates with host agencies; and offers ongoing
training and networking opportunities. To date, almost 50 percent of
former COVA interns have remained in the victim services field. This
session will describe the philosophy, process and successes of the Victim
Services Intern Program and explore how other communities may benefit from
creating similar programs.
- The St. Paul Blueprint for Safety: A New
Approach to Domestic Violence Cases Emphasizing Continuing Victim
Engagement
Tara Patet, Shurree
Arett
This workshop will provide an
overview of the Blueprint for Safety, an interagency "blueprint" for
criminal justice system practitioners engaged in processing domestic
violence-related criminal cases. The blueprint is the first comprehensive
interagency guide outlining each person's roles, responsibilities,
specific actions, and documentation duties in domestic violence cases.
While most domestic violence interventions focus on a single event of
violence, the Blueprint aims to process that single event in a manner that
confronts and stops the pattern of abuse and violence. Under the
Blueprint, practitioners at all phases of the criminal justice system
engage in continuous contact with domestic violence victims and, as a
result, build relationships that reinforce safety and accountability.
Participants will learn ways to produce a more meaningful and
individualized response to domestic violence.
- Lost in Translation: Working
with Immigrant or Limited English Proficient (LEP) Survivors of
Violence
Alpana Patel, Rita Abadi, Jagruti
Shah-Bhalla
Survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault
must grapple with the mental, emotional, and physical trauma after the
assault, and also make important decisions about emergency contraception,
rape kits, STIs, HIV testing, and filing a police report-to name a few.
Immigrant survivors from other cultures can face an additional barrier of
language and culture when accessing resources in the United States. Lack
of cross-cultural understanding and miscommunication can not only further
stigmatize and oppress the survivor but, also prevent him or her from
making informed choices. This workshop will present strategies (methods)
of working sensitively with immigrant and Limited English Proficient (LEP)
survivors based on the experiences of the presenters and research on the
topic.
- Legislative
Update
Susan Howley
This workshop
will present information on current victim issues pending in Congress,
including efforts to address crime against special populations, VOCA and
VAWA appropriations, and other federal legislation affecting crime victims
rights and services.
- Addressing Secondary
Traumatic Stress in Direct Service Staff (Part
2)
Lisa Tieszen, Katherine Manners
This workshop is a
follow-up for interested participants of the first part of our
presentation: Secondary Traumatic Stress: What can be done? This workshop
will look closely at the group education and support curriculum developed
and used in Boston since 2000, which addresses Secondary Traumatic Stress
(STS) in its totality. Looking at the various manifestations of STS on
direct services staff, the curriculum addresses the signs and symptoms of
STS on both the personal and professional levels, as well as workable
strategies in the personal, professional, organizational, and community
realms. This workshop will introduce participants to the eight-session
curriculum model and walk them through each session. Participants will
receive a free copy of the curriculum and guidance in initiating a support
series in their home states.
- When Dating Turns Deadly: Findings
from New Mexico's Dating Violence Death Review Team
Anna
Nelson, Sandy Bromley
Teens experiencing dating
violence are eight to nine times more likely than other teens to commit
suicide and to die by homicide. Among all intimate partner
violence-related deaths in New Mexico during 2006, nearly one in four (23
percent) involved an adolescent. Mobilized by this finding, New Mexico
began the nation's first Dating Violence Death Review Team to analyze
teen-specific lethality factors and barriers to safety. Using case
findings, a teen-specific death review tool, and youth advisors, the team
intends to shift statewide policies and practices that influence youth
safety and well-being. Participants of this dynamic workshop will be
introduced to the New Mexico Dating Violence Strategic Prevention
Initiative, learn about the process for developing teen-centered death
review teams, be introduced to findings from the first year of case
reviews, and will leave with a comprehensive toolkit for addressing dating
violence and teen-specific lethality factors in their communities and
states.
11:45 - 12:30 pm CLOSING
PLENARY Al Chesley
Former football star Al
Chesley--who played for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago
Bears, and in Super Bowl XV--will close day III of the conference with a
talk about the sexual abuse he experienced as a 13-year-old from a police
officer in his Washington, DC, neighborhood. Ashamed of the repeated
abuse, Chesley remained silent for years but began sharing his story in
2008. He has advocated for legislation in Delaware, Maryland, Arizona, and
Virginia to give greater rights and remedies to victims of child sexual
abuse. Since his retirement from the NFL, Chesley has also been working
with at-risk youth in Washington and Pittsburgh, with outreach groups such
as Each One Reach One.
This event was supported in part through funding from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice. Points of view expressed in this event are those of the organizers and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.