In the last five years, over 1 million children have received forensic interview services at Child Advocacy Centers across the United States.  In the first of four episodes dedicated to this topic, Rita Farrell, Director of ChildFirst® for Zero Abuse Project, discusses the value of peer review and how forensic interviewers can continually enhance their skills through coaching, mentoring, and program development.  

Episode summary

Forensic interviewers are dedicated professionals passionate about helping the children and families they serve.  Like any other professional skill, forensic interviewing skills can deteriorate if not developed.  Forensic interviewers should continually work on enhancing their knowledge and skills in an ongoing effort to do their job effectively.  In this episode, NRCAC Training Specialist Tony DeVincenzo speaks with Rita Farrell, Director of ChildFirst® for Zero Abuse Project about ways interviewers can receive additional training, identify gaps in their skill development, and make a plan to hone their skills to remain effective in this critical MDT role.

Rita manages the ChildFirst® Forensic Interview Training Program, ChildFirst® Arkansas state program, and the development of advanced training courses and programs for forensic interviewers. She is a certified law enforcement instructor and provides training and technical assistance for child protection professionals. Rita currently conducts forensic interviews and has interviewed more than 2,500 children. She serves as an expert witness on child sexual abuse, authored many peer reviewed articles specific to forensic interviewing and continues to champion the cause of child advocacy and the field of forensic interviewing.

Recommended resources

Zero Abuse project. www.zeroabuseproject.org

For more information about the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, visit our website at www.nrcac.org

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Teresa Huizar, Executive Director of the National Children’s Alliance, explores how the CAC Movement has risen to meet the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and what opportunities have arisen that may prove beneficial in the future.

Episode summary

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Child Advocacy Center’s and Multidisciplinary Teams were forced to pivot the way they were providing services to children and families in the community.  As the crisis continues, the CAC movement is learning that some of the innovative changes they have made may prove to be beneficial when the pandemic is behind us.  In this episode, I speak with the Executive Director of the National Children’s Alliance, Teresa Huizar.  Teresa has dedicated her career to the CAC movement serving in leadership roles at the local and regional level and for the past 14 years as the Executive Director of the National Children’s Alliance.  During our conversation, Teresa shares her thoughts on the various ways CAC’s and MDT’s across the country have pivoted to meet the challenges posed by this pandemic all while continuing to serve children and families who have suffered the trauma of abuse.

Topics in this episode:    

• Resilience of the people in the CAC Movement
• Accelerated use of technology
• Tele-Health
• Case Review
• Workforce challenges and opportunities
• Strategies to address vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress

Recommended resources

National Children’s Alliance website:  www.nationalchildrensalliance.org

One in Ten Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/280046

NCA Learning Center Covid-19nResources for CACs, Partners, and Caregivers: https://learn.nationalchildrensalliance.org/covid

For more information of the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, visit our website at

www.nrcac.org

Disclaimer: This project was sponsored by NRCAC from Grant Award Number 2019-CI-FX-K005 and CFDA #16.758 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice.

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The professionals responding to child abuse allegations in their communities are routinely placed in situations where they need to have difficult conversations with children, parents, and caregivers.   Whether working with a family in crisis or breaking bad news to a family in disbelief, good communication skills can go a long way in helping that child and family process and heal from the trauma they have faced.  In this episode, I speak with Dr., Anthony Orsini who is a practicing physician in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando Florida and author, and speaker on the topic of compassionate communications.  During our conversation, Dr. Orsini shares his proven communication techniques that help professionals build rapport and quickly form trusting relationships with clients.   

Guest Bio:

Dr. Anthony Orsini is a practicing physician, author, and frequent speaker on the topic of compassionate communication in medicine. He is the Level II Medical Director at Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando which is one of the largest Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the world. He also serves as

Chief of Patient Experience and Palliative Care Liaison for his neonatal practice.

Profoundly impacted by an early career experience and the discovery that even the most successful and well-respected physicians often struggled with their communication skills, Dr. Orsini has spent the last 25 years developing proven communication techniques that help doctors build rapport and quickly form trusting relationships with their patients. In 2011, he founded The Orsini Way, a company that provides communication training to healthcare and business professionals. Through his interactive workshops and unique coaching, he has trained thousands of senior physicians, nurses, and practitioners on how to enhance their patient’s overall experience and become more fulfilled with their own lives.

Dr. Orsini has authored several papers on the topics of communication in medicine, enhancing the patient experience and delivering tragic news. His recently published book titled “It’s All in the Delivery – Improving  Healthcare Starting With a Single Conversation” is now available on Amazon. He is a frequent keynote speaker at medical and business events, including an upcoming TEDx presentation entitled-Improving Healthcare Starts with a Single Conversation.

His weekly podcast “Difficult Conversations – Lessons I Learned as an ICU Physician” hit the Top 100 podcasts on Apple in just 1 week.

For More Information on The Orsini Way:

Theorsiniway.com

The Orsini Way – Facebook

The Orsini Way – LinkedIn

It’s All In The Delivery: Improving Healthcare Starting With A Single Conversation by Dr. Anthony Orsini

Difficult Conversations – Lessons I Learned as an ICU Physician podcast

For more information of the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, visit our website at

www.nrcac.org

Disclaimer: This project was sponsored by NRCAC from Grant Award Number 2019-CI-FX-K005 and CFDA #16.758 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, OJJDP or NRCAC.

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Are you looking to add another tool to the mental health services you are providing at the CAC? Do you struggle with those kiddos who cannot regulate and are unable to take part in the systems that need to hear from them? Sensory Motor Arousal Treatment (SMART) is an innovative mental health therapy for complexly traumatized children and adolescents for whom regulation of emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal life is a primary problem.  In this second part of our 2-part series, we discuss SMART as a treatment option for CAC’s, the benefits it can have to the children and families they serve, and how it can be implemented into a mental health program.

Guests: 

Dr. Elizabeth Warner, Ed.M, Psy,D

Full bio:  https://smartmovespartners.com/smartmoves-team-source-for-training-in-smart/

Shyra Williams, LMSW, ACTP

Full bio:  https://cac-ottawa.org/staff/shyra-williams/

Host:

Tony DeVincenzo, MA

NRCAC Training Specialist

Full bio:  https://www.nrcac.org/about/our-team/

Mentioned in this episode:

Ed & Nancy Hanenburg Children’s Advocacy Center website
https://cac-ottawa.org/

SMARTmoves website
https://smartmovespartners.com/

www.nrcac.org

Disclaimer: This project was sponsored by NRCAC from Grant Award Number 2019-CI-FX-K005 and CFDA #16.758 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, OJJDP or NRCAC.

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Are you looking to add another tool to the mental health services you are providing at the CAC? Do you struggle with those kiddos who cannot regulate and are unable to take part in the systems that need to hear from them? Sensory Motor Arousal Treatment (SMART) is an innovative mental health therapy for complexly traumatized children and adolescents for whom regulation of emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal life is a primary problem. In this episode, In the first part if this 2-part series, we speak  with Anne Westcott of Smartmoves, LLC in Massachusetts.  As one of the developers of SMART, Anne discusses the development of SMART and the foundational information needed to better understand SMART as a treatment option.  In this second part of the  series, we discuss SMART as a treatment option for CAC’s, the benefits it can have to the children and families they serve, and how it can be implemented into a mental health program.

Guests: 

Anne Westcott, LICSW

Full bio:  https://smartmovespartners.com/smartmoves-team-source-for-training-in-smart/

Host:

Tony DeVincenzo, MA

NRCAC Training Specialist

Full bio:  https://www.nrcac.org/about/our-team/

Mentioned in this episode:

Smartmoves, LLC website
https://smartmovespartners.com/

www.nrcac.org

Disclaimer: This project was sponsored by NRCAC from Grant Award Number 2019-CI-FX-K005 and CFDA #16.758 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, OJJDP or NRCAC.

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Becoming accredited with the National Children’s Alliance has a lot of value for CACs, but the process can seem daunting. Darcy Fluharty and Shyra Williams from the Hanenburg CAC in Holland, MI discuss with us the benefits they’ve experienced in their over 20 years of being an accredited CAC and share some tips on how to best prepare for the accreditation process.

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Darcy Fluharty is the Executive Director of the Hanenburg CAC in Holland, MI. Shyra Williams is the Program Director of the Hanenburg CAC.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Hanenburg CAC – Website, Facebook, Instagram

NRCAC – Website, Facebook

MRCAC – Website, Facebook

SRCAC – Website, Facebook

WRCAC – Website

NCA – Website, Facebook, Twitter

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Visit the NRCAC Website for resources, training opportunities, and more!

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Have an idea for a future Team Talk guest or topic? We want to hear from you! Email your suggestions to Tony DeVincenzo at tony@nrcac.org.

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Disclaimer: This project was sponsored by NRCAC from Grant Award Number 2019-CI-FX-K005 and CFDA #16.758 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, OJJDP or NRCAC.

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MDT facilitation and coordination presents unique challenges on the best of days, let alone during crisis. On this episode Tony speaks with Greg Flett of the National Children’s Advocacy Center about the role of the team facilitator, what coordinating MDTs looks like, and how to approach this role during COVID-19.

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Greg Flett is a Senior Program Manager for the Southern Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, a program of the National Children’s Advocacy Center. He has formerly been a CAC Director at centers in New York and Colorado, and was previously an Outreach Coordinator at the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Southern Regional Children’s Advocacy Center – Website, Facebook

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Visit the NRCAC Website for resources, training opportunities, and more!

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Have an idea for a future Team Talk guest or topic? We want to hear from you! Email your suggestions to Tony DeVincenzo at tony@nrcac.org.

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Disclaimer: This project was sponsored by NRCAC from Grant Award Number 2019-CI-FX-K005 and CFDA #16.758 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice.

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Leading within the CAC model – no matter your role – is complex under normal circumstances. During a crisis, this complexity is heightened, and the decision must be made about what kind of leader you want to be. Martha Lask joins us on this episode to discuss taking a leadership stance in a crisis situation.

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Martha Lask, MSOD, PCC, is an Organizational Development and Coaching consultant in the Philadelphia area. She has collaborated with NRCAC to develop and facilitate the Leadership, Exchange, and Coaching project since 2003.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Martha Lask’s website

Leadership, Exchange & Coaching Project

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Visit the NRCAC Website for resources, training opportunities, and more!

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Have an idea for a future Team Talk guest or topic? We want to hear from you! Email your suggestions to Tony DeVincenzo at tony@nrcac.org.

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Disclaimer: This project was sponsored by NRCAC from Grant Award Number 2019-CI-FX-K005 and CFDA #16.758 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice.

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CACs work hard to provide high quality services to children and families, as well as build relationships with other service organizations to create a collaborative network for the community. But how do we make ourselves known, so those who need us know where to go? David Johnston from Deirdre’s House joins us to discuss the Game of Life, a unique way to familiarize children with the services available in their community.

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David Johnston is the Community Liaison and Resource Specialist for Deirdre’s House in Morris County, NJ.

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For more information on the Game of Life program, visit the program website.

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Visit the NRCAC Website for resources, training opportunities, and more!

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Have an idea for a future Team Talk guest or topic? We want to hear from you! Email your suggestions to Tony DeVincenzo at tony@nrcac.org.

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Disclaimer: This project was sponsored by NRCAC from Grant Award Number 2019-CI-FX-K005 and CFDA #16.758 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice.

Check out this episode!

What does it mean to lead through a crisis? In this episode, Tony has a conversation with Interim Executive Director Paul DiLorenzo about what it looks like to lead a CAC through our current unprecedented times.

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Paul DiLorenzo, ACSW, MSLP is the Interim Executive Director of both the Philadelphia Children’s Alliance and Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Philadelphia Children’s Alliance – Website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn

Virtual Training Series – stay tuned to PCA’s Facebook page for information on upcoming trainings

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Check out this episode!