The Lecture Series is held at various times throughout the year in DCAC’s state-of-the-art training facility. The Lecture Series is designed for the sole purpose of providing training to only those people employed by governmental and nonprofit agencies in the fields of law enforcement, prosecution, child protective services, social work, children’s advocacy, therapy, probation, parole, and medicine who work directly with child victims of crime and whose intent is to help children in their healing process.
There is no cost to attend, but participants must pre-register online.
Registration is limited to professionals employed in governmental and nonprofit agencies who work directly with children and families. Please note, some trainings are further restricted to only those professionals in the fields of law enforcement, prosecution, child protective services, social work, children’s advocacy, therapy, probation, parole, and medicine who work directly with child victims of crime whose intent is to help children in their healing process. DCAC staff reserves the right to refuse registration and/or admission to any individual who does not meet these criteria. If you have any questions about your registration, please email Lana Ahrens at lahrens@dcac.org.
May Lectures
Still a Priority: Prosecuting Technology Facilitated Crimes Against Children During a Pandemic
Type: Lecture Series
May 19, 2020
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Online Child Exploitation was increasing before the COVID-19 crisis and reports have greatly escalated since this outbreak. Investigation and prosecution of technology facilitated crimes against children must be prioritized in this new era. This webinar, presented by a former prosecutor, reviews pertinent challenges, discusses best practices for prosecutorial response and provides practical guidance to practitioners.
To register, visit: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7916854662115006480
June Lectures
Ethics for Licensed Professionals Working in Children’s Services
Training Type: Lecture Series
June 12, 2020
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Lunch will be provided.
Registration is limited to licensed professionals working in child-serving organizations.
This six-hour course is especially designed for Licensed Social Workers, Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists and Chemical Dependency Counselors. The course will review codes of ethics, codes of conduct, the new BHEC (umbrella licensing agency effective September 1, 2020). Ethical situations and examples will be discussed in an interactive training setting. There will be Q and A time for participants as well as practical resources to ethically deal with dilemmas that occur when working with children involved with protective services, abuse and neglect issues, and related child services. Come prepared to discuss ethical issues you face!
Miriam Nisenbaum is a graduate of UT Austin and received her B.A. in Government with a minor in Social Work. She received an M.S.S.W. from UT Arlington. She holds a Texas license as a Master level social worker and is nationally accredited by the Academy of Certified Social Workers. She has worked in Child Protective Services as a child placement worker, in Dallas, Texas, in the first-ever sexual abuse unit in the state. She has held positions at the YWCA, A Private Non-Profit Child Abuse Prevention Agency, Dallas County Health and Human Services, St. Paul Medical Center, National Medical Enterprises, Interventions/Cornell Corrections, Goodwill Industries, Easter Seals, NAMI, NASW/TX, and an organization promoting diversity, Honoring of Peoples Everywhere, all in Dallas, Texas. These positions were supervisory or executive management. Currently she is on faculty at Texas State University, School of Social Work in the field department. Through her company, Nisenbaum and Associates, which she has operated since 1995, she provides training and consultation to a variety of non-profits throughout the United States. She is currently writing a chapter for a soon to be published book on advocacy and public policy.
She has served on numerous committees, coalitions and professional groups as a member and officer. She co-founded the Texas Association of Community Rehabilitation Providers. She has through her positions and consulting activities, developed and taught the curriculum to provide the necessary coursework for those individuals seeking designation as an LCDC. Other areas of expertise are grant writing, strategic planning, board relations, needs assessments, program design/execution, billing and reimbursements, public policy, advocacy, human resources, and licensing and accreditations have been areas of expertise highlighted in her career with other organizations as well as in her consulting business.
To register, visit: http://www.cvent.com/d/8hqqvy
July Lectures
Engaging with Caregivers After the Forensic Interview
Training Type: Lecture Series
July 21, 2020
9:00 a.m. – noon
Breakfast will be provided.
Once the forensic interview is over, and families are attempting to find a new norm, caregivers are faced with many challenges, heartbreak, grief, financial stress, and many additional challenges. How can Family Advocates move towards our families? We have all been faced with a non-believing caregiver. How do we support them? Meanwhile, we don’t want to forget about our supportive, believing caregivers. Join us for a half-day workshop on parent engagement, challenges, and creative ways to help families move towards hope and healing.
Mindy Jackson serves as the Director of Support Services for the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center. She has worked in client serving organizations for twenty years. Mindy served as a children’s coordinator in the domestic violence field in Tarrant County for ten years until she transitioned to the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center where she has been the Director of Support Services for seven years. As the director, she supervises two assistant directors, family advocates, on-call crisis workers, and administrative staff. Her team has grown from three to twenty-three staff members over the course of five years, and Mindy has had to navigate the significant growth of her program and the challenges and opportunities it has presented. She has also provided consulting to other CAC’s across the United States.
TO REGISTER: http://www.cvent.com/d/khq3wr
September Lectures
Trading Ice Pops for Innocence
Training Type: Case Study
Restricted for professionals working with child victims of crime.
September 14, 2020
9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
In February of 2016, Cedar Hill Police began investigating a series of Sexual Assaults against young males. Each incident shared similar traits with the main focus of Ice Pops and Church Shoes. Detectives began working several leads from the community, but were ultimately lead to the Offender when a Forensic Interviewer recognized the same traits in a case being worked by Dallas PD (Child Exploitation Unit). Willie Lee Bell Jr was a youth minister at a local church in Cedar Hill TX. He relocated to Texas from Tennessee after allegations of inappropriate conduct with a minor were made to the local police. It was also discovered that Mr. Bell was in the process of many other ventures in Cedar Hill, including the creation of a new youth ministry. He was charged with two counts of Aggravated Sex Assault child and one Indecency with a Child, with a sentence totaling 100 years.
Detective Michael Hernandez has been involved in Law Enforcement since 2005 and was assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division in 2014. Initially investigating Domestic Violence, he was reassigned to Crimes Against Children. Michael also took on Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC), and since then has been assigned to the Dallas Police Departments ICAC Task Force, as well as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) / Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cyber Child Crimes Task Force. As part of the Criminal Investigations, Michael has obtained several Computer and Cell Phone Forensic certifications. He is currently a Certified as a TCOLE Instructor and a Master Peace Officer. Outside of Law Enforcement, Michael attended Dallas County Community College where he pursued a Degree in Computer Information Technology. Since 2017, Michael has been an Adjunct Instructor for outside private corporations. He has traveled the country and taught law enforcement officers from several agencies in the subject of Online Investigation, Dark Web Investigations, Social Media Methods, and Open Source Investigations.
Brandie Wade is an Assistant District Attorney with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office. She has been with the Dallas County DA’s Office for thirteen years, prosecuting various felony cases including sexually violent crimes against children and adults. She is currently assigned to the Crimes Against Children Division.
TO REGISTER: http://www.cvent.com/d/dnqlly/4W
Social Media & Digital Safety: What’s New? What’s Now? What’s Next?
Training Type: Case Study
September 16, 2020
1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Studies show that kids ages 8-18 are spending an average of 7.5 hours a day in front of some screen; with that, the crimes associated with these ever-changing technologies and social media quickly follow and continue to evolve – maybe faster than we can keep up with. Today, working with and keeping our youth safe means being constantly aware of what they’re doing online – which can be vitally helpful in daily cases, and is essential to law enforcement work across the board. Attendees will leave with a good understanding of current app and social media trends – how and why they’re being used – along with hot topic issue such as sexting, cyberbullying and solicitation through new mediums.
Katie Greer’s journey as an internet safety keynote speaker started off with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, where, as the Director of Internet Safety, she was directly involved with the development of one of the first internet safety programs ever. From there, she transitioned into working with the Massachusetts State Police as an Intelligence Analyst. The internet was a mysterious, gargantuan force that made people nervous (“What’s happening next?”) so she developed an educational program that helped to put people at ease while keeping communities safe. Since her days working with law enforcement, she has created her own approach to internet safety that realistically considers the appeal of technology for people of all ages. Her keynote speaker work has led to features in USA Today, TIME Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Parents Magazine, the Meredith Vieira Show, the O’Reilly Factor, CNN, Inside Edition and More. She is also a contributor to ModernMom and an advisory board member on the Internet Keep Safe Coalition. She has helped shape the minds and policies of hundreds of thousands of students, parents, and people across North America. She’s spoken at schools big and small and advised governments and private agencies as they develop their own policies. Now pursuing her Ph.D. in Criminology with an exploration on teens and the internet, she is determined to push our lopsided relationship with technology to one of balance. She recognizes that her message could positively shape someone’s life outlook, and it’s a responsibility she takes seriously. She wants every household in America to have the education and tools to manage technology in healthy way.
TO REGISTER: http://www.cvent.com/d/xnqzzc/4W
DCAC Internal Training
DCAC INTERNAL TRAINING SCREENING FOR SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE FIELD
9:00 a.m. – noon
Breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m.
Training Type: Internal Training
**This training is limited to professionals working for DFPS**
April 6: http://www.cvent.com/d/fhq9w9
June 22: http://www.cvent.com/d/hhq9wp
October 5: http://www.cvent.com/d/nhq9w1
All children on every DFPS case should be screened for sexual abuse at some point during the investigation. Many DFPS workers are unsure as to how to do this properly without going too far and interfering with the detailed interview that will be needed by law enforcement if a disclosure is made. This presentation is a condensed version of the full course, “P.R.O.T.E.C.T. Interviewing and Screening in the Field: A Guide for Dallas County Department of Family and Protective Services” and will focus entirely on teaching DFPS workers how to properly screen children for sexual abuse when interviewing children in the field.
Participants will learn how to properly screen using acceptable methods, what important questions need to be asked if a child does disclose, and when to stop, contact law enforcement and request a detailed forensic interview from the forensic interview team at DCAC. A Screening Packet created by DCAC will be given to each attendee with information including important phone numbers, an overview of the sexual abuse screening procedures and helpful flashcards to assist in conducting a truth/lie scenario with children.
DCAC New Team Member Orientation
NEW TEAM MEMBER ORIENTATION
Training Type: Internal Training
**This training is limited to DCAC staff and official MDT partners only**
8:15 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Breakfast and lunch will be served.
Are you new to the child abuse field, DCAC model or the multidisciplinary team? If so, please join us for New Team Member Orientation. This orientation provides a better understanding of crimes against children, the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) investigative process, and services offered at the Center. You will walk away from orientation with a better understanding of available resources, the role you play in the process and how it all comes together in the end.
March 18: http://www.cvent.com/d/xhqlh3
April 15: http://www.cvent.com/d/thqlhd
May 20: http://www.cvent.com/d/4hqlhv
June 17: http://www.cvent.com/d/8hqlhv
July 15: http://www.cvent.com/d/ghqlh5
August 19: http://www.cvent.com/d/4hqlht
September 16: http://www.cvent.com/d/7hqlht
October 21: http://www.cvent.com/d/shqln6
November 18: http://www.cvent.com/d/nhqln6
December 16: http://www.cvent.com/d/ghqlny
