NRCAC Team Talk

Latest Episodes:

Episode 36 - Organizational Culture Feb 02, 2023

Show notes

EPISODE SUMMARY:

What is organizational culture? Why should you focus on organizational culture? What is the value of investing in organizational culture? How does it relate to Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs)? In this episode, Tony speaks with Gene Klein, LCSW and Caren Dean with Project Harmony. During their conversation, they share how they navigated through periods of growth and change at Project Harmony. As a result, this led the CAC to focus on creating a positive organizational culture.

Topics in this episode

Project Harmony (3:29)
Culture (5:08)
Intentional Focus on Culture (7:28)
Building Organizational Culture (9:14)
Organizational Change Management (17:15)
5 Pillars (21:52)
Value of Blocking Time for Organizational Culture (30:59)
Reinforcement of Organizational Culture (33:00)
Results of Focusing on Organizational Culture (36:43)
Recommendations (39:18)

GUESTS:

Gene Klein, LCSW, is the Executive Director of Project Harmony, a non-profit Child Advocacy Center in Omaha, Nebraska providing services to enhance the quality of child abuse investigations. Under his leadership, Project Harmony has become one of the largest CACs in the nation- serving more than 8,000 children and families with more than 375 co-located partners in a shared facility/campus-all professionals working together to respond to the outcry of child maltreatment and also delivering high quality innovative prevention services.

Mr. Klein has over 35 years of leadership experience in agencies serving children and families. He has served on the board of directors for the National Children's Alliance in Washington, D.C., the Nebraska Foster Care Review Board, the Governor's Commission for the Protection of Children, and the Omaha Archdiocese Review Board for the Protection of Children. Mr. Klein has served as a peer reviewer for the Department of Justice (OJJDP) as well as for the National Children's Alliance (NCA) for more than 10 years. Mr. Klein holds a bachelor's degree from Creighton University and a master's degree in social work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is also a licensed Mental Health Practitioner.

Caren Dean, Ph.D., is the Senior Director of People and Culture at Project Harmony. Dr. Dean has been working in Organizational Development and Human Resources with a primary focus on creating human capital strategies that build the infrastructures of an organization through inclusive policies and practices, inspiring leadership, and creating trusting and engaging cultures.

Dr. Dean is inspired to change lives, and to create organizations where people love to come to work. She has a great depth of knowledge in HR from the employee onboarding experience, to their journey off boarding and everything in between. Much of her cultural work and leadership development is focused on utilizing researched material/best practices and making data driven decisions to drive human capital strategies which positively impact the businesses bottom line.

Dr. Dean is a certified Gallup Strengths coach. She is passionate about inspiring, motivating and making a positive and measurable impact with individuals, teams and organizations she works with. As a collegiate athlete and a study of Behavioral Cognitive Psychology, Clinical Social Work and Human Capital Management, Dr. Dean has always been motivated by figuring out how and why people thrive, and how to help people bring their best self to work and life every day.

Dr. Dean received her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a Master's Degree in Clinical Social Work from San Diego State University, and a Doctorate in Human Capital Management from the Business school at Bellevue University in Nebraska. She is a certified ATD Executive Coach, Gallup Clifton Strengths Coach and certified Emergenetics coach.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

Find Your Why by Simon Sinek: https://simonsinek.com/books/find-your-why/
Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO-B): https://www.themyersbriggs.com/en-US/Products-and-Services/FIRO
Northeast Regional Children's Advocacy Center: https://www.nrcac.org
Project Harmony: https://projectharmony.com
Regional Children's Advocacy Centers: https://www.regionalcacs.org

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.

Disclaimer: This project was sponsored by NRCAC from Grant Award Number 15PJDP-22-GK-03061-JJVO 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.

Episode 35 - Grooming Nov 03, 2022

Show notes

EPISODE SUMMARY:

1 in 10 people have been victims of sexual assault. Over 80% of these victims know their attacker. In almost 100% of these cases, the attacker uses a method called "grooming".

In this episode, filmmaker and survivor Gwen van de Pas joins Tony to discuss the documentary film titled Groomed. Gwen takes us through her journey of making the movie, what she discovered about the grooming process, and the impact grooming has on survivors.

If you haven't already watched the movie Groomed, it can be found on the streaming service discovery+.

GUEST:

Gwen van de Pas is a Dutch filmmaker who lived in San Francisco for 12 years. She studied Film in Holland, holds an MBA from Stanford, and worked for Consulting firm Bain & Company for 12 years. Passionate about stories that matter, she's ready to tell the story of "GROOMED".

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

Groomed: The Movie: http://groomedthemovie.com
Northeast Regional Children's Advocacy Center: https://www.nrcac.org
Regional Children's Advocacy Centers: https://www.regionalcacs.org

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.

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.

Episode 33 - CATS Program Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

EPISODE SUMMARY:

The Baystate Family Advocacy Center has an exciting new program funded from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) - Child Advocacy Training & Support (CATS) Center. The CATS Center establishes a national training center to provide Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs) and multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) training, education, and technical assistance on trauma-informed care and evidence-based treatment for children and families.

In this episode, Tony speaks with Kerri Bergendahl, LICSW and Jessica Wozniak, Psy.D. with the Baystate Family Advocacy Center on the training opportunities provided by the CATS Center.

CATS Center overview (3:20)
CATS Center goals (9:00)
Trauma-informed practice (11:15)
Training logistics and topics (14:45)
FORECAST model (19:00)
Ad hoc training opportunities (21:36)
Benefits of trauma-informed training for MDTs (23:13)
For more information (30:17)

GUESTS:

Kerri Bergendahl, LICSW is the Behavioral Health Clinician/Project Specialist with the Child Advocacy Training & Support Center at Baystate Family Advocacy Center.

Jessica Wozniak, Psy.D. is the Principal Investigator & Project Director, TF-CBT National Trainer, Manager of the Clinical Research and Development with Baystate Health Department of Psychiatry.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

Project FORECAST: https://projectforecast.org/
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network: https://www.nctsn.org/
Northeast Regional Children's Advocacy Center: https://www.nrcac.org
Regional Children's Advocacy Center: https://www.regionalcacs.org

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.

Episode 32 - Moving Beyond Case Review Jul 07, 2022

Show notes

EPISODE SUMMARY:

How do you define the role and responsibilities of Team Facilitator at your CAC? In this episode, Tony speaks with Sue, Vicky, and Brittnee on professionalizing the role of the Team Facilitator. They discuss the importance of the role moving beyond case review to having the role be viewed as more of a leadership position within the CAC. Furthermore, they share what was learned from a recent survey done as a collaborative project by the four Regional Children's Advocacy Centers.

GUESTS:

Sue Ascione is a Training Specialist at the Northeast Regional Children's Advocacy Center (NRCAC). Sue has been with NRCAC for over six years, focusing on team development and the Leadership, Exchange and Coaching (LEC) project. Prior to joining NRCAC, Sue was a CAC Director and Team Facilitator in Lawrence County, PA.

Vicky Gwiasda is the Program Manager at the Western Regional Children's Advocacy Center (WRCAC) based out of the Chadwick Center at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, CA. Vicky has been with WRCAC for over five years. WRCAC provides training and technical assistance on team building for CACs. Prior to joining WRCAC, Vicky was a CAC Director at an accredited CAC in Oakland, CA.

Brittnee Aten-Acheson is the CAC/MDT Coordinator at the Chadwick Center for Children & Families. Brittnee is responsible for program development and evaluation, managing weekly case review, case management and case tracking, website and social media, internal and external administrative and clinical support. Brittnee has 12 years of experience in the field of child abuse and trauma, previously working as a child welfare social worker in adoptions and hospital based CAC in central CA.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

Northeast Regional Children's Advocacy Center - http://www.nrcac.org
Southern Regional Children's Advocacy Center - http://www.srcac.org
Midwest Regional Children's Advocacy Center - http://www.mrcac.org
Western Regional Children's Advocacy Center - http://www.westernregionalcac.org
Regional Children's Advocacy Center - https://www.regionalcacs.org
Chadwick Center for Children & Families - https://www.chadwickcenter.org
Midwest Regional Children's Advocacy Center EduNet "Moving Beyond Case Review: Role of the MDT Facilitator - https://www.mrcac.org/course/moving-beyond/

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.

Episode 31 - Multilevel Shared Leadership Model Jun 02, 2022

Show notes

EPISODE SUMMARY:

When examining the multidisciplinary team response to child abuse in communities, there are two principles that I believe to must be considered. The first is that MDT's are sophisticated and complex systems that are tasked with providing a coordinated and comprehensive response to child abuse. The second is that no single discipline on an MDT can adequately meet the needs of a victim of child abuse. One would think that such a system tasked with such an important mandate would have a clear leadership structure to ensure that the best possible services are being provided. However, that is not always the case. In this episode, I speak with Chris Newlin, the Executive Director of the National Children's Advocacy Center who shares with us a conceptual model of multilevel shared leadership for MDTs that provides a framework and pathway to more robust and sustainable MDT response to child abuse in your community.

GUEST:

Chris Newlin, MS LPC, is the Executive Director of the National Children's Advocacy Center where he is responsible for providing leadership and management of the NCAC and participating in national and international training and leadership activities regarding the protection of children. The NCAC was the first Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) in the world and provides child abuse prevention and intervention services in Huntsville/Madison County; and also houses the NCAC Training Center, the Southern Regional Children's Advocacy Center, the NCAC Virtual Training Center, and the Child Abuse Library Online (CALiO™). The NCAC is a past multi-year winner of the Better Business Bureau's Torch Award for Workplace Ethics; 2012 Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce Non-Profit of the Year; 2016 Federal Bureau of Investigation Director's Community Leadership Award recipient; (multi-year finalist), winner in 2016 and 2019 of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce Best Places to Work; and a Private Sector Member of the Virtual Global Taskforce.

Chris has more than 22 years of experience working in CACs as a Forensic Interviewer, Victim Advocate, Therapist, Clinical Director, and Executive Director. Chris has provided diverse training related to the Children's Advocacy Center Model, the multidisciplinary response to child abuse, the international development of Children's Advocacy Centers, forensic interviewing, best practices in child abuse intervention and response, and additional child maltreatment and exploitation topics in more than 30 countries throughout the world. He has worked in both urban and rural Children's Advocacy Centers. Chris received his Master's in School Psychology from the University of Central Arkansas, is a Licensed Professional Counselor, and has completed coursework at the Harvard University Business School Executive Education Program.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

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.

Episode 30 - Science of Hope May 05, 2022

Show notes

EPISODE SUMMARY:

We all see the word hope in the vision statements, mission statements, and even within the name of some of our organizations. But what do we mean when we are using this word? My guest for this episode will help put hope in perspective. As a "Hope Scientist," Dr. Ashley Cross joins the podcast to speak to us about The Science of Hope. As her website states: "Hope is more than a feeling; it is a science and a healing agent. Hope can heal the brain, restore the soul and give life meaning. Since hope a science, this means it can be taught, learned and restored. Hope is the single best predictor of an individual's ability to thrive and research points to hope as being consistently linked to positive outcomes and well-being. If you are interested in having your organization, team, or life become more hope centered, take the time to listen to our conversation.

GUEST:

Dr. Ashley is a leader with a big heart and a lot of passion. She established the first girls' home in Tulsa, OK and raised awareness in the city about the issues concerning girls in foster care and youth aging out. Through civic engagement, the local church, a dedicated community and a lot of faith and hope, Dr. Ashley raised over 1 million dollars in funds and purchased properties to house girls aging out of foster care or experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma. Dr. Cross has dedicated her life to working in the community to build and sustain hope in vulnerable children, families, and people passionate about improving their communities and the lives around them. She does this by educating, coaching, and empowering individuals through powerful training, individual and organizational resources and direction that helps people build a culture of hope everywhere that they go.

She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Hub585, which oversees the Monroe County CarePortal, connecting children in foster care with physical and relational resources. She also sits on the board of Bivona Child Advocacy Center.

Dr. Ashley holds a bachelor's degree in psychology, a master's in nonprofit management and a doctorate in Educational Leadership, all from Oral Roberts University. Dr. Ashley is also a Full Focus Planner Certified Pro.

Dr. Ashley also serves as a Pastor, alongside her husband Melvin Cross Jr, at Glory House International. She and Melvin have three amazing daughters: Jordan, Harper and Madison.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

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.

Episode 27 - Child Life Specialists and CACs Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

EPISODE SUMMARY:

Have you heard about the role of a Child Life Specialist? Many of us are under the misconception that Child Life Specialists only work in hospital settings and are tasked with playing with children as they await a procedure or treatment. Nothing could be further from the truth. In both healthcare and community settings, Certified Child Life Specialists help infants, children, youth and families cope with the stress and uncertainty of acute and chronic illness, injury, trauma, disability, loss and bereavement. They provide evidence-based, developmentally, and psychologically appropriate interventions including therapeutic play, preparation for procedures, and education to reduce fear, anxiety, and pain. There are several misconceptions about the Child Life Profession (www.childlife.org). In several CAC's across the United States, Child Life Specialists are playing an important role in the victim advocacy services provided to children and families.

In this episode, I had the opportunity to learn about the Child Life profession and how it can be incorporated into the CAC world from Annie Drehkoff of the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center. Annie has a wealth of experience working with children and families and shows us how adding Child Life Specialists to CAC can have great value to the children and families being served as well as the entire CAC team.

GUEST:

Annie Drehkoff, MS, CCLS is the Child Life Manager at Chicago Children's Advocacy Center. She has over 10 years of experience working with children and families in a variety of settings, which include early childhood education and child life services at pediatric hospitals and outpatient facilities. At Chicago CAC, she oversees the Child Life Department, which promotes effective coping among children and families impacted by sexual abuse through play, preparation, and other support interventions. She received her MS in Child Development, with the Child Life specialization, from Erikson Institute in 2012 and is a Certified Child Life Specialist.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

Chicago Children's Advocacy Center

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.

Episode 26 - Working with Children with Disabilities Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

EPISODE SUMMARY:

Children with disabilities may be at a greater risk for maltreatment than children without disabilities. For many professionals in the child advocacy field, these cases can be difficult because of a lack of understanding, knowledge, and basic skills to effectively work with a child with a disability. In this episode, we start your journey of building basic skills needed to effectively work with the children with disabilities who come through your CAC and with their families.

My guest is Staci Whitney, the Director of Forensic Interviewing Training for the Modell Consulting Group, LLC. Staci is a forensic interviewer, trainer, and has extensive training and experience interviewing children and individuals with disabilities who are victims of crime. During our conversation, Staci talks about individuals can overcome the challenges they face when working on cases involving individuals with disabilities as well as what CACs and teams can do to improve their response when cases present themselves.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

Staci Whitney bio: https://www.modellconsultinggroup.com/about
Modell Consulting Group: https://www.modellconsultinggroup.com/
Northeast Regional CAC: www.nrcac.org

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.

Episode 25 - Problematic Sexual Behavior: The CAC MDT Response Sep 16, 2021

Show notes

EPISODE SUMMARY:

Cases of children ages 12 and younger with problematic sexual behavior (PSB) can present a myriad of challenges for multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) and Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs). After all, MDTs and CACs were historically designed to address maltreatment of children committed by adults, not by other children. When presented with child-initiated harm cases, child-serving agencies are often inadequately equipped to provide the integrated and comprehensive response that is required in these situations. (Sites, Jerri & Widefield, Jimmy. Children with Problematic Sexual Behavior: Recommendations for the Multidisciplinary Team and Children's Advocacy Center Response (2020).

In this episode, I speak with the authors of the above referenced white paper, Jerri Sites and Jimmy Widdifield. Both have extensive experience working with CACs and MDTs and have conducted extensive research on the topic of PSB. During our conversation, Jerri and Jimmy share their insights and experience along with providing valuable tools for teams who are looking to enhance their response to PSB cases in their community.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

Jerri Sites at Child Protection Concepts is an independent consultant with 28 years of experience working in the field of child abuse investigations within the CAC movement.
Jimmy Widdifield is the Freestanding Multidisciplinary Teams (FSMDT) Programs Manager at the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth in Oklahoma City, OK
White Paper: https://calio.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Children-with-Problematic-Sexual-Behavior-Recommendations-for-the-Multidisciplinary-Team-and-Childrens-Advocacy-Center-Response.pdf
National Children's Alliance
National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth
National Children's Advocacy Center
Southern Regional Children's Advocacy Center
Western Regional Children's Advocacy Center
Midwest Regional Children's Advocacy Center
Northeast Regional Children's Advocacy Center

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.

Episode 24 - Forensic Interviewer Skill Development with the National Children's Advocacy Center Aug 05, 2021

Show notes

EPISODE SUMMARY:

In the final episode of the 4-part series on Skill Development for Forensic Interviewers, Tony speaks with Andra Chamberlin and Kim Madden from the National Children's Advocacy Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Both Andra and Kim are trainers and forensic interview specialists with a wealth of experience in the child abuse field. During the conversation, Kim and Andra share their thoughts on the skills needed to be an effective forensic interviewer and how CACs and MDTs can develop a process to where interviews take the foundational knowledge gained during their initial training and build more formative knowledge around the skills needed to be effective.

GUESTS:

Andra Chamberlin: https://www.nationalcac.org/andra-k-chamberlin/

Kim Madden: https://www.nationalcac.org/kim-madden/

Topics

Forensic Interviewing

Peer Review for Forensic Interviewers

Coaching and Mentoring

Forensic Interviewing Skill Development

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES: