Current Issues in Cyber Safety

Tracy Webb, Special Assistant City Attorney, Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney

Maureen Siegel, Senior Assistant City Attorney, Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney

Richard Ruiz, Sergeant, Los Angeles County Regional SAFE Team

Ronald Anderson, Detective, Los Angeles County Regional SAFE Team

This workshop will focus on current issues facing parents, law enforcement, social service and criminal justice employees in the area of Cyber Safety looking closely at Social Networking sites, Sexting and Cyber bullying from the law enforcement and prosecution perspective.

Cradle to the Grave: The Legacy of Intergenerational Gang Issues

Paul Vinetz, Director, Los Angeles County Probation Department

Gilbert Salinas, Outreach Program Director and Violence Prevention Specialist, Rancho Los Amigos Hospital

This workshop will take a nuanced view of intergenerational gang issues. Key contributing factors such as parent gang involvement, domestic violence, and drug endangerment will be identified and discussed in the context of a theoretical and research-based framework. The presentation will balance the real-world experience of an ex-gang member whose parents were gang-involved with evidence-based practices and targeted interventions designed to increase protective factors and reduce risks by leveraging and maximizing available resources.

Mentoring as a Prevention Strategy

John Hill, Founder, Cell Phone Dads, and Member, ICAN Associates Board of Directors

Stacey Savelle, Child Welfare Program Consultant, ICAN Associates

Stephanie Inyama, Mentoring Consultant

Cynthia Heard, Vice President of Programs, Children Uniting Nations (CUN)

George Razo, Mentoring Program Manager, David and Margaret Youth & Family Services

Mentoring system-involved youth is emerging as a viable strategy to help provide guidance and offer the potential for lasting connections for court dependents and wards. This workshop will discuss the findings of a Department of Health and Human Services grant that has brought together stakeholders in the Los Angeles mentoring community to create a blueprint for action to leverage resources, apply best practices, and build a sustainable partnership of mentoring programs. You will hear the voices of youth, caregivers, mentors, and programs as the results of a program survey and more than a dozen focus groups are presented.

Preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS): An Effective New Strategy to Calm Infant Crying and Promote Sleep

Harvey Karp, M.D. FAAP, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, UCLA School of Medicine

Infant crying is the main trigger for SBS. The presenter describes a new “calming reflex” that is a virtual off-switch for crying and on-switch for infant. Attendees will learn five effective, evidence-based ways to turn on this reflex (the 5 S’s) in any baby.

SB 39: Lifting the Veil of Secrecy on Child Abuse Deaths in California

Moderator: Lydia Bodin, Deputy District Attorney/Deputy in Charge, Office of the Los Angeles District Attorney

Bill Grimm, Senior Attorney, National Center for Youth Law

Marjie Lunstrom, Projects and Investigative Reporter, Sacramento Bee

Child fatalities often drive reforms in child welfare agencies around the country. For more than a decade federal law (the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act – CAPTA) has required child welfare agencies to disclose information about child abuse and neglect fatalities. In California, until 2008, virtually all information about fatalities was kept secret, in theory to protect the privacy of children, parents, and foster parents. In practice, however, the secrecy also insulated child protective services agencies (CPS) from the evaluation and oversight routine for most civil service agencies. In 2007, the California legislature enacted SB 39 (effective January 2008) to increase public access to information about the victims of fatal child abuse or neglect. SB 39 affords the public a degree of access into the records of CPS more far reaching than most other states. This workshop looks at the law’s implementation in 15 California counties. It discusses the policy issues behind SB 39, and describes the three stages of disclosures mandated by the new law, the different ways in which counties responded to requests for information, obstacles faced in implementing the law, and how the information obtained can be used to promote reform to better protect children. Since SB 39 is silent on disclosures of near fatalities, another requirement of federal law, this workshop also provides a forum to discuss the pros and cons of expanding California’s law to include children suffering near fatalities as the result of abuse or neglect.

Breaking the Cycle of Violence

Ruth Beaglehole, Executive Director, Center for Nonviolent Education and Parenting

Parental disciplinary practices can have long term consequences for the family and for the psychological development of the child. Scientific research on early brain development, attachment theory and the role of emotional intelligence states unequivocally that the strength of connection between the parent and the child is central to optimal development of the child. A key challenge for professionals with families is to teach parents the benefit of avoiding all punishments that lead to disconnection and mistrust between the parent and the child. It is inevitable the parents will face challenges and at times, feel intense anger and frustration with their parenting. There are tools that parents can learn to acknowledge their anger, their needs and feelings, while providing safe limits and empathetic emotional connection with their children.

Gender Neutral Marriage: Gay and Lesbian Families Raising Healthy Kids

Moderator: Teresa DeCrescenzo, M.S.W.

Tara Borelli, Staff Attorney, Western Regional Office, Lambda Legal

Andrew Rakos, Director, West Hollywood Pre-School

Jonathan Pope Evans, Novelist, Former Professor of Film and Television

Seth Rakos, Son of Andrew and Jonathan

Despite the California Supreme Court’s favorable ruling in the matter of gender-neutral marriages, voters approved a ballot measure last year to deny legal status to same-sex couples, and the same Supreme Court upheld the validity of the outcome of that measure. This workshop will update the legal status, and the everyday, practical aspects of LGBT families raising children in violence free, culturally diverse, and sensitive environments. Meet gay and lesbian families and their children. Hear about their challenges and their triumphs. Meet also some of the attorneys who crafted, and continue to craft, the arguments that are designed to allow legal recognition of same-sex marriage.

Multi-Agency Review of Fatal and Nonfatal Severe Child Injury

Michael Durfee, M.D., Chief Consultant, ICAN National Center on Child Fatality Review

Carol Berkowitz, M.D., FAAP, FACEP, Executive Vice Chair, Department of Pediatrics and Division Chief, General and Emergency Pediatrics, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Child Death Review Team Co-Chair

Pamela Booth, Director Branch and Area Operations, Los Angeles County District Attorney, Child Death Review Team Co-chair

Franklin Pratt, M.D., Medical Director, Los Angeles County Fire Department

This presentation will focus on the ground-breaking protocol, Multi-Agency Identification and Investigation of Severe and Fatal Child Injury: Guidelines for Networking, Communication and Collaboration. Developed in Los Angeles County and expanding statewide, this hospital-based system will help detect and manage fatal and nonfatal severe child injury that may be abuse related. It will also help connect medical professionals across the County, and even across the State. In this presentation, statewide system issues will be discussed using case examples that can assist case managers. The project has completed its final year. It was developed through funding to ICAN Associates from the California Emergency Management Association (Cal EMA).

Equipping Teens to Prevent the Effects of Violence in the Home and Break the Cycle

Rich Kozak, Motivational Speaker and Master Trainer, Motivating the Teen Spirit

Tia Ross, Master Certified Facilitator, Motivating the Teen Spirit

Participate in a Motivating The Teen Spirit (MTS) workshop, with a 16-year track record of consistently world-class results transforming more than 110,000 teens in their emotional literacy and emotional healthiness. Hear examples of teens learning how to prevent the cycle of violence and abuse from continuing in their lives and choosing that positive path. Experience some of the tools and processes we use that deliver such extraordinary results. MTS workshops use creative illustrations, cognitive lessons, and experiential exercises to create a safe environment where teens feel comfortable sharing feelings and taking a closer look at their lives. In interactive exercises, teens begin to recognize how they are really feeling and then discover how their thoughts and feelings are producing their behaviors. They get to the heart of their issues and voice their dreams, fears, disappointments and successes. This revolutionary, interactive program empowers young people to take responsibility for their lives, to respect and love themselves, and to live with integrity.

Teaching Kids Principals of Nonviolence and Peace-Making

Azim Khamisa, Founder, Tariq Khamisa Foundation

Azim has a special way with the children, showing them, in simple terms, how to comprehend and apply principles of nonviolence, with a focus on prevention. Explore the realities of youth violence, the consequences of choices, and the capacity of empathy and forgiveness to break the cycle of violence. This workshop will also focus on the powerful story of Tariq Khamisa, Tony Hicks, and their families to provide an astonishing, real-life example of the ripple effects of violence, and the nonviolent choices one can make to end the cycle of violence.

Be Part of the Solution: What Death Review Teams Have to Offer You, Your Clients, and Our Community

Carol Berkowitz, M.D., FAAP, FACEP, Executive Vice Chair, Department of Pediatrics and Division Chief, General and Emergency Pediatrics, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Child Death Review Team Co-chair

Pamela Booth, Director Branch and Area Operations, Los Angeles County District Attorney, Child Death Review Team Co-chair

Paul Click, Program Manager, ICAN-NCFR

Jennifer Hottenroth, Domestic Violence Death Review Team DCFS representative

Michael Pines, PhD, Child and Adolescent Suicide Review Team Co-Chair

Designed for professionals from mental health, education and child protective services, this workshop will introduce the county’s three Death Review Teams (Child Death Review, Child and Adolescent Suicide Review and Domestic Violence Death Review). Participants will learn how the important lessons learned by these Teams can assist them in identifying and advocating for at-risk children and families and how to utilize collaborative/multi-disciplinary strategies for intervention and prevention. Participants will also hear about the work of these Teams and their findings. Key definitions, classic red flags and current statistics will be shared as well as case examples of unsafe sleeping, child homicide, teen suicide and murder/suicide by a parent. Finally resources and public awareness projects coordinated by ICAN and the National Center for Child Fatality Review will be highlighted.

Domestic Violence, Delinquency, and Dependency: Examining the Links and How to Respond When the Systems Collide

Tracie Jones, Psychiatric Social Worker II, Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office

This workshop will highlight the presenter’s own experience as a licensed clinical social worker within the Public Defender’s Office. Tracie Jones will discuss how children of all ages adjust, develop, cope, and learn while living in an unpredictable and violent environment. The workshop will also address how family violence leads to children becoming involved in the criminal justice system as well as the dependency system and how to respond when these two systems collide.

Up-Front Assessments: DCFS’ Collaboration with Community Agencies in Assessing for Caretaker Issues Related To Domestic Violence, Substance Abuse, and Mental Health

Alma Golla, Children’s Services Administrator III, Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

Theresa Culver, Clinical Director, Penny Lane Centers

Iris Cruet-Rubio, Program Director, Child Alliance

Through the use of existing County contracted Family Preservation agencies, DCFS established an Up-Front Assessment process in offices located throughout Los Angeles County. An Up-Front Assessment (UFA) provides the investigating social worker with valuable information on adults parental or caretaker capacity where there is risk due to issues related to mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence. As with other reports and assessments, the UFA will help the CSW make better informed decisions in the best interest of the child. The goals of UFAs are to maintain the family together whenever child safety allows and to provide for more family-centered case planning and timely services whenever placement of children in out-of-home care is necessary.

Bullying or Just Kidding?

Judy Chiasson, Coordinator, Los Angeles Unified School District, Office of Human Relations, Diversity and Equity

Jenny Betz, Project Director, A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute, Anti Defamation League

Educators across the country are concerned about the prevalence of bullying and the potential risks to youth. This workshop will explore the different forms of bullying; identify the roles of bully, target, bystander, and reinforcer; the reasons some youth bully and why some are targeted; and identify interventions for parents, teachers and youth.

Who Can I Tell?: A Guide to Information Sharing for Individuals, Agencies and Medical Care Providers in the Context of Child Abuse

Lydia Bodin, Deputy District Attorney/Deputy in Charge, Office of the Los Angeles District Attorney

This workshop will give detailed information on how information about abused children can be lawfully shared to assist in the detection, prevention, investigation, treatment and prosecution of child abuse.

Interventions for Compassion Fatigue, Vicarious Trauma, and Stress for Managers, Supervisors, and Individuals Working with Challenging Populations

Leslie Anne Ross, Senior Director, Child Trauma Center, Children’s Institute, Inc.

Liza Auciello, Managing Director, A Thousand Joys

Tina Huston, Psychologist, Child Trauma Specialist, Children’s Institute, Inc.

This workshop will provide participants with hands on experiential practices to address compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and stress as well as provide guidelines for organizational leaders, and supervisors on how to support staff in coping with burnout and indirect trauma exposure.

Been There, Done That: The Role of Teen Peer Counselors in Substance Abuse Treatment

Manuel Rivera, Licensed Psychologist, Children’s Institute, Inc.

John Garry, Psychologist, Children’s Institute, Inc.

Alejandro Soria, Therapist, Children’s Institute, Inc.

Carlos Calderon, Peer Counselor, Children’s Institute, Inc.

Jason Pineda, Peer Counselor, Children’s Institute, Inc.

This workshop will present the training and utilization of peer counselors and caregivers in the promising intervention model, Trauma Systems Therapy for Adolescent Substance Abuse (TST-SA). Group members whom exhibited the insight, experience, and desire to train as peer counselors have piloted this addition to the treatment mode. To remain in line with the systemic focus of the treatment model the role of caregiver participation has been integral to the treatment of the adolescents. In addition this workshop will examine the links between adolescent substance abuse, mental health disorders and how they relate to history of trauma exposure.

Partnerships for Families: Prevention, Partnering and Parenting

Katherine Reuter, Ph.D., Director, Early Childhood Intervention Services, Saint John’s Child and Family Development Center

John Whitaker, Ph.D. MFT, Director, Community Services, Children’s Bureau, Antelope Valley

Partnerships for Families is a Los Angeles County-wide, First 5LA funded Initiative to prevent child maltreatment in at-risk families referred by DCFS, and pregnant women at-risk due to problems with mental health, domestic violence or substance abuse through increasing family functioning. This unique model involves partnering and collaboration among the families, caregivers, lead agency staff and community agencies, with customization to meet community needs across the County’s 8 Service Planning Areas. This workshop will present the unique features of PFF, including SPA 5’s mental health model and SPA 1’s community capacity building emphasis and universal “Welcome Baby” Program.