Workshop Descriptions

Is It Anger or Abuse: Assessing for Intimate Partner Violence—Part I

Alyce LaViolette, M.S., MFT

This workshop will focus on a contextsensitive continuum which can be used to differentiate between anger and a range of abusive behaviors. Research on gender equivalence will be discussed. An experiential exercise which includes a DVD vignette and case conference will conclude this workshop, which will be interactive.

Hospital Management of Infant-Toddler Abuse/Neglect

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

Nancy C. Hayes, MSW, LCSW, Manager of Care Coordination, Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA

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

Melissa Egge, Fellow Child Abuse Pediatrics, Harbor UCLA Medical Center

The ICAN-California Network connects hospital resources for injured hospitalized children under age three. The goal is to improve case management for very young children that need hospital care for their injuries. These injuries may be related to assault or neglect. Hospitals vary in their levels of expertise in addressing injuries caused by abuse or neglect. The ICAN hospital program will be presented; which will include 1) guidelines for addressing these cases, 2) directory of experts 3) data collection and 4) specialized programs including burns and intensive care and 5) handouts. A parallel LA County neonatal project is working on connecting DCFS with hospitals. This presentation will include audience participation, and suggestions for how to work with medical professionals.

Use of Technology in Child Abuse Investigation, Assessment and Prosecution: FCI and E-SCARS

Susan Steinfeld, Deputy District Attorney, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office

Daniel Scott, Segeant, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department- Special Victims Bureau

John Langstaff, Children’s Services Administrator II, Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

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

The Family and Children’s Index (FCI) and Electronic Suspected Child Abuse Report System (E-SCARS) are secure, web-based applications linking child welfare, law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies in Los Angeles County to facilitate information sharing of child abuse allegations. E-SCARS provides instantaneous cross-reporting of allegations for first responders, while FCI provides social workers and others tasked with protecting children with information about previous contacts with the family, enabling better investigations and assessment of the family’s history. Both systems facilitate cooperative investigations, allow for improved oversight and accountability and significantly increase our collective ability to serve these vulnerable victims.

Child Abduction: Prevention, Family Impact, Victimology, and Recovery

Joseph P. Brine II, Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Karen Strickland, Executive Director, Find the Children

This workshop will cover the scope of the issue today, including both parental and stranger abductions. Find the Children will focus on parental child abduction including prevention, case management, family impact, and recovery. Agent Brine will share a law enforcement perspective on the response to stranger abductions, offender profiles, and provide some insight into common victim characteristics.

DCFS on the Move; Programs and Initiatives

Ronald Burke, Children’s Services Administrator I, Los Angeles County
Department of Children and Family Services

Gayle Grether, Children’s Services Administrator I, Los Angeles County
Department of Children and Family Services

This presentation will include a discussion of DCFS initiatives and programs that have as their goal the elimination of violence and abuse against children, including Team Decision Making, Concurrent Planning, Family to Family, Permanency Partners Program, Linkages, Kinship Care, and Structured Decision Making.

Sexting: The Dangers Children Face

Richard Love, Consultant, Fox Valley Technical College

Ron Laney, Associate Administrator Child Protection Division, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Participants will be introduced to the epidemic of “Sexting” currently spreading among children, including the consequences they face legally and emotionally. Prevention and education will also be discussed. Actual case examples will be presented to illustrate these points.

The Family Court Maze: Understanding the Process to Create Better Outcomes for Domestic Violence Victims

Paula Cohen, Senior Attorney, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles

Susan Millmann, Senior Attorney, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles

Even professionals with a thorough understanding of domestic violence dynamics may be baffled by the family law legal system and its impact on child and adult victims of abuse. We will follow a family through the family court process and examine how they are impacted by it, as well as by parallel criminal and dependency court cases. We will examine the domestic violence cycle in the context of family court hearings, delays and rulings, providing suggestions for assessing risk and providing appropriate intervention throughout. Participants will learn how to advise and educate the client in order to create better civil court outcomes for domestic violence victims and their families.

When Professionals Grieve: Honoring Our Own Process

Fredda Wasserman, Clinical Director, OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center

Randi Wolfson, Adult Program Coordinator, OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center

In our work with patients and clients, our own grief is often triggered. It is imperative for those of us in the helping professions to honor our need for self care. In this interactive workshop we will explore the importance of tending to our emotional, psychological, and spiritual well-being. Participants will have the opportunity to experience proactive stress relieving techniques that prevent burnout and compassion fatigue.

Bullying or Just Kidding?

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

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 some are targeted; and identify interventions for parents, teachers and youth.

Session Two • 3:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Is It Anger or Abuse: Assessing for Intimate Partner Violence—Part II

Alyce LaViolette, M.S., MFT

This workshop will focus on a context-sensitive continuum which can be used to differentiate between anger and a range of abusive behaviors. Research on gender equivalence will be discussed. An experiential exercise which includes a DVD vignette and case conference will conclude this workshop, which will be interactive.

Walking in Grief and Trauma and Staying Intact

Linda Garcia, Certified Child Life Specialist

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

Bonita Wirth, Ph.D., Occupational Psychologist, City of Los Angeles, Department of Personnel, Medical Services

First responders to family violence are often family members or friends. They then call the police and fire/EMS. Depending on the situation, CPS, coroner investigators, attorneys, clergy and mental health professionals may also become involved. The devastating wake following family violence can have lifetime implications and memories for survivors. The support and guidance that is given in the first hours and days following are vital in assisting survivors to begin the journey of recovery. This workshop explores grief and loss in violent situations, how responders can help or harm a surviving victim, and the potential impact of these situations on the helping professionals.

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

Grady Goddard, Adoptive Parent

As the issue of gender-neutral marriage makes its way through the courts and the legislative process, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) families are becoming more visible in our culture, and will continue to do so, as their relationships become more a part of the social landscape. 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.

Current Issues in Cyber Crime—Do You Know Where your Children are?

Tracy Webb, Director of Child Abuse Policy, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office

Maureen Siegel, Senior Assistant City Attorney, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office

This is an interactive/PowerPoint presentation for parents and educators that provides an instructional overview of the dangers of all forms of electronic media (including cell phones, video games and any device with access to outside electronic sources) and social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace. The presentation includes current legal and social issues related to “sexting” and the prevalence and increase of cyber bullying. The presentation will be geared towards problems associated with Internet and electronic technology, including Internet predators, and instructs on how to use the computer properly and safely, including how to block websites, check history, delete cookies and where to go for assistance and law enforcement intervention.

Cradle to the Grave: The Legacy of Intergenerational Gang Issues

Paul Vinetz, Director, Los Angeles County Probation Department

Gilbert Salinas, Patient Advocate, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center

This presentation 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 ganginvolved with evidence-based practices and programs designed to increase protective factors by leveraging and maximizing community-based resources.

Identifying Socio-Emotional Trauma in the Home and School Setting

Paloma Cisneros, Social Services Coordinator , Volunteer of America of Los Angeles

Mayra Sandoval, Mental Health Coordinator, Volunteers of America of Los Angeles

This workshop will provide participants with a road map for identifying social-emotional trauma in early childhood and adolescence. The Volunteers of America of Los Angeles Early Head Start and Head Start staff will discuss signs, behaviors and symptoms of the effects of trauma in the home and school setting. Participants will look briefly at the effects of brain development when children are exposed to trauma. Participants will become familiar with behaviors that are linked to various traumatic events. Participants will discover the side effects of trauma, as well as identification, intervention, and prevention tools that can help children succeed in overcoming traumatic events in their lives.

Parent Café “Keep Your Family Strong”

Charles Avila, Program Manager, Antelope Valley Child Abuse Prevention Council, “Yes 2 Kids”

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

The world is changing, and the job of parenting is more complicated. There’s always new information about how to keep children healthy and safe and help them grow up to be healthy and successful adults. The truth is that families take work, but for every ounce of energy you invest in your family, the results will be amazing. Learn about the six protective factors for strengthening families and join in a process that lets you hear what is working well in other families in your community.

Getting Through the Institutional Review Board (IRB): Ethics, Dilemmas and Pitfalls in Child Abuse Research

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

Melissa Egge, Fellow Child Abuse Pediatrics, Harbor UCLA Medical Center

This workshop will present a series of research questions, particularly related to reviewing medical records, and addressing issues of reporting cases that were originally deemed not to be related to abuse. The ethics of reporting or not reporting “old cases” will be discussed.

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 who work 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 that 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 an empathetic emotional connection with their children.