Brief Overview
Dozens of studies have found that abused and neglected children are often impacted spiritually and that addressing these spiritual injuries can have a profound impact on the medical and mental health of a child. In 2013, GNCPTC proposed that CACs consider incorporating a chaplain into CAC or MDT responses to child abuse. The Julie Valentine Center in Greenville, South Carolina is the first CAC to hire a chaplain as a victim assistance specialist. This workshop will address the research that supports this work, how a CAC can incorporate a chaplaincy program, and lessons learned from JVC’s first year of implementation.
Expert Presenters
Shauna Galloway-Williams is the Executive Director of Julie Valentine Center and adjunct professor at USC Upstate’s CAST Program. With more than 19 years of experience in the field of mental health, she conducts forensic interviews of children, provides expert witness testimony, conducts training in the field of child abuse and sexual assault, and facilitates groups for non- offending caregivers. Shauna serves as a board member of the SCCADVASA, a Cabinet Member on the Greenville County United Way Community Investment Cabinet, and a member of the Silent Tears Task Force. Shauna previously served on the board of SCNCAC and SCPSAC.
Carrie Walker Nettles earned a BA in Sociology from Clemson University and an M.Div. from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. Carrie has worked with the children’s ministries of five different churches and as a child advocate with the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center in Charleston, SC. Carrie has traveled to General Theological Seminary to study with Jerome Berryman, specifically working on a theology of the child and the spirituality of the child. Two years ago, Carrie returned upstate to complete a residency with the Spiritual Care department at Greenville Memorial Hospital where she worked across all units encountering various stages of trauma and recovery, specifically assigned to the pediatric psychiatric facility and children’s hospital. Carrie is a candidate for endorsement with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and has entered the board certification process. She is a member of the Association of Professional Chaplains and the Pediatric Chaplains Network. In January of 2017, Carrie became the first staff chaplain serving a Child Advocacy Center.