Special Topics on the Systemic Response to Allegations of Child Abuse

Training Overview

Zero Abuse Project (ZAP) is presenting a training opportunity in-person at the Redwood Area Community Center in Redwood Falls for a full day of training on special topics on the systemic response to allegations of child abuse and maltreatment. This training will cover topics such as Preparing Kids and Families for our Process, Considering Grooming and Manipulation, Tech-Facilitated Crimes and the Forensic Interview, and Corroborating Evidence.

This training is designed for child abuse multidisciplinary professionals and youth-serving professionals including, but not limited to, child protection workers, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, mental health workers, advocacy professionals, medical team members, guardian ad litems, supportive services workers, cultural liaisons, teachers, school staff and administrative professionals, child care staff, and youth programming professionals. We encourage you to share this opportunity with other professionals you feel will find it beneficial!

Logistics

Lunch

Lunch of Subway sandwiches will be provided. At registration, you will have the opportunity to note any dietary restrictions.

Location

Redwood Area Community Center

901 E Cook Street, Redwood Falls, MN 56283

Parking is available onsite

About the Trainers

Rachel Johnson is the Lead Forensic Interview Specialist with Zero Abuse Project. She most recently served as the Program Director for the Minnesota Children’s Alliance and has fourteen years of experience in work related to forensic interviewing, multidisciplinary teams, advocacy, child abuse, prevention education, and intimate partner violence, both domestically and abroad. Prior to her work at the Alliance, Rachel served as a forensic interviewer and the Forensic Program Coordinator at First Witness Child Advocacy Center in Duluth, Minn. She is trained in multiple forensic interview protocols and received Bachelor of Science degrees in Public Service, Sociology and Spanish at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. Rachel is passionate about working directly with children and families, supporting frontline professionals and improving the institutional response to victimization by centering the experiences of victims at all levels of consideration and decision-making.

Caitie Dahl is a Forensic Interview Specialist and Trainer with Zero Abuse Project. Prior to joining Zero Abuse, Caitie served as a Forensic Interviewer, Forensic Program Coordinator, Trainer, and Multidisciplinary Team Facilitator with First Witness Child Advocacy Center in Duluth, Minnesota. Caitie enjoys working with children and providing a trauma-friendly and legally defensible opportunity for victims of abuse to share their experiences. Additionally, she enjoys training professionals in the field to strengthen their responses to reports of child maltreatment and collaborate with other multidisciplinary professionals when working with children and families throughout the investigative process. Caitie received a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Superior, where she also studied and conducted research on topics such as coercive interviewing, false confessions, wrongful convictions, and suggestibility and memory errors. Caitie also served as the Program Manager at the campus Gender Equity Resource Center and is passionate about recognizing and addressing the unique needs of LGBTQIA+ youth who have experienced maltreatment.

Register via ZAP

This training is being conducted free of charge for participants under grant funding provided by the Minnesota Office of Justice Programs.

A certificate of attendance will be provided for all attendees that complete the entire day of training.