The Role of Faith Communities in Preventing Child Maltreatment

Conference Theme: Community Empowerment

Session Description

Attendees will receive concrete, research-supported practices for empowering faith communities to take a leadership role in preventing the physical and sexual abuse of children and in meeting national standards for becoming a trauma-informed community.

Session Objectives

Participants will

1. Learn how to discuss the issue of corporal punishment in a culturally humble manner in faith communities supportive of this form of discipline as well as an overview of the research documenting that this approach changes attitudes long term for a practice that contributes to child physical abuse.
2. Learn how CACs and other child protection professionals can assist faith communities in implementing research-supported child protection practices.
3. Learn what it means to be a trauma-informed faith community and receive resources to aid faith communities in achieving these standards.

Presenter

Victor Veith, Zero Abuse Project

Victor has trained thousands of child-protection professionals from 50 states, 2 U.S. Territories, and 17 countries on numerous child abuse investigations, prosecutions, and prevention topics, has been instrumental in implementing 22 state and international forensic interview training programs, plus dozens of undergraduate and graduate programs on child maltreatment.

Mr. Vieth earned his J. D. from Hamline University School of Law and an MA in theology from Wartburg Seminary. Mr. Vieth has published countless articles related to the investigation, prosecution and prevention of child abuse including Unto the Third Generation, a bold initiative outlining steps to eliminate child abuse in America in three generations, and On This Rock: A Call to Center the Christian Response to Child Abuse on the Life and Works of Jesus (2018).