One in Ten

One of the most vexing questions in child abuse intervention is: How do we know that the work we do makes a difference? We can count the number of kids we serve and the services we provide, but how do we know this actually makes a meaningful difference in the quality of the multidisciplinary team response and to the children and families we serve every single day?

We speak with Seth Boughton, director of data and innovative techniques at the Ohio Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers, about how we measure the impact of our work. Our Outcome Measurement System, started a decade ago by the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas includes caregiver feedback surveys, multidisciplinary team surveys, and youth feedback surveys. In the wake of our recent report, Healing, Justice, and Trust, we take stock of what we know about children’s and families’ outcomes, and further areas to explore.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (2:02)
• Practical uses for data (3:45)
• Outcome Measurement System (6:39)
• Turning our assumptions on their heads (10:54)
• Benchmarks and their uses (15:29)
• ChildSafe (18:05)
• Using data with partner agencies (25:38)
• Future research needed (30:02)
• For more information (45:31)

Links:

Seth Boughton, MSW, is director of data and innovative techniques at the Ohio Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers. He previously served as a research intern at National Children’s Alliance and still consults with NCA from time to time, including on the 2022 edition of our Healing, Justice, and Trust report.

Healing, Justice, and Trust 2022, a public version of the 2022 report. is available on our website; NCA members can access the member version with detailed data on NCA Engage; an Engage account is required.

Outcome Measurement System

Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas

CAC Census; some materials are for members and partners only 

E3 program, Enhance Early Engagement

TF-CBT, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

EMDR, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing

CACs and MDTs, Children’s Advocacy Centers and multidisciplinary teams

ChildSafe San Antonio story from NCA’s 2021 Annual Report

MSW programs, master of social work

NIJ, National Institute of Justice

NCMEC, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Eyes Up Appalachia

SACWIS, Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System

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We’ve learned so much about the trauma experienced by children who’ve been abused. We know about their clinical symptoms. We know how these affect their functioning at home and at school. And we know about the lifelong impacts of leaving these trauma symptoms untreated. We’re grateful that not only child abuse professionals but your average citizen is now aware that victims of child abuse can develop PTSD at rates and severity to those of soldiers who’ve been to war.

But is that cycle of abuse, trauma symptoms, and PTSD development inevitable? Is it possible to interrupt that cycle in such a way that symptoms reduce and PTSD never develops in the first place? CFTSI—the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention—is an evidence-based intervention that can do just that for some kids. We speak with Carrie Epstein, co-director of the Yale Center for Traumatic Stress and Recovery and co-developer of CFTSI about how this brief, early intervention can help reduce symptoms in children and caregivers.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:30)
• The development of CFTSI (5:42)
• What is CFTSI? (12:25)
• Different perceptions of symptoms: child and caregiver (19:18)
• The benefit to caregivers (21:40)
• Really? A short-term treatment? (29:15)
• Recent study of how CFTSI helps different groups (40:31)
• What’s up next in research (47:30)
• For more information (53:33)

Links:

Carrie Epstein, LCSW-R, is the co-director of the Yale Center for Traumatic Stress and Recovery, an assistant professor at the Yale Child Study Center, and co-developer of the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI)

Safe Horizon (NY)

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)

Steven Marans, MSW, Ph.D., is the co-developer of CFTSI with Epstein

“Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) reduces parental posttraumatic stress symptoms: A multi-site meta-analysis; Hilary Hahn, Karen Putnam, Carrie Epstein, Steven Marans, and Frank Putnam; Child Abuse & Neglect, June 2019; doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.03.010

“The Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention: Factors associated with symptom reduction for children receiving treatment”; Carla Smith Stover, Hilary Hahn, Kaitlin R. Maciejewski, Carrie Epstein, Steven Marans; Child Abuse & Neglect, December 2022; doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105886

Youth mental health: Current priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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What causes revictimization? How can we prevent it? There are common factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect that may affect any family: job stress, food insecurity, and intimate partner violence, to name just a few. But military families face additional stressors. Miranda Kaye, Ph.D., associate research professor at Penn State’s Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness, and her colleagues set out to examine what, at the individual, family, and community levels, contributed to revictimization. And the findings about community were perhaps some of the most surprising. 

Topics in this episode:

• Stressors on military families (2:13)
• Individual risk factors (7:13)
• Intimate partner violence and child maltreatment (11:28)
• Community risk factors (12:33)
• Families with high levels of support (19:56)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (24:04)
• Public policy (26:37)
• More research needed (28:04)
• Social isolation; making friends (31:11)
• More resources (35:11)

Links:

Miranda P. Kaye, Ph.D., is the director of the Survey Research Center and an associate research professor at the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at The Pennsylvania State University

“Factors Predicting Family Violence Revictimization Among Army Families With Child Maltreatment,” Miranda P. Kaye, Keith R. Aronson, and Daniel F. Perkins, Child Maltreatment, 2022, Vol. 27(3) 423-433. DOI: 10.1177/10775595211008997

Family Advocacy Program

U.S. Army Family Advocacy Program

The Thrive Initiative at Penn State, and Take Root Home Visitation

Parents as Teachers program Heroes at Home program

A previous One in Ten episode about community risk factors: “Is Abuse  Contagious?” with Dr. Dyann Daley (October 8, 2020)

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

When we think of the holidays, we often think of the sheer joy of it: Spending time with loved ones, eating favorite treats, and reflecting on bygone holidays full of those we love and traditions we love. But for many children and youth, the holidays are fraught, painful reminders of those missing from the holiday table, unexpected trauma triggers, and memories—not of sugarplums and nutcrackers, but of betrayal of trust and sexual violence.

As child abuse professionals, how do we help survivors cope with both the highs and lows that the season can bring? How do we help kids heal from trauma and find renewal and peace not only in the holiday season, but all the rest of the year, too? And most of all, how do we help kids get back to being kids? We spoke with Michelle Miller, director of mental health programs here at National Children’s Alliance, to learn how we can give kids their futures back during the holidays—and all the rest of the year.

 This is our last episode this year. Join us again in January for season 5 of One in Ten. 

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:21)
• Why the holidays can be difficult for kids (2:40)
• Watch for these red flag behaviors (5:13)
• Be proactive to help caregivers and kids (8:45)
• How to handle your own concerns 13:38)
• Mental health crisis and a clinician shortage (17:04)
• Evidence-based treatments (25:06)
• Graduating from treatment (30:56)
• See you again in January! (35:36)

Links:

Michelle Miller, Ph.D., LCSW, is director of mental health programs at National Children’s Alliance

Learn more about evidence-based treatments and trauma-informed care at Children’s Advocacy Centers

U.S. Surgeon General information and resources on youth mental health

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)

Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CTFSI)

Victims of Crime Act (VOCA)

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs), have been growing in the U.S. and around the world as the gold standard response in child abuse intervention for the last 40 years. Central to a CAC is its multidisciplinary team, made up of different professional disciplines, work for different partner agencies, have differing laws that regulate their work, different mandates, and different professional cultures. Those differences can be a source of strength in applying the professional expertise of the group in a holistic way to kids and to the cases that come in. But they can also be a source of tension and conflict. So the key question becomes: What really contributes to team effectiveness? Is it getting along with one’s peers, hanging out and having happy hours? Is it having trust and mutual respect? Is it one’s own perception of team performance? While all those things help, it may surprise you to find that it’s something else entirely. Join us in our conversation with Elizabeth McGuier, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:50)
• Team functioning (5:43)
• Perceptions of caregivers vs. team performance (10:03)
• The key to team effectiveness (12:33)
• What are appropriate outcomes to assess? (21:01)
• Implications of the study (23:02)
• Youth Feedback Survey (28:40)
• A team-focused approach (31:03)
• Burnout and vicarious trauma
• For more information

Links:

Elizabeth A. McGuier, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh

“Team Functioning and Performance in Child Advocacy Center Multidisciplinary Teams,” McGuier, E. A.; Rothenberger, S. D.; Campbell, K. A.; Keeshin, B.; Weingart, L. R.; & Kolko, D. J. (2022). Child Maltreatment, 0(0). DOI 10.1177/10775595221118933

NCA members receive research-to-practice briefs every Monday morning as a benefit of membership. “Team Functioning and Performance in Child Advocacy Center Multidisciplinary Teams” was the subject of the message on September 12, 2022.

Care Process Model for Pediatric Traumatic Stress, developed through a collaboration of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah and the Center for Safe and Healthy Families at Intermountain Healthcare’s Primary Children’s Hospital 

Outcome Measurement System (OMS) currently has four surveys that CACs can administer: Youth Feedback Survey, Caregiver Initial Visit Survey, Caregiver Follow-Up Survey, Multidisciplinary Team

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

If you haven’t already read Out of the Shadows, both the country report and the most recent edition, which is focused on U.S. state-by-state analysis, run—don’t walk—to get a copy. As child abuse professionals, you’ve probably wondered how the U.S. and, in fact, your state stack up on child sexual abuse prevention and intervention. The Out of the Shadows Index aims to answer that question by examining the legal framework, public policy, and also investments by states and countries. In today’s episode, we speak with Araceli Irurzun Pérez, research analyst at Economist Impact and a lead researcher on the Out of the Shadows report. As you will hear, the results are a bit surprising and turn upside down assumptions that we might have about the landscape within and across states.

Are these responses predictable by political affiliation? Nope. Or exclusively about financial resources? No, sir. And yet, one of the chief findings was that, while Children’s Advocacy Centers bear much of the burden for child sexual abuse prevention and intervention in the U.S.—and, indeed, in every state—they are woefully under-resourced.

Want a roadmap to improve child sexual abuse prevention and intervention in your state? Then please take a listen.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:51)
• Surprising findings (6:18)
• What’s lacking in most countries (10:25)
• What some countries do well (11:56)
• The U.S. pilot project (19:34)
• What we need to do next (29:49)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (33:46)
• For more information (37:11)

Links:

Araceli Irurzun Pérez, research manager at Economist Impact and a lead researcher on the Out of the Shadows Index

Out of the Shadows - US Pilot: Shining a Light on Prevention of and Response to Child Sexual Exploitation Abuse in the US (2022), Economist Impact, London, UK

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

Clergy have a uniquely intimate place in the lives of people of faith: present at baptisms, weddings, sick beds, and funerals. They’re with us when we’re at our worst and at our best, and life’s highs and lows. And while most clergy view this as a sacred trust with parishioners, others—as we have learned—sadly use that access and trust to abuse children.

Anna Segura-Montagut, Ph.D., joins us to discuss a research study that moves beyond news accounts, books, and movies to explore critical questions when working with survivors of clergy abuse. How is survivors’ belief in God affected by the abuse? And how does that impact resilience? How is their trust in institutions affected? How does that impact their access to the very social and community supports needed to heal from that abuse? And most importantly, how do we walk besides these survivors in their own healing journey even as we struggle with our own feelings about faith and faith communities?

Topics in this episode:

• Research decisions (1:37)
• Similarities and differences (5:03)
• Impact on belief (9:43)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (15:25)
• Entrapment (18:19)
• Implications for clergy and the church (20:26)
• Future research (23:51)
• What survivors need (25:44)
• Reason to hope (31:17)

Links:

Anna Segura-Montagut, Ph.D., clinical psychologist; assistant research scientist, Family Translational Research Group at NYU Dentistry Center for Oral Health Policy and Management

“An Exploratory Study on Mental Health, Social Problems and Spiritual Damage in Victims of Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Clergy and Other Perpetrators,” N. Pereda, L. Contreras Taibo, A. Segura Montagut, F. Maffioletti, Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 31(2):1-19. DOI: 10.1080/10538712.2022.2080142, May 2022

Sherry Hamby, Ph.D., appeared on One in Ten on February 14, 2020. Her interview was later republished on August 6, 2020, as part of our “Best of the Best” series. “Greater Than the Sum—Multiple Adversities in Children’s Lives”

Victoria Banyard, Ph.D.

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

• Origin story (1:54)
• Research foundation (4:28)
• The hypotheses and findings (7:57)
• Caregiver support (14:08)
• Unexpected findings (22:41)
• Prosecutors’ view (27:07)
• Research and solutions (32:52)
• Advice to policy makers (34:43)
• For more information (38:22)

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

Over the last several years, we’ve become more and more aware of the challenges and—let’s face it—the inadequacies of the child welfare system. Disproportionality is real—the way in which families of color can be caught up in the system at rates that truly boggle the mind. And how about worker shortages, which are also real and tax those still on the front line. More than ever, child protective services has become the system of last resort for families failed by every other system. But what are we going to do about it? 

How do we address racial inequities within the system? How do we add youth voices and those with lived experience in a meaningful way into program planning? And how do we learn from the data what works and eliminate practices that clearly don’t? We spoke with Christine James-Brown from the Child Welfare League of America about how we might reform and reimagine the child welfare system.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:51)
• The problem with child welfare (3:07)
• Where to start (12:16)
• Neglect (16:52)
• Rebuild the system (19:05)
• Interesting strategies (24:56)
• Build trust (31:25)
• Child welfare workers (35:24)
• For more information (39:20)

Links:

Christine James-Brown, president and CEO, Child Welfare League of America, Inc.

SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, by Robert D. Putnam

Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

While we’re on vacation, here’s one of our favorite episodes: “Are We Solving the Wrong Problem in Child Welfare?” When you think of federal child welfare policy, maybe you expect a discussion of foster care and other post-abuse interventions. If so, this conversation with Jerry Milner, former head of the Children’s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is going to blow your mind. Because after more than 40 years in child welfare, Milner's leadership of the Children’s Bureau turned a very, very different direction. He explored questions like: What would happen if we turned over our investment and focused on primary prevention instead? And are too many children separated from their parents unnecessarily through foster care? And, more importantly, what role do our own values of equity and belief in family support play not only in the lives of kids but in the life of our public policy? Milner is reimagining the child welfare system of the future. Take a listen to this interview, originally published on July 29, 2021.
 
Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:21)
• Why primary prevention? (4:04)
• Why it's hard to change (10:37)
• Systemic inequities (16:45)
• Different forms of neglect (21:49)
• The consumer voice (31:52)
• What’s next? (35:19)
• Our podcast website (39:24)

Links:

Jerry Milner, DSW, is practice director of Family Integrity and Justice Works at Public Knowledge, and the former head of the U.S. Children’s Bureau

Administration for Children, Youth, and Families

Children’s Advocacy Centers

“$20M diverted from police training facility to mental health facility in Prince George’s,” by Brad Bell, April 19, 2021, ABC7 News

CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates)

Family First Prevention Services Act

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at nationalchildrensalliance.org. And come visit our podcast website at oneintenpodcast.org. 

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

While we're on vacation, here's one of our favorite episodes: "Faith, Trauma, and the Problem of Evil." Many survivors of child sexual abuse struggle with questions of faith: Why did this happen to me? How do I understand what happened to me in the context of my faith? How do I make meaning of these traumatic events going forward? 

While these might sound like strictly theological questions, child abuse professionals respond every day to questions of faith, trauma, and the problem of evil. How do we address with victims, survivors, and the frontline professionals working with them the deep need to make meaning of these traumatic events? We talk to Victor Veith, Director of Education and Research at Zero Abuse Project and a renowned writer and trainer, about the intersection of faith and child protection. How can we help children when they have spiritual questions? And how can we help child protection professionals wrestling with the trauma they bear witness to every day?

This was the second episode of One in Ten. It was originally published on May 13, 2019.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:35)
• Faith-related questions in child sexual abuse cases (3:11)
• Addressing spiritual questions (5:17)
• Ways to address faith—and barriers (9:34)
• Adopt a Social Worker (19:43)
• Corporal punishment (21:29)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (30:11)
• For more information (32:33)

Links:

Victor Vieth, Chief Program Officer, Education and Research, for Zero Abuse Project and a founder of the National Child Protection Training Center. He is a former prosecutor and has a master’s degree in theology

Child Maltreatment: An Introduction, Cindy Miller-Perrin and Robin Perrin

On This Rock: A Call to Center the Christian Response to Child Abuse on the Life and Words of Jesus, by Victor I. Vieth

HALOS

Care in Action Minnesota

CAST, child advocacy studies minor provides students with real-world experience in a classroom setting

Julie Valentine Center, Greenville, South Carolina

“Religion in child sexual abuse forensic interviews,” Amy C. Tishelman, Lisa A. Fontes, Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol. 63, 2017, pp. 120-130.

Office for Victims of Crime

No-hit zones

Academy on Violence and Abuse

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

We are complete nerds when it comes to research. This podcast was founded on it, and many listeners receive our weekly research-to-practice briefs. Over the last two decades, a growing evidence base has demonstrated the effectiveness of the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) model. And no one has contributed more to that evidence base than Ted Cross through his sustained research over 20 years. Because of research partnerships, we know more about forensic interviews than ever before. More than about evidence-based mental health treatment than ever before. More about forensic medical evaluation than ever before. And yes, more about the difference CACs make in their own local community than ever before. But there are still significant research gaps, and the CAC model is still evolving and adapting every single day. 

What do we still need to learn to improve our work? How is the CAC model evolving to meet current needs, and future needs, and ever-changing needs? And how can we partner with researchers to improve our practice? Take a listen.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:59)
• The flexibility of CACs for community response (9:26)
• Different potential partners (16:58)
• Unanswered questions (26:33)
• Advice and new partners for CACs (33:15)
• Polyvictimization (42:47)
• Vacation and future episodes (44:27)

Links:

Theodore P. Cross, Ph.D., research professor at Children and Family Research Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

“The Child Victim as Witness Research Report,” Whitcomb, D.; De Vos, E.; Cross, T.P.; et al, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (October 1994)

“Practice in U.S. Children’s Advocacy Centers: Results of a Survey of CAC Directors,” Cross, Theodore P.; Whitcomb, Debra; Maren, Emi. Children and Family Research Center, School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (March 2022)

“Do Children’s Advocacy Centers improve families’ experiences of child sexual abuse investigations?” Jones, L.M.; Cross, T.P.; Walsh, W.A.; Simone, M. Child Abuse & Neglect (2007)

Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County

Wynona’s House

“Faith, Trauma, and the Problem of Evil,” with Victor Vieth (May 13, 2019)

New Jersey Children’s Alliance

For more about polyvictimization: “Greater Than the Sum—Multiple Adversities in Children’s Lives,” with Dr. Sherry Hamby (originally broadcast February 14, 2020, as “Mending the Tears of Violence”)

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

Over the past five years, sexual abuse scandals in sports have continuously been in the news. Whether swimming, tae kwon do, or most famously gymnastics, the variety of sports that have had such scandals point to a very uncomfortable truth that sports has inherent child protection issues, and that these unique vulnerabilities require unique prevention strategies to keep youth athletes safe. Courtney Kiehl, former elite gymnast, abuse survivor, and now an attorney and advocate for child victims and adult survivors of child sexual abuse, joined us to discuss what makes youth athletes so vulnerable, and how we can help.

What coaching strategies create toxic cultures, which discourage kids from speaking up about concerns? How does the lack of accountability at the club level allow offenders to move location and keep right on coaching? How does the weight of adult expectations—coaches, parents, and, yes, us, the viewers—make it so very difficult for kids to disclose even the most harrowing abuse? And where is there reason for hope and action to create a future for elite sport, and indeed all sport, that is healthy and safe?  Take a listen.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:46)
• What good coaching looks like (6:53)
• What makes athletes vulnerable (12:52)
• Who regulates sports (19:20)
• The bystander problem (28:17)
• What all athletes need (32:34)
• Parenting advice and the weight of expectations (33:52)

Links:

Courtney Kiehl, Esq., is an attorney at Paul Mones PC in California, a legal firm that specializes in representing victims of child sexual abuse. Prior to joining the firm, she founded A.C.H.E. (Abused Children Heard Everywhere) as a response to her own experience with sexual abuse by her gymnastics coach. She served as a fellow for CHILD USA’s Game Over: Commission to Protect Youth Athletes.

Game Over Commission; in January 2022, the commission released a case study on the abuse perpetrated by Larry Nassar

U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC)

National governing bodies

U.S. Center for SafeSport

Related episodes: “The True Cost of Olympic Gold,” about the Game Over Commission’s report; an interview with Prof. Marci A. Hamilton, founder and CEO of CHILD USA and (February 25, 2022)

“Radically Vulnerable: Achieving Justice for Survivors” with Prof. Hamilton (September 30, 2019)

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

In child maltreatment cases, while our attention is focused on the child and family in front of us, do we give any thought to the child protection system itself? What do we understand about how family separation was baked into the model for Black and Indigenous children right from the very beginning? And how does that play out today? Dr. Jessica Pryce, director of the Florida Institute for Child Welfare, joins us to discuss how it would change our work with families to center equity. To center community and the child’s attachment to their corner of the world. Might we radically change the experience for children when they can’t live at home by asking, “Who already loves this child?” Dr. Pryce offers practical information that child abuse professionals can use right now.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:43)
• Foundations of the child welfare system (3:23)
• What we can do (7:58)
• Start building a community (15:17)
• Successful supervisory strategies (17:43)
• Family separation (24:23)
• Advice for policy makers (34:02)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (42:26)
• For more information (46:14)

Links:

Jessica Pryce, Ph.D., MSW, is director of the Florida Institute for Child Welfare at Florida State University

Dr. Pryce was the opening keynote speaker at NCA’s Leadership Conference in June 2022

“To Transform Child Welfare, Take Race Out of the Equation,” TED Talk by Dr. Pryce

Social Security Act of 1935 created Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) and Aid to Families of Dependent Children (AFDC)

Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program

Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA)

Family First Prevention and Services Act

Abbreviations used:

CACs: Children’s Advocacy Centers

CASA: court appointed special advocate

CPS: child protective services

DEI: diversity, equity, and inclusion

TPR: termination of parental rights

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

This is a critical time for the child protection and Children’s Advocacy Center community to be allies for LGBTQ kids. Nearly two dozen states have considered anti-trans bills and some have made it difficult if not impossible for trans youth to receive gender-affirming care. In today’s One in Ten podcast, we speak with Al Killen-Harvey, president and co-founder of the Harvey Institute, about how child abuse professionals can better support LGBTQ youth and families. How can we ensure that child abuse investigations aren’t politicized? How can we identify and overcome our own biases and lack of knowledge to provide better care for these kids and their families? And how do we open our own hearts to create a welcoming and inclusive community where all kids can thrive?

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:46)
• How welcoming is our field for LGBTQ kids and families? (6:30)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (10:54)
• Mental health impact of anti-trans legislation (14:53)
• Gender-affirming care (19:49)
• The sense of threat and anger (27:37)
• Risks to trans youth (35:57)
• What can child abuse professionals do? (37:25)
• Be a life raft for kids (44:34)
• For more information (47:27)

Links:

Al Killen-Harvey, LCSW, is the president and co-founder of the Harvey Institute

Heidi Stern-Ellis, LCSW

Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego

CAC, Children’s Advocacy Center

CPS, child protective services

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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The 1998 CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Study helped build public understanding of the consequences of untreated childhood trauma. All these years later, does this tool tell the complete story? In this panel discussion recorded at National Children’s Alliance’s 2022 Leadership Conference, we explore what ACEs can—and can’t—accomplish in terms of influencing public support for policies that benefit kids. How can ACE screenings be used (and misused)? And what’s next for public health messaging that matters. Join Dr. Ernestine Briggs-King and Dr. Jonathan Purtle for a panel discussion moderated by NCA CEO Teresa Huizar in our first live-to-tape episode of One in Ten. 

Topics in this episode: 

• Origin stories (2:07)
• What’s good and bad about ACEs (5:39)
• Public policy messaging (14:15)
• ACEs and racism (22:42)
• Protective factors and resilience (24:58)
• The six messages (29:08)
• What we’re curious about (36:48)
• Audience questions (39:54)

Links: 

Ernestine Briggs-King, Ph.D., is a clinical/community psychologist; the director of research at the Center for Child and Family Health; director of the Data and Evaluation Program at the UCLA-Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress; and an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine 

Jonathan Purtle, Ph.D., is associate professor of public health policy and management and director of policy research at NYU’s Global Center for Implementation Science 

CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (1998), Vincent J. Felitti, MD, FACP; et al 

Previous episodes on related topics: 

“Reframing Childhood Adversity,” with Julie Sweetland from FrameWorks Institute (April 14, 2022); includes a link to the “Reframing” study

“Greater Than the Sum—Multiple Adversities in Children’s Lives,” with Dr. Sherry Hamby (August 6, 2020; originally broadcast February 14, 2020, as “Mending the Tears of Violence”) 

“The ACEs Message and Its Unintended Consequences,” with Dr. Jonathan Purtle (May 20, 2021) 

“The Hidden Cost of Resilience,” with Dr. Ernestine Briggs-King (July 17, 2020; originally broadcast January 10, 2020) 

“Bonus Content: Universal Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences,” with Dr. David Finkelhor (May 21, 2020) 

“Beyond ACEs,” with Dr. Lisa Amaya-Jackson (December 4, 2019) 

“The Science of Storytelling,” with Nat Kendall-Taylor from FrameWorks Institute (June 28, 2019) 

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Justin Fitzsimmons, associate vice president at the National White Collar Crime Center, joins us to raise the alarm about the way in which technology companies, social media outlets, and online privacy advocates are now purposely pitting adult privacy rights against the protection and safety of children. Think end-to-end encryption is totally innocuous? What if that means that pedophiles can endlessly trade child sexual abuse images online with impunity? And how do we—as advocates for children—keep issues of child protection front and center for policy makers, for tech and social media, and ultimately for all Americans?

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:43)
• Trends in technology-facilitated crime (2:45)
• The privacy problem (6:56)
• Our tech-driven lives (14:22)
• What law enforcement needs (18:55)
• What parents need to know (27:17)
• What child abuse professionals need to do (34:23)
• Don’t let technology scare you (41:40)
• For more information (45:52)

Links:

Justin Fitzsimmons is associate vice president at the National White Collar Crime Center (nw3c.org), former president of the Board of Directors at National Children’s Alliance, and an expert on technology-facilitated crime.

CACs: Children’s Advocacy Centers

CSAM: child sexual abuse materials

ICAC: Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program

New York Times articles “The Internet Is Overrun with Images of Child Sexual Abuse. What Went Wrong?,” “How Laws Against Child Sexual Abuse Imagery Can Make It Harder to Detect,” and “Tech Companies Detect a Surge in Online Videos of Child Sexual Abuse”

NCMEC: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

NDAA: National District Attorneys Association

Common Sense Media

The Connected Parent

HealthyChildren.org

See also our previous episode, “Predators in Our Pockets: The New Digital Hunting Grounds”

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

If you’ve ever worked anywhere near the criminal justice system, you know how heartbreaking it is when a case goes to trial and you have a clear disclosure and great victim testimony and really solid corroborating evidence—and the jury acquits. In a child sexual abuse case, what would make a jury hear all of that and still acquit? Tayler Jones-Cieminski and other researchers set out to explore that very question, especially one specific aspect of juror beliefs: the myth about the prevalence of false allegations. What would happen at trial if there were an increased fear of false allegations? And does gender have anything to do with it? 

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (3:05)
• Disparity between evidence and verdict (7:17)
• Fear of false allegations (11:49)
• Implications for criminal justice system (24:32)
• Role for juror education, public education (28:33)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (31:30)
• Future research (34:41)
• Sharing the credit (38:40)
• For more information (40:35)

Links:

Tayler Jones-Cieminski is a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Chicago 

“Jurors’ Gender and Their Fear of False Child Sexual Abuse Accusations Are Related to Their Belief in Child Victims’ Allegations.” Tayler M. Jones, Bette L. Bottoms, Kajal Sachdev, Jonathan Aniciete, and Karis Gorak (2021): Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, DOI: 10.1080/10538712.2021.1931612

Bette Bottoms, Ph.D. 

OJJDP, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Tamara Haegerich, Ph.D.  

Kari Nysse-Carris, Ph.D.

“How Accurate Is Our Memory After 20 Years?” is our interview with Gail Goodman 

Thomas D. Lyon, Ph.D. 

Michael E. Lamb, Ph.D.

Jonathan Golding, Ph.D. 

Voir dire 

“Child victim empathy mediates the influence of jurors’ sexual abuse experiences on child sexual abuse case judgments: Meta-analyses.” Tayler M. Jones; Bette L. Bottoms; and Margaret C. Stevenson. (2020). Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 26(3), 312–332. DOI: 10.1037/law0000231  Also available from the University of Evansville.

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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Today’s episode is a conversation with author and survivor Stephen Mills about his recently published memoir, Chosen. For those who haven’t yet read his book, which we highly recommend, it recounts Mills’ abuse at the hands of a camp counselor over several years, and his long journey towards healing. While many institutional abuse cases involve boys, there are very, very few published accounts of male survivorship. And, if we’re to help boys who have been abused, then it’s critical for us to understand how this experience may differ from that of female survivorship. Mills’ account is deeply moving, and it challenges all of us to better protect boys in the first place, and better help them heal if they have been abused.

Topics in this episode:

• Why we need this story (1:17)
• Stigma and shame (3:42)
• Grooming family and community (6:50)
• Longing for justice (17:34)
• Pushing institutions to change (26:17)
• Public policy wishes (29:45)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (34:39)
• Learn signs and tactics (41:46)
• For more information (47:01)

Links:

Stephen Mills is the coauthor with Roger Fouts of Next of Kin: My Conversations with Chimpanzees. He has advised and written for an array of public interest organizations in the fields of human rights, civil liberties, and the environment. Since 1983, he has worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council, building campaigns that have mobilized millions of people in support of environmental protection, and he serves as an ambassador for CHILD USA.

StephenMillsAuthor.com includes resources for survivors, families, and everyone and information on ways to take action to prevent child sexual abuse

“At a Place Where He Was Supposed to Be Safe, He Was Molested,” by Bruce Feiler, The New York Times, April 26, 2022

Other memoirs mentioned: Notes on a Silencing by Lacy Crawford; Half the House: A Memoir by Richard Hoffman; and The Tricky Part: One Boy’s Fall from Trespass into Grace by Martin Moran

Child Victims Act of 2019 (New York)

CHILD USA has information on child protection laws across the country, including statutes of limitation reform

U.S. National Blueprint to End Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents from Keep Kids Safe

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, a great time to talk about the way we message around child abuse and childhood adversities. The ways in which we’ve messaged about childhood adversity in the past may have served us very well, helping people come to terms with how important the topic is, the scope of the problem, and the lifelong impacts of it. But they may not be serving us very well now. 

What if, in describing the problem as enormous and making that the centerpiece of our messaging, we’re making people think that the problem is intractable and they’re powerless as an individual person to make a change? Or, in focusing on the stories of individual families in order to gain empathy for them, what we really seem to be implying to the public is that there’s no room for public policy solutions, that this is a matter for each family to solve by themselves. We talked to Julie Sweetland, senior advisor at the FrameWorks Institute, about how to reframe childhood adversity.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (2:21)
• Common communication traps (6:15)
• Threat of modernity (14:28)
• Key recommendations (19:09)
• Systemic racism (32:16)
• Hope and resilience (35:45)
• Collective responsibility (39:55)
• Evidence-based communication (42:00)
• For more information (43:52)

Links:

Julie Sweetland, Ph.D., is a sociolinguist and senior advisor at the FrameWorks Institute.

ACEs: adverse childhood experiences

 “Reframing Childhood Adversity: Promoting Upstream Approaches,” by Julie Sweetland, FrameWorks Institute (February 16, 2021); a presentation of the report is also available on the FrameWorks site

Harvard University Center on the Developing Child

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child

Prevent Child Abuse America

Social Current

CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Zero to Three

Ascend at the Aspen Institute

Building Better Childhoods

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.