This year, Children’s Advocacy Centers of Pennsylvania (PennCAC) provided scholarships for 12 multidisciplinary investigative team (MDIT) members from counties without a Children’s Advocacy Center to attend the Dallas Crimes Against Children Conference.
MDIT members from Juniata, Mifflin, Schuylkill, and Tioga attended through these scholarships. Participants included law enforcement, CYS caseworkers, an MDIT coordinator, and a district attorney.
The Dallas Crimes Against Children Conference is one of the largest conferences in the country, bringing together top trainers and subject-matter experts to provide training on current best practices, emerging techniques, and practical tools for professionals working on child abuse cases.
Pennsylvania had a large presence at the conference which provided terrific networking opportunities alongside a top-notch week of training. PennCAC used the time to gather with partners, meet new people, and learn from each other and experts in the field
Two attendees shared their reflections on how the conference strengthened their skills and supported their work back home:
“This conference was one of the best I have attended in my career. The trainers trained like they were presenting to the country, which they were! They made sure the topics and baseline of skills being taught could apply to everyone in the room, no matter the role and state they were from. Coming from a small rural county, trainings often feel like they don’t “apply” or logistically make sense for us, but that was the complete opposite with the Dallas Crimes Against Children Conference. Every session had a skill that every provider at every level could take away from it.” — Kelsey Lowrey-Drolsbaugh, Ongoing Unit Supervisor, Juniata County
“There would have been zero chance that my department could have afforded to send an officer to the Dallas Crimes Against Children Conference. The training, networking and experience, however, were invaluable. Within the first day back to work, I was able to use training I learned at the conference to assist our department in an ongoing investigation which led to an arrest. I am thankful for the opportunity to attend, learn and network with people who all share a common goal.” — Detective Joseph Krammes, Pottsville Police Department
At PennCAC, we know opportunities like this strengthen MDITs and contribute to the growth and development needed to make MDIT and CAC services available and accessible to all children and families in Pennsylvania. We are grateful to the CAC and MDIT professionals who show up for and help Pennsylvania children and families every day.
Are you a CAC or MDT professional looking for training opportunities? PennCAC offers free, year-round trainings on a variety of topics for every MDT member. See what’s coming up on our Events & Training calendar. You must have or create a Coalition Manager account to register.