Conference Agenda
CONFERENCE AGENDA
7:45am- 8:15am Check-in & Light Breakfast
8:15am- 4:30pm LADV Conference
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Defending the "si se puede" mantra in victim advocacy
Laura E. Zárate
Founding Executive Director
Arte Sana
As this nation’s Hispanic/Latin@ population grows, so does the need to foster cooperative working relationships between diverse groups and communities. Although territorial, cultural, and political factors can often pose insurmountable challenges, when there is a collective will there is a way to get things done. After celebrating a decade of direct and online Latina-led collaborations with groups that have created original materials in Spanish, planned conferences, and authored nationally-endorsed victim advocacy position statements, Arte Sana Founding Executive Director, Laura Zárate will share some thoughts regarding the necessary group behaviors and actions that can lead to successful ongoing collaborations.
WORKSHOPS
BREAKOUT SESSION I:
Prosecution of Child Abuse Cases in Dallas County
Carmen P. White
Chief Prosecutor-Child Abuse Division
Dallas District Attorney
Workshop Description: Audience members will learn the structure of the Dallas District Attorney's Office- Child Abuse Division. Ms. White will discuss the barriers faced trying these cases and the sizeable percentage of cases involving Latino victims. Additional barriers such as language barriers, victims fearing immigration if they report the offenses, and victims’ parents wanting to deal with it in the family instead of reporting it to the police will also be discussed.
A brief view of the justice system will be examined as it applies to child abuse cases. The presentation will be informative and easy to understand. Ms. White is a seasoned prosecutor and presenter and she can keep audience interested regarding examples of various trials prosecuted from the charges and ranges of punishment to the options that some defendants are eligible for probation. The presenter will allow questions and answer session at the end of the workshop.
So you want to use a dog in therapy?
Patricia Boyle, M.S., LPC
Clinical Director
Neighborhood Youth and Family Counseling of Richardson, Inc.
Workshop Description: The benefits of using a dog in therapy with victims of domestic violence will be discussed in this workshop. Information will be provided including reviewing the research on benefits of incorporating a dog in counseling/therapy, using
the dog to address difficult issues with the client, requirements of the dog and requirements of the human.
Working with Immigrant Crime Victims
Melissa Weaver, Attorney, Women and Children’s program
& Christine Mansour, Legal Director
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas
Workshop Description: This workshop will focus on immigration issues as they relate to men, women and children that have been victims of abuse, abandonment, neglect, trafficking and other violent crimes. The workshop will give a crash course on several visas available to immigrants, including Special Immigrant Juvenile Visa's, U-Visa's, T-Visa's, as well as various relief available under the Violence Against Women Act ("VAWA") and Asylum laws. We will explain who generally qualifies for these types of relief and how law enforcement, victim advocates, counselors and others who work with child victims can help these victims. There will also be tips on working with this special population. There will also be a focus on international trafficking, which will include tips on how to investigate possible human trafficking cases, working with human trafficking victims and how to obtain the legal and social services these victims desperately need.
BREAKOUT SESSION II:
The Nuevo Curanderismo: Folk Wisdom, Healing, and Therapy
Stella Rodriquez, LMFT
Counseling Services Director
Irving Family Advocacy Center
Workshop Description: This workshop addresses the question: “What kinds of practices comprise a culturally resonant therapy?” It explores the historical and cultural influences of Curanderismo (Latino folk healing) as a basis for a culturally resonant therapy for Latinos. The workshop lays a careful and rigorous foundation for proposing a Nuevo Curanderismo where old and new traditions of healing blend with conventional therapeutic practices. Learn why these practices and therapy, a New Curanderismo, serve as an antidote to therapeutic violence and provide ways to strengthen communities and individuals alike.
Immigration Relief under the Violence Against Women's Act:
VAWA, U-visas, and T-visas
Meghan Abigail
Staff Attorney
Catholic Charities of Dallas, Inc.
Workshop Description: Meghan will provide a synopsis of and review the eligibility and documentation requirements for three main types of relief in immigration law for which crime victims may apply: VAWA I-360 for battered spouses of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents, U-visa for victims of certain qualifying crimes, and the T-visa for human trafficking victims.
BREAKOUT SESSION III:
LGBT Latin@s Victims of Inter-personal Violence:
A Minority within A Minority
Jose Juan Lara Jr
Director of Advocacy & Training
Texas Advocacy Project
Workshop Description: In a culture celebrated for its rich traditions, close-knit families, and strong faith, being Latin@ and lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender is often unmentionable and often met with violence. While LGBT Latin@s and their heterosexual counterparts share many of the same issues LGBT Latin@s encounter additional barriers. LGBT Latin@s often encounter antigay or gender discrimination on two levels: racism and homophobia/heterosexism. Thus, categorizing LGBT Latin@s as a “twice-hidden” community renders them “invisible” limiting access to mainstream providers and vitally important services.
This workshop will focus on how media exploits the intersections of homophobia, heterosexism and racism which enhance negative stereotypes associated with being Latin@ and LGBT. Including how these portrayals increase LGBTQ Latin@s vulnerability in becoming targets for interpersonal violence as expressed through family violence, sexual assault and hate crimes, not only from the general populace, but within the Latino community and social service agencies.
Working with male survivors of sexual violence
Monica L. Urbaniak, LMFT-S
Sexual Assault Therapist
Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center
Workshop Description: will be updated soon
Child Abuse Prevention with Mothers Experiencing Domestic Violence
Jessica Slie Trudeau, MPH
Executive Director
Child Abuse Prevention Center, Inc.
Workshop Description: The co-occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment is conservatively estimated to be 65% according to the National Institute of Justice. The proposed workshop will provide an overview of this co-occurrence and the impact on children. Over the past year, our agency has developed a partnership with the Southern Methodist University School of Psychology to incorporate a child abuse prevention curriculum called Project Support. Project Support has been proven to decrease maternal distress, decrease child behavioral issues, increase positive parenting practices and decreases the incidence of child abuse in homes where domestic violence is occurring or has occurred. Project Support has been recognized at the national level by the Family Violence Prevention Fund, the authority on child abuse and intimate partner violence prevention in the United States. Through this partnership the CAP Center is now engaged in a formal research study with SMU and Dallas County Child Protective Services. We will discuss the results of Dr. McDonald’s research including the impact on Hispanic participants and benefits of academic partnership for non-profit organizations.