Sessions
9:45 AM Sessions
Legal Track: Violence Intervention Prevention: Navigating Firearm Safety & Weapons Relinquishment Orders
Kate Branagan, Caroline Charles, Lynn Kacsuta, Maddi Potter
During this panel discussion, members of the WC&S Firearm Safety team will introduce attendees to a new project geared to assist victims at risk for gun violence. Attendees will have a better understanding of Act 79 weapons relinquishment and the challenges survivors face when requesting relinquishment of firearms during the PFA process.
Application pending for CEU and CLE credit.
Community Response Track: Doula Care to Support Perinatal IPV Survivors
Dr. Maya Ragavan
Doulas are trusted by perinatal people and may be an incredibly important group of individuals to support perinatal IPV survivors. Perinatal IPV is common and can cause profound health impacts on the perinatal person and their infant. In this session, our team will describe the current literature and practices around doula support for IPV survivors, share a novel training developed in collaboration with doulas, survivors, and IPV advocates, and describe a current clinical trial focused on assessing two support services for perinatal IPV survivors.
Application pending for CEU credit.
Youth Track - Double Session A Part I: Supporting Survivors of Teen Dating Violence: Digital Abuse, Financial Abuse, and Effective Responses
Alexandra Brooks, Amy Burleson, Dr. Sarah Scott
Attendees will be able to: understand the dynamics of teen dating violence and how it differs from adult domestic violence, apply the Stages of Change theory to teen dating violence program referrals, and demonstrate their ability to respond to disclosures of teen dating violence.
Application pending for CEU credit.
Legal Track - Double Session B Part I: Criminalization of Survivors Part I: History of Judicial Intervention & Current Policies
Jenny Eubanks, Bridgette Schossow Reinsmith
The first session will introduce mandatory arrest laws, primary and secondary aggressor considerations, as well as an introduction to how reactive abuse plays a role in the arrest of those actively being victimized by their abuser.
Application pending for CEU credit.
11:00 AM Sessions
Legal Track: Intersection of DV & Immigration in the Current Political Climate
Sarah Moran
Provide policy updates, case law updates, and current challenges of representing DV survivors where the survivor and/or abuser is not a US citizen. This will include a review of DHS policy and practice, case law updates from federal circuit courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, and a focus on local happenings with ICE and USCIS.
Application pending for CLE credit.
Community Response Track: Firearms: A Lethal Bridge. Understanding the Intersections of IPV & Community Violence to Inform Effective Intervention
Ashley Woolheater
Presentation will consist of data/statistics specific to Allegheny County. Taking a big‑picture view reveals shared dynamics: impulsiveness vs. intentionality, patterns of behavior, and power and control beliefs that may not be cleanly divided across the three categories.
All violence has multilayered causes and common root factors; multifaceted problems require multifaceted interventions.
Application pending for CEU credit.
Youth Track - Double Session A Part II: Supporting Survivors of Teen Dating Violence: Digital Abuse, Financial Abuse, and Effective Responses
Alexandra Brooks, Amy Burleson, Dr. Sarah Scott
You will learn about teen economic abuse (TEA), one form of adolescent relationship abuse, occurring when an adolescent's intimate partner limits pathways to financial freedom and employment or educational opportunities to maintain power and control.
Application pending for CEU credit.
Legal Track - Double Session B Part II: Criminalization of Survivors Part 2: Understanding Consequences and Barriers to Safety
Jenny Eubanks, Bridgette Schossow Reinsmith
The second session will focus on the safety concerns and barriers for survivors arising from IPV criminalization. Specifically, this session will look at reactive abuse and self-defense, as well as the weaponization of systems to perpetuate violence. Further, implications on long term safety, stability, and policy recommendations will be discussed.
Application pending for CEU credit.
1:45 PM Sessions
Legal Track: Victim or Perpetrator? Courtroom and Custody Considerations
Beth H. Boroumand, Andrea Groh
This presentation will explain Juvenile Dependency law and court process and provide an explanation of how IPV is often cast as parental neglect ("failure to protect") or even abuse in the dependency context, including a quick compare/contrast of Adult Family Court (PFA) and Juvenile Court (Dependency) - how the same facts produce different "labels" and different results; "failure to protect" as a systems problem, not a survivor problem; and, what IPV advocates should know when child welfare is involved.
We will also present the emerging issues surrounding Kayden's law - specifically, we will address the definition of "abuse" for Kayden's law, how to determine if behavior falls within the legal definition of abuse for Kayden's Law, and how to present that to the Court.
Application pending for CLE credit.
Community Response Track: Stalking: What Is It, Why Does it Matter, and What Can We Do About It, and Supporting Survivors on Campus
Carrie Benson, Willa Campbell, Jamie Edwards-Pasek
Attendees will be able to identify behaviors and patterns that may constitute stalking and how stalking is defined under PA law. We will also provide describe stalking response strategies. This presentation will provide tools for building supportive programs on your campus or within your institution by working in collaboration with internal and community partners.
Specifically, we will provide an overview of the University of Pittsburgh’s Survivor Support Network, a community of trauma-informed faculty and staff who are trained to support survivors of sexual misconduct, as well as other programs, such as our resource locker, developed to support community members impacted by intimate partner and sexual violence.
Application pending for CEU credit.
Youth Track: Children Living with DV: Understanding Trauma Behavior & Healing
Kimberly Fox, Allison Terpstra
This presentation will explore the impact of domestic violence on children and adolescents, including the emotional, behavioral, social, and academic effects of trauma exposure. Participants will learn to recognize common warning signs and trauma responses in children who may be experiencing violence in the home, while gaining a deeper understanding of how domestic violence can affect brain development, emotional regulation, relationships, and classroom behavior. The presentation also introduces the role of trauma-informed interventions, specifically art therapy/story telling through expressive arts, as supportive tools that help children safely process emotions, build resilience, develop emotional vocabulary, and strengthen healthy coping skills.
Application pending for CEU credit.
Community Response Track - Double Session C Part I: Bridging Clinic and Community: Innovative Responses to IPV and Survivor Support
Reg Futcher, Dr. Karen Jakubowski, Dr. Maya Ragavan, Dr. Sarah Scott
A joint presentation covering the following topics: Part I: Developing novel caregiver-adolescent dating violence prevention program and co-designing a training to improve healthcare for TGD students with a focus on survivor-centered and harm reduction approaches.
Application pending for CEU credit.
3:00 PM Sessions
Legal Track: Strengthening the Front Lines: Collaborative Models Between DV Centers, Courts, & Law Enforcement to Safeguard Officers, Victims, & the Community
Richard A. Goldinger, Kenneth R. Harris, Jr., Sheriff Michael T. Slupe, Tracy Veri
Domestic violence incidents remain a leading threat to the safety of victims, law enforcement officers, and communities. We will explore public-safety-focused collaboration between domestic violence centers, courts, and law enforcement to reduce lethality, improve outcomes, and enhance officer safety. Participants will learn how agency coordination can prevent escalation and support survivors, law-enforcement officers, and the community.
Application pending for CLE credit.
Community Response Track: Corporate Allies: Amplifying Survivor Support Thru Start Anew Clinic
Amy Groff, Anne Jiang, Hannah Kail
Describing the Start Anew Project and the Pittsburgh Clinic as an example of how corporate partners can support survivors through direct community engagement. A national (and soon to be international) initiative, the Start Anew Project holds one-day clinics offering services designed to promote financial and job stability in order to empower survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, or sexual abuse to achieve independence and security. We will explain how we identified the core services, our outreach process to identify Clinic partners, and our final schedule and layout for the Clinic. The goal of this session is to provide a concrete example of corporate involvement to encourage the audience to think creatively about ways in which they can leverage their professional skills and network to support survivors.
Application pending for CEU credit.
Youth Track: The Manosphere: The Cause, The Impact, The Fix
Bernie Colbert, Nicole Molinaro, Karen Sellers
We will explain the Manosphere to show it's not an isolated case or one ideology, but a repackaging or rebranding of toxic themes that just might surprise you. We will explore the conditions that have created this environment and just how far the tentacles reach, including the connection to domestic violence. The panel will pose the question "What is missing from the conversation?" and provide insight as to how we might shift gears to tackle the growing problem.
Community Response Track - Double Session C Part II: Bridging Clinic and Community: Innovative Responses to IPV and Survivor Support
Reg Futcher, Dr. Karen Jakubowski, Dr. Maya Ragavan, Dr. Sarah Scott
Part II of this presentation includes promoting clinic, domestic violence program, and provider practice change to support survivors of intimate partner violence with a quality assessment/quality improvement tool, and, “Sleeping With One Eye Open”: A Qualitative Investigation of Sleep Coercion Among IPV Survivors, Advocates, and Practitioners.
Application pending for CEU credit.