NYSCADV Basic Training Series: Principles For Practice, Principles For Change - Central Region 

NYSCADV & Central Regional Representative Tammy Van Epps from Liberty Resources present 3 days of basic training for domestic violence advocates. 

Setember 18th - The Criminal & Civil Justice System's Response to IPV, DV and SA

November 12th* - Returning to Our Roots

November 13th* - The Role of the Advocate

*Please note that November 12th & November 13th must be attended together. Please review the descriptions below for dates, times, and registration criteria. Registration links are at the bottom of this page.

The criminal and civil justice systems are widely used in response to domestic violence making it critical for all advocates to have a basic understanding of each facet of these systems. This full day training will provide advocates with the basic information needed regarding the police response, the criminal court process, and the family court order of protection process. Special attention will be paid to offender accountability through discussing the elements of mandatory arrest, primary physical aggressor determination and the utilization of Domestic Incident Reports. In addition, we will highlight recent legislative changes.  The concept of survivor-centered, trauma-informed advocacy will be incorporated throughout the training, and strategies for assisting victims in navigating this system will be highlighted.

The training agenda includes:

• The Foundations necessary to understand the “recurring” factors of the legal system such as concurrent jurisdiction, family offenses, the definition of “members of the same family or household,” and orders of protection.
• The Frameworks of the legal system – the police response, including mandatory arrest and primary physical aggressor; the criminal court process which includes assessment of what victims can expect if their abuser has been arrested; and the family court process which focuses on the process for obtaining a family court order of protection.

 

Principles For Practice, Principles For Social Change: Returning To Our Roots

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM     

NYSCADV works to create and support the social change necessary to prevent and confront all forms of domestic violence.  Our vision of the future is that the collective voice of survivors and advocates as expressed through the Coalition will strengthen public and private response and prioritize domestic violence as a human rights issue.  This training brings us back to our roots as a social justice movement through reviewing the herstory of the Domestic Violence Movement, analyzing an anti-oppression framework, and understanding how culture impacts us as individuals and communities. It then inspires us to be the social justice change agents that prevent domestic violence before it even starts.

 The training agenda covers:

• Herstory of domestic violence, which provides snapshots from a tradition of violence against intimate partners and the history of resistance against it, while looking at similar human and civil rights moments over time.  This also includes a brief overview of the domestic violence movement to provide context for the work that advocates do today.
• Intersections of Oppression, designed to help participants understand that the work to address domestic violence exists in a larger framework of anti-oppression efforts to promote justice, equality, and safety for all people. 
• Challenging & Building Cultural Competence, designed to help participants understand how culture shapes and impacts services, integrate elements of anti-oppression principles, and explore ways we can build both individual and organizational competence to provide culturally relevant services to people who are victimized. 
• Creating Social Change through Prevention requires identifying the root causes of domestic violence and the attitudes, behaviors, and norms that support domestic violence. Participants will explore the utility of applying a public health model to the prevention of domestic violence. 

 

Principles For Practice, Principles For Social Change: The Role Of The Advocate

Thursday, November 13, 2014

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

The Domestic Violence Movement has seen tremendous growth and change in the services designed to support the safety of victims and hold offenders accountable. Amid the maze of reports and paperwork, advocates are challenged with how to maintain the core, survivor-centered, trauma-informed philosophies and practices in which this movement is rooted. Over the years, multiple forces have strained our survivor-centered view of those in need of domestic violence services.  These practices have developed under the pressure of expectations and assumptions from system partners, funders, and community stakeholders regarding the role of “the advocates,” creating organizational pressures that result in domestic violence services that are “service driven” rather than trauma-informed and survivor-centered.  Drawing upon the collective experiences of victims of intimate partner domestic and sexual violence, this training provides a practical, principled framework for ensuring that the safety and concerns of victims of intimate partner domestic and sexual violence are placed first. 

This training agenda includes:

• Nature & Dynamics of Domestic Violence, designed to expand on our basic understanding of domestic violence.  This section focuses on identifying the context in which tactics used by abusers establish and maintain coercive control over their partners and the variety of consequences that may be experienced. 
• Understanding Trauma from the Perspective of Domestic Violence Advocates provides the participants with a basic understanding of what trauma is, its impact on survivors and on ourselves as advocates, and the role that advocates play in helping people recover from trauma.
• The Role of the Advocate will help participants understand their advocacy work within the larger context of state mandated services and help strategize ways to help advocates maintain their focus on survivor-centered, trauma-informed advocacy.
• Practicing Confidentiality – is critical not only because it is a principle of our work but also because it is required by law.  This presentation will help participants understand the role of advocacy in terms of collecting and keeping information.  Best practices regarding record-keeping, data collection, information sharing, and co-location will be shared.

Staff and volunteers from NYSCADV Member Programs in Good Standing are provided priority for registration. Registration will then be prioritized in the following order:

• Staff and volunteers from the NYSCADV region that is hosting the training
• Staff and volunteers from other NYSCADV regions

This training is free of charge but all attendees are responsible for their own transportation, lodging and meals.

Register For September 18:

The Legal System

 

Register For November 12 & 13:

Principles for Practice,

Principles for Social Change