Record Year Achieved as Training Season Concludes for Commission's Multidisciplinary Teams

Oklahoma City, OK (August 10, 2021) – Utilizing grant funds from the Children’s Justice Act (CJA), the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth (OCCY) facilitated more than 164 hours of training about child abuse and neglect to 5,396 participants during the 2021 state fiscal year.

Per the CJA grant guidance, funds dispersed by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services are to be used “…to improve the investigation, prosecution and judicial handling of cases of child abuse and neglect, particularly child sexual abuse and exploitation, in a manner that limits additional trauma to the child victim.” The trainings offered by OCCY focused on four focus areas: the multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach, conducting legally sound and age-appropriate interviews, effective investigation techniques, and joint investigations.

“The training provided by our Freestanding Multidisciplinary Teams Program assisted those who investigate child and neglect cases in performing at their very best,” said Annette Wisk Jacobi, OCCY Executive Director. "Professionals at these training sessions received the latest best practices from highly respected trainers in the investigative field."

Throughout the year, OCCY sought to increase the communication, collaboration, and knowledge base of MDT members through professional development training. Of the 92 training sessions offered, OCCY achieved this effort by offering noteworthy training topics such as:

• The Physical Effects of Child Abuse by Christopher Greeley, MD (Head of Public Health and Child Abuse Pediatrics, Texas Children’s Hospital; Vice Chair for Community Health, Baylor College of Medicine)
• Child Abuse Medical Examiner Training (Co-sponsored with Haruv USA at OU Tulsa, Integris, and OU Health Physicians) • Indian Country Basics: Child Maltreatment and Federal Response in Indian County (Co-sponsored with the FBI, US Department of Justice, and US Attorney’s Office Northern District of Oklahoma; and in partnership with the Native American Children’s Alliance and Children’s Advocacy Centers of Oklahoma)
• Child Sexual Abuse: How Offenders Groom Victims and Caregivers by Andi Hamilton (Special Agent, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation)
• Assessing Child Maltreatment in Multicultural Populations by Walter Lambert, MD (Medical Director, University of Miami Child Protection Team)

“The popularity and impact of OCCY's training sessions has been fantastic,” said Jimmy Widdifield, Jr, Program Manager for the OCCY Freestanding Multidisciplinary Teams. “OCCY is excited to continue to seek out and provide high quality trainings that enhance professional response to cases of child abuse and neglect throughout Oklahoma.”

All of OCCY’s trainings offered for the past year were online due to the global pandemic. This allowed for record attendance, positive feedback, and high ‘knowledge gained’ ratings from post-event survey respondents.

About MDTs: Multidisciplinary teams consist of professionals from state prosecution, law enforcement, child protection services, medical, mental health, and team coordination or Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) staff. Freestanding MDTs are not affiliated with a CAC for accreditation purposes.