Oklahoma Advisory Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect awards OCCY CJA Grant

The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth (OCCY) was awarded $61,580.00 by the Oklahoma Advisory Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect.  The funds are a grant from the Children’s Justice Act (CJA).

The Freestanding Multidisciplinary Teams (FSMDT) program at OCCY uses CJA grant money to provide training opportunities for a wide range of professionals in the child welfare, law enforcement, medical, legal, and mental health fields.

Highlights include two weeklong ChildFirst® forensic interview training seminars and a two-day advanced forensic interview training seminar administered by nationally approved ChildFirst® Oklahoma trainers. In accordance with CJA grant guidelines, OCCY will provide a minimum of 16 training events throughout Oklahoma.  Training topics will vary.  

"Being able to provide these training opportunities is an honor," said Brittany Gassner, OCCY FSMDT Program Manager. "Education and prevention efforts help strengthen our communities and the safety of Oklahoma's youth and children".

All training seminars are free and can provide continuing education hours for specific disciplines. The training seminars offered for this grant cycle are scheduled between July 2023 and June 2024.

About the Children’s Justice Act:

"The Children's Justice Act is a federally funded program that helps states develop, establish, and operate programs to improve the investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases, particularly cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation, and to improve the handling of cases of suspected child abuse or neglect fatalities". – Child Welfare Information Gateway, Children’s Bureau