OCCY Brings First-of-Its-Kind Professional Certification Pilot to Oklahoma
Freestanding Multidisciplinary Teams Program convenes national experts and Oklahoma professionals to pilot a first-of-its-kind professional certification focused on recognizing, assessing and evaluating child psychological maltreatment.
The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth's (OCCY) Freestanding Multidisciplinary Teams (FSMDT) Program recently brought nationally recognized experts and child-serving professionals together to pilot a first-of-its-kind professional certification that trains professionals to recognize, assess and evaluate child psychological maltreatment using standardized, research-based practices.
Held at Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City, the two-day pilot welcomed professionals representing child welfare, mental health, medicine, forensic interviewing, prosecution and multidisciplinary teams from across Oklahoma. In addition to completing the training, participants provided feedback that will help refine the certification as it expands to future audiences.
"This is the first program of its type that's actually training professionals in what is and is not child psychological maltreatment, how to treat it and how to investigate and prosecute those cases," said Brittany Gassner, program manager for OCCY's Freestanding Multidisciplinary Teams Program. "Oklahoma is very fortunate to be the one piloting this."
The certification was developed by Dr. Marla R. Brassard and Dr. Stuart N. Hart through the Association of Professionals Solving the Abuse of Children (APSAC). The program was created to provide child-serving professionals with a consistent, research-based framework for recognizing, assessing and evaluating child psychological maltreatment.
For OCCY, hosting the pilot reflects the mission of the Freestanding Multidisciplinary Teams Program, which supports collaboration among the professionals responsible for responding to child abuse throughout Oklahoma.
"We know that multidisciplinary teams work," Gassner said. "This type of training just gives them one more tool in their toolbox when they're looking at cases of child maltreatment."
Because Oklahoma served as the pilot state, participant feedback will help inform future iterations of the certification before it is offered more broadly.
"Working with Dr. Hart and Dr. Brassard, we are able to help craft what this is going to look like on a national level, which is an amazing opportunity," Gassner said.
As the certification continues to evolve, OCCY plans to provide additional opportunities for Oklahoma's child-serving professionals to participate in future training.
Watch the Video
Go behind the scenes as nationally recognized experts and Oklahoma professionals come together for this first-of-its-kind pilot. Hear directly from the certification's creators, program leaders and participants about why this training matters and how Oklahoma is helping inform its future.