Registration Information
REGISTRATION FOR THESE SESSIONS CLOSES OCTOBER 3, 2008.

You may register for a Pre-Conference Skill-Building Session only (Sunday), or for the course and the COVA Conference (Monday-Wednesday).  Please refer to the registration form instructions for more information, or the registration form for the appropriate registration fee, which includes lunch on Sunday for Skill-Building Attendees.  Class sizes are limited; registrations will be accepted on a first-received basis.  The registration deadline is October 3, 2008.

Registrants for these sessions must commit to attend the session that they pre-register for.  Registration cannot be switched from one session to another after October 3, 2008. 

In this course, highlights of crisis intervention theory are reviewed, including NOVA's model for intervention with traumatized people. The course addresses practical application of disaster planning, crisis intervention with large groups, and dealing with special issues. The goals are to understand key elements of crisis intervention theory, to practice group crisis intervention using the NOVA model, and to understand unique issues of trauma.

Topics include:
Updates on the NOVA crisis response team model;
Diagramming a disaster;

Organizing crisis response teams;
Elements of 3-hour educational training; and,
Crisis intervention and group crisis intervention review.

Trainer:
Barbara Kendall, Boulder, CO
Barb Kendall is a certified NOVA trainer and consultant who trains on crisis response throughout the United States. She is a past president of both the National Organization for Victim Assistance, and the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance.

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Attorneys for crime victims? A third table in the courtroom? Case law for victim rights? You've heard the rumors...this session is your opportunity to separate fact from fiction. Join us to learn about and discuss a dynamic emerging area of litigation: Crime Victim Rights. Discover how this movement is taking deeper root in Colorado with the Colorado Crime Victims Legal Clinic.

The history of the victim rights movement, as well as current developments in victim rights will be discussed, along with the victim rights litigation movement, the national strategy to strengthen crime victim rights, and the legal clinics across the country litigating victim rights cases. Noteworthy federal and state victim rights cases from the past years and the impact of those cases will be highlighted. Also discussed will be the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance, Crime Victims Legal Clinic, which will be opening its doors in 2009.

Trainers:
Meghan Saleebey, COVA's Crime Victims Legal Clinic Director and Victim Rights Act Specialist at the Division of Criminal Justice, Denver, CO

In January of 2008, Ms. Saleebey accepted the position of Clinic director of the Colorado Crime Victims Legal Clinic, which (beginning in 2009) will provide pro bono legal representation to victims of crime seeking to enforce their state and federal crime victim rights. In addition to her position at COVA, Ms. Saleebey is the VRA Specialist at the Division of Criminal Justice, Office for Victims Programs, receiving and assessing complaints from victims of crime who feel that their rights, as enumerated in the VRA, have been violated.

Meg Garvin, Director of Programs, National Crime Victim Law Institute, Portland, OR

Ms. Garvin is the Director of Programs for the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI), providing programmatic oversight for all aspects of NCVLI. As part of the attorney team, Ms. Garvin participates in NCVLI's impact litigation through writing of amicus curiae briefs for state and federal courts nationwide, and provides legal technical assistance to attorneys representing crime victims nationwide. Ms. Garvin has presented on victims' rights at over 30 conferences nationwide, regularly participates in national forums to develop policy on victims' rights, and has testified before Congress on the current state of federal victim law.

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This Finding Inner Resiliency for Secondary Trauma (F.I.R.S.T.) workshop will provide law enforcement officers, and others in the field, support and tools to help manage their responses to the difficulties of their work. Exercises will help participants understand their own responses to trauma, the role they play in contributing to secondary trauma responses, and the other factors in their lives that may contribute to traumatic reactions, including workplace and other stresses.

Participants will learn about and develop their own specific and personalized tools to begin to use to mitigate their trauma in the context of their work. The experience will be interactive, and includes a wide range of exercises to cater to a variety of learning styles.

The goal of this intensive training experience is to help law enforcement officers, and others, feel revitalized, refocused, and ready to continue their amazing work.

Key areas focused on are:
Creating valuable stress management techniques;
Understanding the basis for trauma responses and the way those responses impact your professional and personal life;
Uncovering what inspires you to do your work and how that relates to your own resiliency to secondary trauma;
Learning how to set realistic boundaries while continuing to fully engage in your work;
Understanding how to receive greater job satisfaction; and,
Reviving your passion for your work.

Trainer:
Libbi Palmer, Psy.D., HealthBridge Alliance, Denver, CO

Libbi Palmer has worked with victims of trauma since 1989. After working a short time as a victim advocate volunteer, she began a 15-year career as a law enforcement officer specializing in the investigation and coordination of crimes against children and major cases. She is currently a trainer for the HealthBridge Alliance, providing training about secondary trauma to a variety of helping professionals, including law enforcement and victim advocates.

Ms. Palmer has worked in the mental health field as a school counselor, outpatient therapist, program manager, and is currently a clinical director at the Community Reach Center, the community mental health center serving Adams County. She also has a private practice specializing in mental health treatment for victims of crime and the professionals who help them. She is an adjunct professor with the University of Northern Colorado and brings attention to secondary trauma issues to students training to be counselors.

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This comprehensive workshop, designed primarily for victim advocates but relevant for anyone working with sexual assault victims, will include:
A comprehensive overview of the legal, medical, and psychological issues related to sexual assault;
Recognizing and treating sexual assault within an intimate partner relationship;
Special considerations in working with survivors from marginalized groups (e.g., the elderly, LGBTQ, people of color);
A counseling model for treating sexual assault survivors; and,
A case review that will track a case from beginning to end, and will include legal issues, issues of mandated reporting and confidentiality, and treatment considerations.

Trainers:
Janine D'Anniballe, Ph.D., Executive Director, Moving to End Sexual Assault, Boulder, CO

Ms. D'Anniballe received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Tennessee and has specialized in the area of sexual abuse and trauma since 1994. Over the past fourteen years, Dr. D'Anniballe has presented on sexual assault issues at regional and national conferences, including the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. As a licensed psychologist, Dr. D'Anniballe has a private practice in Boulder with an emphasis on the treatment of psychological trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She testifies as an expert witness in sexual assault cases throughout the state of Colorado.

Marti Hopper, Ph.D., Prevention Education Director, Moving to End Sexual Assault, Boulder, CO

Ms. Hopper holds a doctorate degree in clinical psychology and has over 30 years of experience designing and delivering educational presentations. She joined MESA eight years ago and oversees their prevention education program. Prior to joining MESA, Marti worked in the private industry where she provide management consultation and training.

Catalina Lema, M.A., Client Services Coordinator, Moving to End Sexual Assault, Boulder, CO

Ms. Lema holds a master's degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Catalina is for providing direct services to MESA's clients, conducting outreach to the Latino community, and supervising the Spanish language hotline. She volunteered on MESA's hotline for two years before becoming a staff member. Catalina has a business degree from Unversidad de los Andes in Botota' Columbia.

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The single most critical skill that any investigator must have is the ability to interview and interrogate effectively. This course will cover the elements of proper interview and interrogation techniques in order to assist the participants in their own future investigations.

The course will cover where and how to interview, what approaches work best, understanding the dynamics of the crime and how that relates to the technique the investigator will choose with the subject, and what constitutes a successful interview or interrogation.

This course will include lecture, both audio and visual examples, practical experience, and demonstration with class participation. This course is a must for any law enforcement officer, social worker, victim advocate, or person who has a need to extract information from interviews.

Trainers:
Matthew Murray, Homicide Unit Supervisor, Denver Police Department, Denver, CO

Sergeant Matthew Murray graduated from the University of Phoenix, with a B.S. in Business Management. He is a 17-year veteran of the Denver Police Department, and has worked in Patrol, Investigations (including domestic violence and homicide investigations) and in special projects. Sergeant Murray is a court recognized expert in bloodstain pattern analysis and crime scene reconstruction and has assisted in over 150 homicide and police shooting investigations. He is currently assigned as a detective supervisor in the homicide unit. He trains throughout the United States on investigations (stalking, homicide, and domestic violence), the use of volunteers in police service, and surrounding prisoner re-entry for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Jonathyn Priest, Commander of Major Crimes Section, Denver Police Department, Denver, CO

Lieutenant Jonathyn W. Priest is the Commander of the Major Crimes Section of the Denver Police Department. This section incorporates the investigative talents of the Homicide and Cold Case Units as well as the Sex Crimes and Night Shift Units to address complex investigations occurring in the city and county of Denver. Twenty-four of Lieutenant Priest's twenty-eight year career are in investigations, with twenty-two of them related to major crimes. Lt. Priest is a court recognized expert in the fields of bloodstain pattern analysis, crime scene reconstruction and major case investigation. He authored the investigative protocol for Denver's Cold Case Unit and worked with the Victim Assistance Unit in producing an Operations Manual for cold case investigators.