Expert Q&A;
You have questions. We have answers.
Here's what's coming up in our Expert Q&A series.
Topic: Housing, Addiction, and Human Trafficking
Date: January 29, 2019; 2:00–3:00 p.m. e.t.
Description: Finding adequate and appropriate emergency, transitional, and long-term housing for victims of human trafficking is often the biggest service-related challenge that service providers face. In order to meet the diverse needs of trafficking victims, service providers should explore a variety of options, considering specific safety and level of care needs of each victim. This session will discuss the intersection between housing, substance use, and addiction, and will explore the impact of the opioid crisis on the already limited appropriate and available housing supply for victims of trafficking.
Note: This session will be recorded and posted on the Past Sessions tab when available.
Deepa Patel, CSTOP, LCSW, is the executive director and co-founder of Trauma and Hope in Springfield, Virginia, which focuses on victims of violence, sexual exploitation, gang prevention and intervention, and sex offender evaluations and treatment. As a clinician, she developed an expertise in treating non-voluntary clients, specifically juvenile and adult gang members and sex offenders. For more than a decade, Ms. Patel has developed a proficient style of working with adolescents who are gang-involved. Through her understanding and clinical devotion to her clients, she widened her competency to develop an Outpatient and Inpatient Sex Trafficking Training Treatment Curriculum that is implemented in her own agency and within numerous outpatient, inpatient, and human trafficking task force programs. Ms. Patel has a unique ability to successfully relate to and treat her clients.
| Ms. Patel is requested to provide training and education regarding gang-involved youth, sexual exploitation, and sex offenders nationally and internationally. For her passion and expertise in outpatient therapeutic programs with gangs and gang-controlled sexual exploitation victims, she received the Virginia National Association of Social Workers’ 2017 Social Worker of the Year Award, 2012 Frederick Milton Thrasher Award for Superior Service in Gang Prevention, 2016 Frederick Milton Thrasher Award, and Spirit of Excellence Award from the National Gang Crime Research Center. In 2013, she was selected for the Central American Community Impact Exchange—a White House and FBI initiative, and shared her success in treating gang-involved youth, victims of sex trafficking, and sex offenders with the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence Against Children in Holland. She is a member of the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force and a member of the Loudoun County Improving Children’s Outcomes for Positive Endings Project. Ms. Patel is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider, and a Gang Specialist through the National Gang Crime Research Center. |
Karen Romero is the director of the Freedom Network Training Institute (FNTI). FNTI develops and delivers high quality training and technical assistance to human trafficking programs on access to housing for human trafficking survivors. Ms. Romero joined Freedom Network USA with a history in direct service provision and program management in the areas of human rights, including violence against women and immigrant rights. Ms. Romero is a native Spanish speaker who worked with survivors of sexual assault as a bilingual therapist at Utah’s Rape Crisis Center. She went on to direct the Women in Jeopardy Program at the YWCA, a residential program for victims of domestic violence, and later served as the social services director for Ayuda in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area. Most recently, Ms. Romero worked at Polaris on the strategic initiative to address the sex trafficking of women and girls from Latin America. She received her master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Utah.Topic: Serving Victims of Teen Dating Violence
Date: February 20, 2019; 2:00–3:00 p.m. e.t.
Description: Teenagers are impressionable and influenced by the world around them, which in turn can impact the way they view relationships and what they believe is or is not abusive behavior. This session will identify warning signs of teen relationship abuse and explore the effect relationship abuse has on teens.
Note: This session will be recorded and posted on the Past Sessions tab when available.
Connie J. Kirkland, M.A., N.C.C., has more than 35 years of experience in crime victim advocacy, as a college instructor, and as a criminal justice researcher and trainer. She is the director of the NOVACares Office at Northern Virginia Community College, where she chairs the Threat Assessment Team, coordinates behavioral intervention and support services for the college, and manages the college Sexual Assault Services program. Previously, she was the director of sexual assault services at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where she provided education and intervention services for victims of campus sexual assault, stalking, and dating/domestic violence for 20 years. In 2014, Ms. Kirkland spoke with members of the White House Campus Sexual Assault Task Force, presented keynotes addressing Title IX issues at both the Stetson Law School National Conference on Law and Higher Education and the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services Campus Crime Summit.
| She was a contributing author for the 2014 NCAA guide Addressing Sexual Assault and Interpersonal Violence. She presented on the topics of victim support and campus culture at several Magna-sponsored Title IX Compliance Institutes from 2014 to 2016. In 2016, she created Ten Ways to Distinguish Consent, published by the National Center for Student Life and used in the Magna Title IX Compliance Institutes. She hosted a U.S. Department of Justice-sponsored web forum on campus stalking and co-hosted two national webinars regarding the Final Regulations to Campus SaVE. In 2013, Ms. Kirkland spoke to several Congressional offices on Capitol Hill on behalf of the proposed VAWA Reauthorization Act, including the Campus SaVE Act, which added dating violence and stalking as reportable Clery Act crimes and was enacted in March 2013. She has created innovative programs and policies regarding a victim-centered response to stalking and sexual assault. Ms. Kirkland is a certified trauma specialist, a nationally certified counselor, and a law enforcement instructor. |
David R. Thomas is a program manager at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), focusing on projects including the National Law Enforcement Leadership Initiative on Violence Against Women, and three OVC-funded demonstration initiatives, Identifying and Preventing Gender Bias in Law Enforcement Response to Victims; Integrity, Action, and Justice: Strengthening Law Enforcement Response to Domestic and Sexual Violence; and Law Enforcement and the Communities They Serve: Supporting Collective Healing in the Wake of Harm.Mr. Thomas retired from the Montgomery County (Maryland) Police Department in 2000. While there, he taught at the Police Training Academy, served on the S.W.A.T. team, was a hostage negotiator, and was an original member of the Domestic Violence Unit. He developed the curriculum for the department’s domestic violence training and the policy on domestic violence-related issues.
| He received the silver medal of valor, the bronze medal of valor, policeman of the year, and the Women’s Alliance of MD Domestic Violence Advocacy Award, among others. He then served as an advisor to the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention Victim Services Unit as a domestic violence specialist. In 2002, he joined the Johns Hopkins University Division of Public Safety Leadership as the program administrator for domestic violence education, and taught courses related to violence against women crimes. Mr. Thomas worked with community and international stakeholders to deliver training and technical assistance on violence against women. He was honored by the White House as a 2012 Champion of Change and a 2013 public delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women meetings. Prior to joining IACP, Mr. Thomas served as senior advisor, Highly Qualified Expert Law Enforcement, to the U.S. Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. Mr. Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree from Towson University, a master’s degree from the University of Maryland, and a Certificate in Advanced Trauma Treatment from the Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy Training and Education. |
Expert Q&A Recordings
Each month the Nation's experts answer your questions about best practices in victim services. If you missed a past session, find the recording below.
| Topic | Date | Length | Training Materials |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Effective Telenursing Response to Sexual Assault
|
November 14, 2018 | 1 hour | Listen/View Webinar View PowerPoint (PDF, 1.26 MB) |
| Summary: In this session targeted toward Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, participants will learn about some of the advantages to telenursing, as well as some of the potential obstacles, such as cross-state licensure, credentialing for nurses responding to a hospital where they are not employees, provision of medications, and maintenance of medical records. Collaboration with hospital medical and nursing staff is key to an effective telenursing response. | |||
| Host Biographies: Susan Chasson, M.S.N., J.D., SANE–A, is a family nurse practitioner and certified nurse midwife at the Merrill Gappmayer Family Medicine Clinic and the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) coordinator for the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault. As the statewide SANE coordinator, she provides education and assistance to health care providers and other professionals to improve the immediate response to victims of sexual violence. As a volunteer, Ms. Chasson has worked on projects to reduce sexual violence, including developing primary sexual violence prevention strategies for nurses and helping to draft an amicus brief to the Maine Supreme Court to maintain immunity for reporters of child abuse. Dr. Sheridan Miyamoto is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing and a faculty member of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network at Penn State University. Dr. Miyamoto received her Ph.D. in Nursing Science and Health Care Leadership from the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis. Her clinical work as a nurse practitioner at the UC Davis Child and Adolescent Abuse Resource and Evaluation Center focused on providing health and forensic services to children in Northern California. She supported six rural sites through live telehealth sexual assault consultations, allowing children to receive quality care within their own community. |
|||
|
Batterer Intervention Programs and Victim Safety
|
October 24, 2018 | 1 hour | Listen/View Webinar View PowerPoint (PDF, 699 KB) |
| Summary: Batterer Intervention Programs (BIP) provide an opportunity for program participants to be accountable for their abusive behavior. One key aspect of BIPs is the outreach they provide to partners of abusers for the purposes of making referrals to victim advocacy programs and safety planning. Various outcome studies show that BIPs often provide empowerment for victims by validating their experience and reinforcing that they are not responsible for the abusive behavior. This session will describe model practices for BIP outreach to victims as well as collaboration with victim advocacy programs. | |||
| Host Biographies: Dr. David Adams, Ed.D., is the co-founder and co-director of Emerge, the first counseling program in the Nation for men who abuse women, established in 1977. Dr. Adams has led groups for men who batter, and conducted outreach to victims of abuse, for 40 years. He has led parenting education classes for fathers for 20 years. He is one of the Nation's leading experts on men who batter and has conducted trainings for social service and criminal justice professionals in 46 states and 21 nations. He has published numerous articles and book chapters, and he writes a popular blog on The Huffington Post. Dr. Adams is a commissioner on the Massachusetts Governor’s Council on Sexual and Domestic Violence and director of the National Domestic Violence Risk Assessment and Management Training Project. His book, Why Do They Kill? Men Who Murder Their Intimate Partners, was published by Vanderbilt University Press in 2007. Dr. Adams is an experienced expert witness in family and criminal court cases involving allegations of domestic violence. Gabriela (Gaby) Núñez-Santiago, M.A., is a bilingual/bicultural mental health counselor and expressive arts therapist. She completed her undergraduate education at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez and her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Expressive Arts Therapy at Lesley University in Massachusetts. Through her clinical internships at Casa Myrna Vazquez and at Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Program, she began to work in service survivors of domestic and sexual violence, with a focus on Latinx communities. She has worked at Emerge as an Abuser Education Counselor, primarily within the “Latino Program”, and as the Partner Contact Coordinator. She is the Support Group Coordinator at The Network/La Red, a partner abuse program specializing in serving LGBTQ, poly, and SM survivors. She also co-facilitates an ongoing support group for Spanish-speaking survivors of domestic violence at REACH Beyond Domestic Violence. Ms. Núñez-Santiago is committed to anti-violence and anti-oppression work, prioritizing the centering and uplifting of those who are marginalized due to their intersecting identities. |
|||
|
Navigating the SART Toolkit
|
September 26, 2018 | 1 hour | Listen/View Webinar View PowerPoint (PDF, 457 KB) |
| Summary: Multidisciplinary Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART) are highly regarded as achieving success in communities, improving responses for victims, and increasing prosecution rates. The newly updated SART Toolkit is an online manual that supports SARTs in all aspects of their work, from building a team to responding to victims. The SART Toolkit connects teams with information on topics, resources, and access to experts. In this session, we will walk through what this resource is and how to use it. | |||
| Host Biographies: Christina Presenti joined the National Sexual Violence Resource Center as the Sexual Assault Response Team project coordinator in March 2016. Before that, Ms. Presenti provided leadership at the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, the Family Violence Prevention Specialist Program, and the New Hampshire Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program. Ms. Presenti volunteered, and later worked at her local domestic and sexual violence support center, Bridges, in Nashua, New Hampshire, where she established a transitional housing program and served as a domestic violence specialist. Both positions spurred a love and appreciation for systems work leading to clear protocols for service providers and consistent outcomes for victims. Ms. Presenti holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Global Studies from Assumption College. Karla Vierthaler is the advocacy and resource director for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. She supports the provision of technical assistance to the Nation on a wide range of sexual violence prevention and intervention topics. She has been an advocate in the movement to end sexual violence for 20 years. Ms. Vierthaler previously worked for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, where she developed training and technical assistance resources that address sexual violence in populations that are historically underserved, including adults in later life. |
|||
|
Addressing Vicarious Trauma for the Individual
|
August 22, 2018 | 1 hour | Listen/View Webinar View PowerPoint (PDF, 380 KB) View Handout (PDF, 199 KB) View Handout (PDF, 309 KB) |
| Summary: Vicarious trauma (VT) is related to secondary traumatic stress. The victim experiences primary traumatic stress, yet as a victim service provider who uses controlled empathy, you can become secondarily traumatized. By attempting to remain objective, your inner sense of who you are, and your beliefs about feeling safe and trusting others, can change. From not being able to sleep to feeling overwhelmed and not keeping boundaries, VT symptoms can hurt you. It's important to know what contributes to VT, such as professional isolation after hearing trauma-related narratives and being empathetic. | |||
| Host Biography: Barbara Rubel, M.A., B.C.E.T.S., D.A.A.E.T.S., is a nationally recognized keynote speaker and trainer on topics related to survivors of homicide victims, victim relations training, and helping victim service professionals identify their strengths to build their resilience. Ms. Rubel’s humorous and upbeat style offers a delightful composite of experience, research, and practical application that promotes self-compassion and wellness. She is the co-author of the OVC Compassion Fatigue training curriculum, author of the book But I Didn’t Say Goodbye: Helping Children and Families After a Suicide, and author of the continuing education course book Nurses, Death, Dying, and Bereavement: Providing Compassion During a Time of Need. |
|||
|
Forging Relationships Between Victim Service Providers and Academic Institutions
|
July 18, 2018 | 1 hour | Listen/View Webinar View PowerPoint (PDF, 370 KB) |
| Summary: Victim service providers and academic institutions can create mutually beneficial relationships in which subject matter expertise, learning experiences, data, and best practices are developed, exchanged, and improved upon. This session explores how to initiate relationships between these types of organizations, strengthen existing collaborations, and ensure that the working relationship is fair and productive to all parties. | |||
| Host Biography: Keisha Varnell is the Title IX coordinator at Jackson State University, where she facilitates campus-wide trainings and investigations of interpersonal violence incidents on campus. Ms. Varnell has been working in the field of interpersonal violence for more than 13 years, and she facilitates speaking engagements and training sessions on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, diversity, and LGBTQ issues. She serves as chair of the University S.M.A.R.T. (Sexual Misconduct/Assault Response Team), which is charged by the University to develop campus-wide sexual assault and interpersonal violence policies, trainings, and programs. Ms. Varnell is a member of the VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) Campus Consortium through the Institutions of Higher Learning in Mississippi. Ms. Varnell serves on a Community Task Force through the FBI that focuses on special victim crimes such as sexual assault and human trafficking. Prior to her work in higher education, Ms. Varnell was the state training coordinator for the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence for 7 years, and she chaired a statewide campus task force. She received a master’s degree in Public Health-Health Education and Promotion and is certified as an Interpersonal Violence Prevention Education Specialist. |
|||
|
Technology, Social Media, and Victim Safety
|
June 20, 2018 | 1 hour | Listen/View Webinar View PowerPoint (PDF, 770 KB) Read Q&A (PDF, 209 KB) |
| Summary: Social media and technology can be powerful tools to connect with and assist crime victims, but they can also be tools used against victims and survivors. Learn ways to manage social media and technology successfully when working with victims and strategies victims can use to help increase their online safety and privacy. | |||
| Host Biography: Erica L. Olsen, M.S.W., is the project director of the Safety Net Project at the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV). Since joining NNEDV in 2007, Ms. Olsen has advocated on behalf of survivors of intimate partner violence by educating victim service providers, policymakers, and technology companies on the issues of technology abuse, privacy, and victim safety. She has provided more than 185 trainings to more than 10,000 technologists, attorneys, law enforcement members, victim advocates, and other practitioners in the United States and internationally. Through the Safety Net Project, Ms. Olsen works with private industry, state and federal agencies, and international groups to improve safety and privacy for victims in the digital age. |
|||
|
Interjurisdictional Enforcement of Protection Orders
|
May 23, 2018 | 1 hour | Listen/View Webinar View PowerPoint (PDF, 388 KB) |
| Summary: Assisting survivors of domestic violence can often involve multiple legal jurisdictions. In many cases, these survivors may also have protection orders that need to be enforced. The Full Faith and Credit (FFC) provision (18 U.S. Code § 2265) of VAWA requires that protection orders issued in one jurisdiction must be recognized and enforced in other jurisdictions, but enforcement across state, tribal, or territorial jurisdictions can sound daunting to survivors as well as service providers. The effective enforcement of protection orders across jurisdictional lines is essential to the safety of victims. This session will discuss the legal concept of FFC; what interjurisdictional enforcement may look like for survivors and abusers; and help advocates navigate some of the challenges associated with interjurisdictional enforcement of protection orders under FFC. | |||
| Host Biographies: Greg Fiebig is a consultant providing expertise on preventing school shootings and implementing safety plans for houses of worship. During his 40-year career as a law enforcement officer, supervisor, and police academy commander and instructor, he actively investigated, apprehended, and prosecuted violators and assisted the victims of the crimes. Most recently, he instructed the Criminal Justice Management bachelor’s degree program at the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Fiebig has written curricula on domestic violence and provided training for police, courts, and victim service agencies since 1982. He was instrumental in writing the departmental policy on the response to domestic disputes and domestic violence for the Hamilton County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Department. He is a retired supervisor of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department in Cincinnati. He also worked as the crime prevention officer for Xavier University, regional training director for the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services in Ohio, and police academy commander for the State of Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission. Kari Kerr, M.A., L.P.C., has worked for the Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC) in Grand Forks, North Dakota, for more than 20 years, holding a variety of positions. Currently, Ms. Kerr is the director of community innovations, overseeing major collaborative projects, including the Grand Forks County Coordinated Community Response Project and New Choices, CVIC’s 27-week offender treatment program. She also oversees the education and professional training conducted by CVIC and developed through the latest research and best practices in the areas of violence and trauma. Ms. Kerr has provided national training for the National Center for Campus Public Safety, the National Sheriff’s Association, and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and she is a frequent presenter at statewide training events in North Dakota, including as an instructor at the North Dakota Law Enforcement Academy and the North Dakota Victim Assistance Academy. Ms. Kerr’s background is in direct service with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, working as an advocate and supervisor for several years before moving into violence prevention and training work. |
|||
|
The Intersection of Stalking, Sexual Assault, and Domestic Violence
|
April 18, 2018 | 1 hour | Listen/View Webinar View PowerPoint (PDF, 344 KB) |
| Summary: Stalking is generally defined as a course of conduct (rather than a one-time act) directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person fear. This course of conduct may be a combination of overtly criminal acts and otherwise nonthreatening behaviors, all of which frequently intersect with domestic violence and/or sexual assault. In this session, providers will learn how understanding these links improves their response to victims and the provision of appropriate victim services. | |||
| Host Biography: Mark Kurkowski is a 25 year veteran of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Mr. Kurkowski has 21 years of experience investigating incidents of intimate partner violence, stalking, and sexual assault, while he was assigned to the Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART Unit), The Grants To Encourage Arrest Program, and the St. Louis Regional Domestic Violence Prevention Team. Mr. Kurkowski has nine years of experience as an investigator and supervisor on the Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad, a multijurisdictional investigative unit focused on homicide investigations. |
|||
|
Assisting Male Victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse
|
March 21, 2018 | 1 hour | Listen/View Webinar View PowerPoint (PDF, 497 KB) |
| Summary: For many boys and men, the harm of the initial betrayal of domestic violence and sexual abuse is compounded by the lack of a compassionate response from their friends, family, and community. This session will focus on holistic and trauma-informed solutions that take into account the unique challenges and sensitivities in responding to the behavioral health needs of male survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse. | |||
| Host Biography: Jim Struve has been a practicing social worker since 1976. He is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice in Salt Lake City, providing psychotherapy services to individuals, couples, and groups. With special attention to mindful presence in the healing relationship, Mr. Struve works with a wide range of client issues, specializing in trauma (including male and female survivors of sexual victimization), sexual and gender diversity, and dissociative disorders (including Dissociative Identity Disorder). Mr. Struve was a founding member of MaleSurvivor.org in 1988. He is manager of the independent Weekends of Recovery retreat program for male survivors of sexual assault. In 2010 he received the Richard Gartner Outstanding Clinical Services Award. |
|||
|
Strangulation and Intimate Partner Violence
|
February 21, 2018 | 1 hour | Listen/View Webinar View PowerPoint (PDF, 1.07 MB) |
| Summary: In this session targeted to sexual assault clinicians, providers will learn about the prevalence of strangulation associated with intimate partner violence, the physiology of strangulation, and patient care considerations. | |||
| Host Biographies: Cheryl Re, R.N., B.S.N., SANE, is the associate director of the Adult Adolescent Massachusetts Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program. She is responsible for overseeing the statewide delivery of care for adult and adolescent patients 12 years of age and older in 30 designated SANE hospitals across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She is also the co-director of the National TeleNursing Project, a pilot project funded by the National Institute of Justice and the Office for Victims of Crime that uses audio and video telemedicine technology for Massachusetts TeleSANEs to provide expert consultation to clinicians caring for sexual assault patients in underserved communities across the Nation. Lieutenant Daniel Rincon is a 26-year veteran of the Scottsdale (Arizona) Police Department, where he served as the Domestic Violence Unit supervisor for more than 5 years. Prior to his career in law enforcement, Lt. Rincon served in the United States Navy for 4 years and the Arizona Department of Corrections for 2 years. He served on the East Valley Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board (Phoenix Metropolitan Area), and currently serves as faculty for the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention at the National Family Justice Center Alliance in San Diego, California. Lt. Rincon has been a commissioner on the Arizona Governor’s Commission to Prevent Violence Against Women since 2012. |
|||
|
What You Need To Know From Survivors About Trauma-Informed Programming
|
January 24, 2018 | 1 hour | Listen/View Webinar View PowerPoint (PDF, 444 KB) Read Q&A (PDF, 211 KB) |
| Summary: Merely understanding the concept of trauma-informed programming is not enough; this understanding must be integrated effectively into all levels of programming. In this session, providers will hear from survivors and learn about effective tools and processes to help them apply trauma-informed theories to day-to-day practice. | |||
| Host Biographies: Aubrey Lloyd has 18 years of nonprofit experience working with populations affected by domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health issues, and poverty. This experience focused on delivering training; creating and maintaining community partnerships, programs, and curriculum development; and managing programs. For the past 8 years, she has designed and implemented programs for multidisciplinary teams and nongovernmental and community-based organizations using her subject matter expertise in human trafficking, trauma-informed victim assistance programming, connections between human trafficking and addiction, domestic violence and sexual assault, homelessness and runaway youth, and early childhood adverse conditions and abuse. A life-long resident of Northern Virginia, Joe Samaha graduated from Bishop Denis J. O’Connell High School and from American University in Washington, D.C. He married Mona in 1982, and the couple had three children: Omar, Randa, and their youngest, Reema. Reema, an 18-year-old freshman at Virginia Tech University, was one of 33 victims of the Virginia Tech shootings that took place on April 16, 2007. Since the Virginia Tech shootings, Mr. Samaha has been a tireless advocate on behalf of the Virginia Tech families and survivors, as well as victims of other mass shooting tragedies. He has served as president of the Virginia Tech Victims (VTV) Foundation (501c3) for 9 years. With several legislative and programmatic accomplishments related to school and higher education safety and response to victim needs, VTV CARE is the foundation’s latest effort to create an endowment that will assist victims with their financial needs for continued long-term physical and trauma-related therapy. |
|||
2017 Recordings
VIEW
2017 Recordings
CLOSE
View Expert Q&A sessions from 2017.
If you would like to access Guest Host sessions prior to January 2017, please view them on the OVC website.
Expert Q&A is a national forum designed to help victim service providers communicate with national experts and colleagues about best practices for assisting victims of crime. Each month, a new topic will be presented online, and one or more subject matter experts will be available to answer your questions on this issue.
It's easy to participate:
 |
1. Register and submit your questions in advance. |
 |
2. Log into the session at the time of the event. |
 |
3. Listen to the experts discuss your questions. |
All sessions are recorded, so you can watch them anytime at your convenience.
- What is Expert Q&A?
- How do I register and submit my questions for an Expert Q&A session?
- What are the technical requirements to participate in an Expert Q&A session?
- How do I join the session?
- I am having issues logging into the session. What should I do?
- I missed the session. Where can I find the recording?
- My question was not addressed during the session. How can I contact the host?
- How can I be alerted about future Expert Q&A sessions?
- I have an idea for a future Expert Q&A topic. How can I submit a suggestion?
What is Expert Q&A?
Expert Q&A is a national forum designed to help victim service providers communicate with national experts and colleagues about best practices for assisting victims of crime. Each month, a new topic will be presented online, and one or more subject matter experts will be available to answer your questions on this issue.
How do I register and submit my questions for an Expert Q&A session?
You can register for the next Expert Q&A session by visiting the Current Session page and selecting the "Register" button. If future sessions have been announced, you can also register for those by visiting the Upcoming Session page.
When you register for a session, you will be prompted to submit one to three questions in advance.
What are the technical requirements to participate in an Expert Q&A session?
In order to participate in the session, you should make sure that you have:
- A strong Internet connection, preferably a hardwired connection.
- The latest version of Adobe Flash Player installed.
- Computer speakers or a headset to hear the audio.
You can test your Internet connection and Flash Player on the Adobe Connect Diagnostic Test page. You should see four green checkmarks to indicate that you are ready to connect to the Adobe Connect meeting.
How do I join the session?
If you registered for the session, you should have received an email confirmation with a meeting URL. Simply click on this link at the time of the event to enter the room as a registered participant.
If you did not register for the session, you can still request to enter as a guest by going to this website. Select the option for "Enter as a Guest," type your name in the "Name" field, and click the "Enter Room" button. Please note that you may not be able to join as a guest if registration is already filled to capacity. Register in advance to secure your spot in the session.
I am having issues logging into the session. What should I do?
Check the following simple items to help resolve access issues.
- Make sure you are connected to the Internet.
- Make sure you have downloaded the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.
- Disable popup blocker software.
- Clear the browser’s cache.
- Try connecting from another computer.
- Make sure you are accessing the correct URL.
- If you registered for the event, enter the room with your registered email address.
- If you were unable to register, try entering the room as a guest.
You can test your Internet connection and Flash Player on the Adobe Connect Diagnostic Test page. You should see four green checkmarks to indicate that you are ready to connect to the Adobe Connect meeting.
If you continue to experience issues, please email ExpertQA@ovcttac.org for assistance.
I missed the session. Where can I find the recording?
Recordings of past sessions are posted on our Past Sessions page, where you can view them at any time.
My question was not addressed during the session. How can I contact the host?
If your question was not addressed during the session, please email ExpertQA@ovcttac.org.
How can I be alerted about future Expert Q&A sessions?
Subscribe to the Expert Q&A email list to receive the latest announcements.
I have an idea for a future Expert Q&A topic. How can I submit a suggestion?
If you have a suggestion for a future Expert Q&A topic, please email ExpertQA@ovcttac.org.