GROUP NAME: First Responders Working Group Meeting at the NCTSN All-Network Meeting

Date: Friday December 12, 2003

Attendees:

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Baxt, Chiara Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Berkowitz, Steven Childhood Violent Trauma Center

Brymer, Melissa NCCTS-UCLA

Creeden, Rosemary Children Who Witness Violence Program

Dean, Kristin L.A. Unified School District

Franks, Robert NCCTS-Duke

Gaba, Becky Children's Institute International

Hanson, Bea Safe Horizon

Hornik, John Parsons Child and Family Center

Hubbard, Rebecca Healing the Hurt.

Humbert, Donna Childhood Trauma Intervention Center

Jones, Russell NCCTS-Duke

Kassam-Adams, Nancy Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress

Ko, Susan NCCTS-UCLA

Kronenberg, Janet Cuyahoga County Department of Justice Affairs

LaBruna, Victor North Shore/ Adolescent Trauma Treatment

Macy, Robert The Trauma Center

McGuire, Sarah The Children Who Witness Violence Program

Murphy, Robert Childhood Violent Trauma Center

Osofsky, Howard Louisiana Rural Trauma Services Center

Osofsky, Joy Louisiana Rural Trauma Services Center

Parker, Kimberly Oklahoma Child Traumatic Stress Treatment Collaborative

Rivera-Casale, Cecilia SAMHSA

Rosch, Joel NCCTS-Duke

Seymour, Kristi Children’s Institute International

Siegfried, Chris NCCTS-UCLA

Smart, Lindsay The Mental Health Corporation of Denver

Vogel, Juliet North Shore/Adolescent Trauma Treatment

White, Dana Oklahoma Child Traumatic Stress Treatment Collaborative

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SUBJECT

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DISCUSSION

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ACTION

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Meeting Focus

/ ·  Steven Berkowitz emphasized the importance of “Secondary” Prevention and raised a few questions: How do we implement and sustain these efforts? Training efforts are irregular for 1st responders and clinicians. Are we involved in incident command systems? What are our interventions and linkages? How do we follow up? / ·  Informational
Domestic Violence 1st Responder Protocol
Accelerated Collaborative Project: Introduction of Project and Discussion / ·  Need to define 1st responders to domestic violence. Who are they?
·  Louisiana Rural Trauma Services Center has received a Packard Foundation grant to pilot research in two sites
·  1/3 of the cases are for domestic violence. 70% of the cases have co-occurring factors (child maltreatment, etc.)
·  Robert Macy suggested that the parent who receives targeted aggression should also be part of these interventions in addition to the children.
·  Becky Gaba pointed out that we need to create a protocol which includes needs and capacities of different communities, not a “one size fits all” approach
·  Melissa Brymer noted that schools and teachers could be considered 1st responders
·  Perhaps we consider the on-scene personnel as being the “cut-off”? Rural areas may have different people involved as 1st responders
·  Many police departments already have “protocols”. Some members of the group felt that the term “protocol” is problematic. Alternative word suggestions: “principles/elements/guidelines”
·  Bob Franks pointed out that there is a difference between those who identify and those who respond to domestic violence. Who can we partner with? Can we identify some principles and adapt them?
·  Also need to realize that it is important to consider the feelings of the responders. Training in a vacuum is dangerous. We need to create partnerships and collaborations with first responder groups from the beginning to get their buy-in
·  Robert Macy mentioned that we should also address “vicarious trauma”/traumatic stress arousal / ·  Focus: Acute on-the-scene response
·  Avoid broad principles and modules. Need to gather available information/products to use in our protocol development. A national protocol must be able to function at the local level simultaneously

Training

/ ·  Make recommendations simple
·  Nancy Kassam-Adams noted that we must train with bullets (highlights)/“on-the-job” training to address developmental issues, thus creating training with modules. A simple example: train staff to shield the child from witnessing parental arrests
·  Joy Osofsky felt that building relationships is key
·  Rosemary Creeden felt it’s important to get involved in their (first responders’) culture. We also need to be cognizant of the impact of decreased finances and reduction in work forces
·  Guidelines should include information about funding
·  There’s often a dichotomy between Child Protective Services and domestic violence responders – we need to integrate them
·  Who do we bring in to help us with these issues?
·  Identified 1st responders as including law enforcement, Child Protective Services, Emergency Medical Services, and firefighters / ·  Identify consultants from each of the four 1st responder groups

Next Steps

/ ·  Plan to have a face-to-face meeting for the domestic violence accelerated collaborative project in February or early March, 2004
·  Possibly have a conference focusing on training for first responders in June, 2004 in New Haven, CT / ·  Susan Ko will send out an email with information about possible dates and locations for the meeting
·  Members will send back information about any
1. Recommendations for consultants
2.  Manuals or other materials they have that address domestic violence and 1st responders

Respectfully transcribed,

H. Preston Finley

Admin Specialist

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