While it is well documented that child welfare services and domestic violence (DV) providers often serve the same families, many communities lack coordination between these two systems. To improve safety for families experiencing both DV and child maltreatment and to improve case coordination, many states are now piloting collaborative initiatives with the co-location of DV advocates into child protection. In New York state, 21 counties have been funded to co-locate domestic violence advocates in child protective services. In New Jersey, 31 domestic violence liaisons are co-located in 46 local child protection service offices. How did these states begin their collaboration and what have they learned in the process? Speakers from New York and New Jersey programs will answer these questions and others, including: the impetus for change; how partnerships and collaboration were fostered; development of policies; evaluation results and anecdotal stories of success. Included are the perspectives of state administrators and evaluators, a CPS worker and DV advocate.

Learning Objectives - Participants will be able to:

Join members of the Rensselaer County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), students and professionals from healthcare, law enforcement, counseling, advocacy, higher education, and prosecution from throughout New York State for their fourth annual conference, Joining Forces:

Reducing and Responding to Sexual Assault Across Disciplines. Attendees of the conference may choose from a variety of workshops which fit their interests and training needs, and will also have the opportunity to network with other professionals. The cost to attend both day of the conference is $75, which includes breakfast, lunch and refreshments on Thursday, and breakfast and refreshments on Friday; parking on both days; and all conference materials. The cost to attend only Thursday is $60 and includes breakfast, lunch and refreshments; parking; and all conference materials. Detailed directions, parking instructions and helpful reminders will be emailed to attendees in advance of the conference. Follow this link for more information and to register for Joining Forces: Reducing and Responding to Sexual Assault Across Disciplines.