What: 10th Annual Child Advocacy Center Conference
When: Friday, November 13, 2009, 8am-5pm
Where: Grace at Fort Clarke United Methodist Church, Gainesville, FL
Accommodations: For out-of-town attendees, we have reserved a black of rooms at the Best Western Gateway Grand Hotel for the nightly rate of $84.00. To reserve your room, please call 1-877-464-2378 and ask for the Child Advocacy Center, Inc., group rate for the conference.

Taking a detour from the typical conference format, this year’s conference will provide a focused, intensive Multidisciplinary Team training.  Nationally known speaker and Plano, Texas, Police Department Detective Mike Johnson will give our keynote address and guide our training throughout the day.  The 2009 conference will allow MDT members and a gallery of observers to participate in working simulated cases from start to finish.  This format involves all the varied members of the Multidisciplinary Team in a hands-on, team building experience.

Who Should Attend?

Child Protection Professionals including:

• Law Enforcement
• Victim’s Advocates
• Prosecuting Attorneys
• Therapists
• Case Managers
• Child Protective Investigators
• Guardians ad Litem
• Medical Professionals
• Supervisors
• Teachers and school personnel
• And all others interested in how our system works to protect children

10 Ways to Benefit:

• Obtain a clear idea of the roles of those working child abuse cases
• Obtain a clear idea of the responsibilities of those working child abuse cases
• Gain enhanced understanding of how each member of the Multidisciplinary Team relies on other members
• Deepen understanding of how children can be better protected using the MDT approach
• Understand each member’s personal and agency contribution to the MDT
• Reveal barriers that get in the way of teamwork
• Learn methods to diffuse those barriers
• Foster good relationships and increase communication among MDT agencies
• Identify gaps in current protocol
• Provide personal experience to others to help improve the system overall  and fill in gaps