NJCASA’s Training Institute is informed by national trends in the prevention of and response to sexual violence, as well as strengths and needs of professionals in New Jersey. We provide in-person and web-based trainings to Sexual Violence Programs and allied professionals committed to creating safer communities for all. NJCASA strives to provide free and accessible trainings, as well as bring low-cost on-demand training to professionals throughout the state.

Who We Work With

The Training Institute serves members from local sexual violence centers, allied professionals in public and mental health, law enforcement, preventionists, and the larger public. Our trainings bring communities a better understanding of the dynamics of sexual assault, which results in improved response to survivors and increased accountability to perpetrators.

Topics We Cover

NJCASA trains on a wide variety of sexual violence issues, including Introduction to Sexual Violence, Cultural Humility, Primary Prevention, Law Enforcement Response, Special Populations, and more. Join NJCASA at one of our upcoming training events or request a customized training for your organization or institution.

Upcoming Trainings

Serving Incarcerated Survivors #2: Understanding the role of the advocate
May 23, 2017 | 1:00 p.m. (EST)
Format: Webinar
Facilitator: Jyoti Venketraman, Special Initiatives Manager of NJCASA

This webinar is the second in a four-part series on serving incarcerated survivors. With increased focus on the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), training advocates on intersections of sexual violence within detention centers will help support advocacy for this population. The presentation will provide an in-depth look at the role of an advocate, share some basics of providing services to incarcerated survivors, and highlight strategies programs can use in addressing common concerns.

Register now.

Immigration Relief for Survivors of Sexual Assault
June 29, 2017 | 1:00 p.m. EDT
Format: Webinar
Facilitator: Sonia S. Figueroa, Attorney

Immigrant survivors often face a variety of barriers when reporting or seeking support, including uncertainty about their rights as an immigrant if they do come forward. This webinar will provide an overview of immigration relief available to immigrants that are victims of sexual violence. Advocates will learn about relief for undocumented survivors (such as available visas), options for permanent and conditional residents married to abusers, and options for undocumented parents of children that are victims of sexual violence.

About the facilitator: Ms. Figueroa is an attorney based in Los Angeles, CA. Born of immigrant parents, she left the United States to live in Korea for almost ten years, during which time she learned about some of the difficulties in being an immigrant. As a Veteran of the US Armed Forces and a former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) adjudications officer, she is familiar with the bureaucracy of the federal government and strives to ensure that all of her clients receive the individualized care that they deserve. Her focus is immigration, primarily involving family applications, removal defense asylum, and T/U/VAWA petitions in particular. Active in her community, Ms. Figueroa has been awarded the Public Service Award by the Southern California Korean American Bar Association and the Pro Bono Guardian award by the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association.

Register now.

A Long Shadow: Understanding Survivors with a Harmful History
June 16, 2017 | 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Format: In-person. This training is appropriate for advocates and staff at Sexual Violence Programs & allied professionals.
Facilitator: Dr. Justin Ramsdell,Assistant Professor of Psychology, George Mason University

Every individual responds differently to traumatic experiences. While we know there is a spectrum of reactions, each survivor is unique in their response and in the choices they make. This in-person training explores the immediate, short-term, and long-term effects of trauma and draws links between the experiences of these individuals, a person’s unique genetic code, and physiological reactions to singular or repeated traumatic events. The facilitator will offer insights and tools for professionals who may encounter survivors with both a history of being harmed and of harmful behaviors. Discussions will focus on the combination of a harmful history, predispositions, and physiological responses mean to individuals working in the field of victim services.

Facilitator: Dr. Justin Ramsdell is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia and a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Maryland. In addition to teaching psychology at the undergraduate level he also works as a forensic psychologist; serving as an expert witness consultant and also as a trainer for government law enforcement agencies and local police Crisis Intervention Teams. He is currently a member of the Mental Health/Criminal Justice Committee for the county of Arlington, Virginia.

Register now.

PREVIOUS 2017 TRAININGS

February
Intersections of Sexual Violence: HIV/AIDS (recording)
Serving Incarcerated Survivors #1: Prison Rape Culture (recording)

January
Partners in Prevention: Comprehensive prevention programming with target audiences or groups

PREVIOUS 2016 TRAININGS

October
Partners in Prevention: Understanding Offender Management

July
Evidence-based Practice #3: Understanding Community-Level Risk Factors and Community-Level Change (recording)
Understanding the Intersection of Substance Use & Trauma (recording)

June
Serving Campus Survivors (recording)

May
Evidence-based Practice #2: Individual- & Relationship-Level Risk Factors for Perpetration (recording)

April
Evidence-based Practice Series: Evidence, Prevention, and Practice (recording)

March
Confidential Sexual Violence Advocate: Their role within the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) (recording)

January
Understanding Rape Culture (recording)
Planning for Sexual Assault Awareness Month (recording)

Previous 2015 Trainings

December
Media Literacy 101: How Media Influences Rape Culture
Promoting Meaningful Campus-Program Partnerships (recording)

November
Addressing Violence Against Women with Developmental Disabilities (recording)

September
Beyond points on a graph: Discovering ways data can strengthen programming and local prevention efforts (recording)

August
Getting to Know the New Evidence Retention Guidelines

June
Preparing Survivors for the Criminal Justice System

March
Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation (recording)

February
Capturing the Impact of Our Work

January
Language Access for Sexual Violence Program Members (recording)