Midwest Justice for Children Conference

The Child Center, Inc. and the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will host the 14th annual Midwest Justice for Children Conference (MJCC) on April 10-12, 2019, with the pre-conference session on April 9, 2019 focusing on “Human and Sex Trafficking”. Thanks, in part, to a generous grant from the Missouri Children’s Justice Act Task Force the three-day conference will offer an opportunity for local professionals to learn how to better serve victims of child sexual abuse.  

The Midwest Justice for Children Conference began in an effort to provide quality training, at an affordable price to: child advocacy center staff, members of law enforcement, juvenile justice workers, mental health therapists, Children’s Division workers, Prosecuting Attorney’s, child and family advocates, school counselors, forensic interviewers, and other professionals working in the field of human services.

Physical or sexual abuse cases against children require specialized and complex training from professionals to help reduce anxiety and uncertainty of child victims. When talking about child sexual abuse the national numbers are shocking:

• 20% of children will be sexually abused in some form before their eighth birthday.
• 90% of child victims are abused by someone they like, love, or live with.
• 60% of child victims will never tell anyone.

This year the Conference will feature over 20 different subject matter experts from all over the nation who will lead discussions which will address aspects of child abuse including prevention, cultural issues, assessment, interventions, treatment with victims, perpetrators and families affected by physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and neglect. Featured Keynote speakers are; “Anti-Trafficking Enforcement Unit” Keaton Strong; “Rediscovering The Beauty Within” Sasha Joseph Neulinger; “Resiliency 101: From Victim to Survivor” Julie Brand; and “Making the Law Keep Its Promise: Law Enforcement Challenges & Changes in Response to Violence Against Women” Lt. Mark Wynn.

The MJCC will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton St. Louis hotel located at 16625 Swingley Ridge Rd in Chesterfield, Missouri. The cost for three-day registration is $250. Continuing education credits/hours will be offered for purchase, pending approval. To register or for additional information please visit www.thechildcenter.com/MJCC or contact Lisa Zweifel at 636-332-0899 or lzweifel@cacnemo.org.