Crittenton at 39th Annual Conference on Forensic Mental Health
March 10, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Crittenton Services for Children and Families
Martha Jasso, Director of Communications
(714) 680-6008
MONTEREY, Calif. – Crittenton Services for Children and Families (CSCF) is proud to announce that Dr. Barbara Hernandez, Vice President of Community Based Services, CSCF is an invited guest speaker at the 39th Annual Conference on Forensic Mental Health: The Joining of Art and Science on March 20, 2014.
“Dr. Hernandez’s advocacy for trauma-informed care when providing mental health services to youth with high indexes of adverse childhood experiences follows suit of Crittenton’s treatment philosophy,” said Martha Jasso, Director of Communications, CSCF, “She has been an essential asset and directly involved with Crittenton’s development and implementation of our specialized therapeutic treatment program that provides services to children who have been manipulated or forced into a life of sexual exploitation and trafficking.”
The workshop that Dr. Hernandez will be co-presenting is entitled, “Commercial Sexually Exploited Children in the Juvenile Justice System: Victims or Perpetrators”, and covers the experience and trauma of commercial sexually exploited children (CSEC) as seen in the Los Angeles County Child Welfare and Probation systems.
Dr. Hernandez is the invited guest of the Honorable Catherine Pratt and the Honorable Donna Quigley Groman, both are judges, of Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Both judges have been intricately involved with Los Angeles County’s STAR Court program, which identifies and supports victims of sex trafficking who are under age and are referred to specialized treatment services.
Judges Pratt and Groman will discuss the legal obstacles for CSEC youth in Los Angeles County, and Dr. Hernandez will cover the mental health and clinical component of treating a population with high rates of recidivism.
CSCF has been recognized for the agency’s work and leadership in providing intervention and treatment services to young victims of sex trafficking. The kind of tailored treatment approach and delivery of continuum of care services implemented at CSCF helps address the myriad of issues that often accompany years of repeated trauma. Most recently from 2012 to 2013, the agency has served more than 200 young victims of sex trafficking that were placed in the CSCF Commercial Sexually Exploited Children Treatment Program via the Los Angeles County STAR Court.
Dr. Hernandez’s knowledge of attachment disorders, trauma and the CSEC population has led the CSCF team to provide the most comprehensive services available in Southern California to minor victims of domestic sex trafficking. In addition, California State Senator, Bob Huff, recently nominated her to serve as a clinical subject matter expert in the California Statewide Commercial Sexually Exploited Children Action Group.
Registration for the two-day conference is still open with different rates for association members, non-members or students. For more information on the workshop schedule, or to register the public is encouraged to visit the 39th Annual FMHAC Conference website.
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Crittenton Services for Children and Families of Southern California (CSCF) is a non-profit social services agency whose mission is to heal the wounds of abuse and neglect; strengthen families; and help troubled adolescents reach their full potential. Established and incorporated in 1966 Crittenton has a highly trained workforce operating 24 hours a day / 7 days a week providing comprehensive counseling, medical, and other support services to the clients in our care. We provide a full array of residential, in-home, community based, wraparound, mental health, foster care, and adoption services with a service planning area throughout Southern California that covers Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego Counties.
Visit www.crittentonsocal.org to learn more about our programs and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, and Flickr.
Topics: Non-Profit, Social Services, Community Based Services, Residential Treatment Services, Youth Shelter Services, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Mental Health, Mental Health Services, Continuum of Care Services, Trauma-Informed Care, Human Trafficking, Commercial Sexually Exploited Children, Commercial Sexually Exploited Children Treatment Program, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Victim Services, Modern Day Slavery
Geography: Monterey, Calif., Fullerton, Calif., Los Angeles County, Calif.