TRANSFORM- Podcast: Promoting Resilience
About the Podcast
Child well-being and abuse prevention is paramount to creating a safe and healthy community for everyone. TRANSFORM (Translational Research that Adapts New Science FOR Maltreatment) is a national resource center that conducts research on child abuse and neglect (CAN), disseminates discoveries, and builds on state-of-the-art research and practices to foster the next generation of interdisciplinary professionals committed to preventing and addressing CAN. In our podcast, experts and practitioners who work in the child maltreatment field will discuss a wide range of topics, including advice for parents and caregivers to protect children, prevent abuse, utilize findings from current studies, and intervene to improve children’s lives.
Podcast Home Page
Episodes
SEASON 2:
Episode 6: Reimagining the Child Welfare System: Encouraging Families to Thrive
Host, Dr. Catherine Cerulli, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester, is joined by her guest, Mical Raz, MD, PhD, MSHP, the Charles E. and Dale L. Phelps Professor in Public Policy and Health at the University of Rochester, where she also works as an internal medicine physician at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY. Dr. Raz explores themes of Poor Parenting vs. Poor Parents, mandatory reporting, Child Protective Services being used as a surveillance tool rather than a support tool, and how we can reframe and reimagine these systems.
Dr. Mical Raz
Charles E. and Dale L. Phelps Professor in Public Policy and Health
University of Rochester
Episode 5: Using Evidence Based Research to Reduce Teen Pregnancy
Host, Dr. Catherine Cerulli, a Psychiatry professor at the University of Rochester, is joined by her guest, Justin Russotti, Ph.D., a licensed clinical social worker and child maltreatment researcher. Dr. Russotti’s research focuses on the intersection of development and mental health specific to teen pregnancy. Child maltreatment is the strongest predictor of teen pregnancy and survivors are twice as likely to experience adolescent childbirth as opposed to those who do not experience childhood abuse and neglect. Dr. Russotti discusses his research with the Mt. Hope Family Center. He found that adolescent substance use behavior and pregnancy desire are the strongest indicators in determining a survivor’s risk for adolescent pregnancy. Focusing on these risk factors in maltreated adolescents can help reduce teen pregnancy occurrence.
Dr. Justin Russotti
Research Faculty
Mt. Hope Family Center
Episode 3: “You can’t take away the hurt, but we can minimize the damage”: Using Trauma Informed Care in Law Enforcement
Host, Dr. Catherine Cerulli, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester, is joined by her guest, Moses Robinson. Moses has been a police officer with the Rochester, NY City Police Department since 1985, was a school resource officer for 21 years, and is currently a community liaison officer. His time on the force has taught him the value of forming relationships with people including children in schools, victims of violence, and offenders, some who have been victimized themselves.
Moses Robinson
Community Liaison Officer
Rochester Police Department
Episode 2: Empowering People Living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Host, Dr. Catherine Cerulli, is joined by her guest, Christie Petrenko, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) researcher. FASD represents a range of conditions associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. Studies have documented that in the US 2-5% of the population have FASD, or one in 20, and as many as 80-90% of people go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. This impacts their lives in challenging ways including growth delays, learning and behavioral problems, and struggling with ADHD, anxiety, or depression.
Dr. Christie Petrenko
Research Associate Professor
Mt. Hope Family Center
Episode 1: Supporting Child Protective Services Through Medical Consultation Services
Host, Dr. Catherine Cerulli is joined by her guest, Nila Bragg, MSN, CPNP, a certified pediatric nurse practitioner and a Medical Consultant for the New York City Administration for Children’s Services. Nila provides consultation to child protective specialists in New York City who have clients with complex medical histories. As part of her role, Nila helps the child protective specialists connect these children and their families with services that support caregivers as they manage their child’s medical needs. Nila’s key message is that educating families and connecting them to resources is paramount to not only improve children’s health, but connections also support the overall well-being of children and their families.
Nila Bragg
Medical Consultant
New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS)
SEASON 1:
Episode 7: Beyond Crisis Care: Supporting Youth and Helping them Thrive
Host, Dr. Catherine Cerulli, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester, is joined by her guest, Elaine Spaull, Executive Director of The Center for Youth in Rochester, New York, to discuss the Center’s work as they care for youth and families. Center staff supports clients in troubled situations due to issues such as abuse, neglect, and homelessness, and aids them in repairing their lives by building trust. Often, the result is long lasting relationships with staff and leadership. The Center offers emergency babysitting service for parents and caregivers through their Crisis Nursery, short-term housing for youth 12 years and older who are in unsafe living situations, and transitional housing for older youth who can live independently. Highlighted are real life stories of people who have faced trauma that led them to seek support from the Center. Also discussed throughout the episode is how trauma and neglect in childhood can affect people into adulthood.
Elaine Spaull
Executive Director
The Center for Youth
Episode 6: Childcare in the Court System and a Life-Long Passion for Foster Care
Host, Dr. Catherine Cerulli, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester, is joined by her guest, Eileen Whitney, to discuss how children and families are supported in a court based daycare program and the barriers they face. Speaking from her own experience as the director of the Monroe County Family Court Children’s Center at the Hall of Justice in Rochester, NY and as a foster mom to over 45 children throughout the years, eight of which she adopted, Eileen speaks about the work the Children’s Center is conducting to help at-risk kids and their families who are involved in the court system. The Center provides childcare to parents and guardians when they have court dates so they are able to attend proceedings and serves as a connection point for families to find medical and human services they need. Eileen also discusses her life-long passion of being a foster mom, how foster care benefits children, and the joy it brings. Eileen’s overarching message is that parents love and want to care for their children, but poverty and coping mechanisms often times get in the way of them being able to fully take care of their children.
Eileen Whitney
Director of the Family Court Children’s Center
Monroe County (NY) Hall of Justice
Episode 5: Anonymity Through Technology: Empowering Kids to Reach Out About Abuse
Host, Dr. Catherine Cerulli, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester, is joined by her guest, Dr. Laura Schwab Reese, to discuss national talk, text, and chat lines that respond to child abuse. Speaking to the need for translational science to prevent abuse, Dr. Schwab Reese delves into the importance of these technologies as they can directly respond to children using technologies children use every day. The anonymity can empower them to reach out about their abuse. Through various analyses, Dr. Schwab Reese has identified ways to improve how counselors relate to kids when using these services. These techniques can create greater trust between both parties and help build autonomy so kids feel confident to participate in decision making. A discussion of mandatory reporting and ways to best support children’s understanding of the process is also included in this conversation. Dr. Schwab Reese is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at Purdue University. Her research focuses on how young people use social media and other technology to share, process, and seek help related to child abuse and neglect as well as creating practice models that guide professionals to converse more effectively with victims through these networks.
Dr. Laura Schwab Reese
Assistant Professor of Public Health
Purdue University
Episode 4: Support Over Silence
Host, Dr. Catherine Cerulli, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester, is joined by her guest, Dr. Nancy Weaver, to discuss how we can apply communication sciences, analytics and public health principles to promote healthy and positive parenting to reduce the prevalence of childhood abuse and neglect. This podcast will inform us on how to develop our own resiliency to respond to this crisis by learning how to be a bystander through a novel intervention program, Support over Silence for KIDS. Dr. Weaver created the program to educate community member’s tangible skills to listen empathetically and non-judgmentally to parents and caregivers in situations where tensions rise to help deescalate what’s happening in the moment. Dr. Weaver has a Ph.D. in Health Behavior and Health Education and an M.P.H. in Biostatistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a B.S. in Mathematics and Statistics from the James Madison University.
Dr. Nancy Weaver
Professor of Behavioral Science and Health Education
College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University
Episode 3: Resiliency in Schools: Building and Sustaining Partnerships
Host, Dr. Catherine Cerulli, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester, is joined by her guest, Dr. Shaun Nelms, to talk about how schools can build resiliency in youth and grow partnerships with families and community-based agencies. By meeting the youth’s basic needs, we can improve health, prevent child abuse and neglect, and break intergenerational trajectories of poverty and violence. Dr. Nelms is the superintendent of East Upper and Lower Schools, a unique partnership between the New York State Education Department, Rochester City School District, and University of Rochester, where he is charged with creating a replicable school reform model that can transform the way we think about schools as centers for public health promotion.
Dr. Shaun Nelms
Superintendent, East High School, Rochester City School District
Associate Professor (Clinical) & William & Sheila Konar Director of the Center for Urban Education Success, Warner School of Education, University of Rochester
Episode 2: Responding to Childhood Abuse and Neglect: What’s Race Got To Do With It?
This podcast will focus on the role of race in child welfare, reporting, investigating, and responding. Host, Dr. Catherine Cerulli, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester, is joined by guest, Dr. Natalie A. Cort to explore the intersection and complex relationship between race and the crisis of child abuse and neglect. Dr. Cort is a Clinical Psychologist who educates future mental health clinicians and seeks to end implicit biases sometimes held by social service providers and clinicians.
Dr. Natalie Cort
Assistant Professor, Clinical Psychology Department
Co-Director, Center for Multicultural & Global Mental Health
Director, African & Caribbean Mental Health Concentration
Director, Black Mental Health Graduate Academy
Associate Director, HRSA Specialized Training & Academic Retention Fellowship
William James College
Episode 1: Creating Resiliency
This podcast will inform us on how to support childrens’ resiliency in the face of COVID-19 to prevent future child abuse and neglect. Host, Dr. Catherine Cerulli, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester, is joined by guest, Dr. Jody Manly, an internationally recognized researcher and clinician at the Mt. Hope Family Center, in Rochester, New York, who examines developmentally appropriate interventions to reduce the harmful effects of child abuse and neglect.
Dr. Jody Manly
Clinical Director
Senior Research Associate
Assistant Professor
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester
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