Monday, 8:30AM
Is This Child Abuse or Merely GARLIC? An Overview of Mimics of Child Abuse
Presenter: Dena Nazer, MD
Summary: Evaluation of children suspected of being maltreated requires a thorough and systematic approach. Certain medical conditions and injuries may mimic child abuse. This may occur when the child has an unusual presentation of a common disease, a rare illness, the team is unfamiliar with the disease or when they are misled by the social situation. This presentation will follow a case based approach with numerous photos highlighting various conditions that may mimic child abuse. It will emphasize how a systematic thoughtful approach may prevent misdiagnosing abuse noting the fact that children with mimics of child abuse may also be victims of abuse.
Objectives: Participants will be able to recognise conditions that may mimic child physical or sexual abuse; develop a thorough systematic thoughtful approach when faced with a potential presentation that may mimic child abuse; work as a team and collaborate with others to reach a diagnosis especially when faced with rare or unfamiliar conditions.
Monday Keynote, 10:00AM
Considering Cannabis: What the Science Says and What It Means for Adolescents and Young Adults
Presenter: Jason Kilmer, PhD
Summary: In this presentation, we will review the science related to cannabis, including impacts on mental health, academic outcomes, sleep quality, driving-related risks, and addiction. Lessons learned after legalization will be discussed. The powerful role of parents on impacting use by youth will be reviewed, as will implications for prevention and intervention.
Objectives: Participants will be able to describe at least 2 ways cannabis use impacts cognitive functioning, health, and/or mental health; identify at least one option for screening for cannabis use disorder; describe at least one “lesson learned” after cannabis legalization.
Monday, 11:45AM
Interviewing the Child Sexual Abuse Victim, the Non-Offending Spouse and the Suspect – Why the Color of the Underwear Matters
Presenter: Craig Smith
Summary: There is a harsh truth within Law Enforcement and Child Protection circles; few people are anxious to investigate Child Sexual Abuse cases. Most investigators feel ill at ease discussing sexual details with victims, witnesses or suspects. These uncomfortable details however, are often the foundation upon which an officer must build a case to put before the courts.
Objectives: This presentation will provide investigators with interviewing strategies that can be used to elicit key details from the victim in a Child Sexual Abuse case; provide investigators with interviewing strategies that can also be used to elicit key details from a non-offending spouse or partner of the suspect in a Child Sexual Abuse case; examine strategies for taking the details gained from the child victim and the non-offending souse/partner and using those detail to develop an effective interviewing plan to be used when dealing with the suspect.
Tuesday Keynote, 8:30AM
Foster Care Health Interventions
Presenter: Michelle Walls
Summary: Foster youth make up a small percentage of the nation’s population of children, yet they are a high-risk group for illness. In childhood, they are more susceptible to child abuse, behavioral and mental health conditions. Due to frequent transitions, foster youth frequently experience discontinuity in healthcare. Physicians and other healthcare professionals need improved practice interventions that better ensure the healthcare needs of foster youth are met during initial and follow-up encounters. One approach is to increase their knowledge of research-based processes that reveal improvements in foster youth’s health. Recent studies recommend a number of patient-care models and strategies, such as developing interdisciplinary health teams.
This presentation accounts the story of a former foster youth, now medical student, as she explores the gaps in healthcare to improve outcomes for youth coming behind her. As a child welfare advocate at the national and local level, her experience lends into the circumstance of foster youth while also understanding the complexity behind implementing better medical practices.
Objectives: Participants will be able to recognize and identify when patients in foster care are at increased risk of adverse health outcomes and develop interventions to support continuity of care; strategize approaches to coordinating interdisciplinary care between professionals to improve care for foster youth; develop increased awareness about the barriers and risk factors that foster youth face and explore physician’s role in the foster care system; identify Michigan’s state based initiatives and programs that relate to the health of foster youth.
Tuesday, 10:15AM
Abusive Head Trauma/Shaken Baby Syndrome – An Investigator’s Perspective
Presenter: Craig Smith
Summary: This presentation will focus on the law enforcement investigation of (AHT/SBS) cases. Two major obstacles facing investigators are identifying the perpetrator and confirming the actual mechanism and timing of the injury. Biomechanical research has now developed a clear picture of the mechanism of injury and the degree of force used in this form of child abuse. The research has also revealed that the onset of symptoms in serious injury or fatal cases is immediate. This session will use medical based, animated graphics and case histories to show how this research can be more easily understood by non-medical, investigators and will present techniques that can be used to correctly identify the person responsible for injuring the child. In these investigations, false alibi statements by caregivers, can often be as useful as partial or even full admissions. Participants will learn how to conduct an initial interview of suspects in order to get them “tied” to a particular, detailed story. The more detail we can obtain, the more we can differentiate between the truthful and the deceptive subject. Scene examination, gathering of corroborative evidence, liaison with medical and legal experts and interviewing of suspects will all be topics of discussion during this presentation.
Objectives: Participants will receive information on how to conduct an Abusive Head Trauma/Shaken Baby Syndrome (AHT/SBS) investigation that will aid in correctly identifying the offender, along with the time of the offence; will learn how to conduct an initial interview of the caregivers in order to get them “tied” to details in a particular story; be encouraged to use a multi- disciplinary approach with police, social workers, medical personnel and prosecutors, in conducting a thorough investigation.
Tuesday, 11:45AM
The Forensic Assessment for Immigration Relief (FAIR) Clinic: A Model for Forensic Evaluations for Humanitarian Immigration Relief
Presenters: Rebecca Ford-Paz, PhD; Norell Rosado, MD, FAAP
Summary: This presentation will discuss the rise in the number of children and adolescents seeking asylum in the US, as well as the challenges facing these children throughout their migration journey. The types of humanitarian relief available to unaccompanied children (UAC) once they cross the border into the United States will also be covered. In addition, the FAIR Clinic’s model to conduct medical and psychological forensic evaluations for these children will be described, including the importance of affidavits in their court proceedings.
Objectives: This presentation will explain the need to improve access to medical and psychological forensic evaluations for children/adolescents seeking asylum in the U.S.; review the types of humanitarian relief available; describe the process to conduct medical and psychological forensic evaluations for children/adolescents seeking asylum in a non-border state; describe an alternative model of a forensic asylum clinic in the Midwest.