The Children Are NOT Okay: Impact and Prevention of Domestic Violence
Webinar Session
October 22, 2026, from 9:00 am–10:30 am
The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the webinar, “The Children Are NOT Okay: Impact and Prevention of Domestic Violence.”
Session Description:
Domestic violence (DV) is pervasive in our communities – with 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men experiencing abuse at the hands of a partner during their lifetime. Children are not immune or shielded from the violence. Not only do millions of children witness the abuse of their caregiver, but many experience child abuse themselves. This session will discuss the prevalence of DV, the intersection of DV and child maltreatment, and how these behaviors permeate the day-to-day climate of the home, leading to the cycle of abuse being handed down from generation to generation. This session will discuss identification of harm, strategies for prevention, skill-building, and resiliency, as well as strategies to support caregivers and their children.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the links between domestic violence and child maltreatment.
- Identify behaviors that may result from witnessing violence in the home.
- Learn strategies for identifying harm and building skills and resiliency to lessen or prevent future harm.
Participant Registration and Cost:
This training series is free. Participants need to register in advance for the training. Please visit here to register.
Presenters:
Caitie Dahl is a Forensic Interview Specialist and Trainer at Zero Abuse Project, where she develops training materials and publications on forensic interviews, best practices in child abuse investigations, child abuse dynamics, and support for special populations. Committed to enhancing the professional response to child maltreatment, Caitie creates educational resources that empower practitioners to better assist children and families during the investigative process.
Previously, Caitie served as a Forensic Interviewer, Forensic Program Coordinator, Trainer, and Multidisciplinary Team Facilitator at First Witness Child Advocacy Center in Duluth, Minnesota. Her experience has deepened her understanding of trauma-informed practices, and she is dedicated to providing victims of abuse with a safe, legally defensible environment to share their experiences.
Caitie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Superior, where she focused on research in coercive interviewing, false confessions, wrongful convictions, and the complexities of suggestibility and memory errors. Additionally, her role as Program Manager at the campus Gender Equity Resource Center fueled her passion for recognizing and addressing the unique needs of LGBTQIA+ youth who have experienced maltreatment. With a collaborative spirit, Caitie enjoys training professionals across disciplines to enhance their responses to reports of child maltreatment, fostering effective partnerships that prioritize the well-being of children and families.
Maria Rosales-Lambert is the Lead Forensic Interviewer Specialist and Trainer at Zero Abuse Project, where she conducts ChildFirst protocol trainings and trainings in advanced forensic interviewing topics at the national level and in other countries for investigators of child abuse investigations. She also provides forensic interviewing supervision and mentoring, peer review, case consultation and expert testimony.
Maria conducts forensic interviews in English and Spanish for The PATH Child Advocacy Center in Weatherford, OK and for their mobile forensic interviewing services through the state of Oklahoma. She has conducted thousands of forensic interviews since becoming a forensic interviewer in 2002. She has trained hundreds of professionals working in the child maltreatment field and has conducted numerous training courses for community partners. Maria serves as a faculty member with ChildFirst/Finding Words Oklahoma and Oklahoma Commission on Children & Youth (OCCY).
Maria was also a co-founder of Oklahoma Interviewing Services, INC (OIS) where she served as the program director and the bi-lingual forensic interviewer for almost twenty years. Before becoming a forensic interviewer, she was a police officer for over five years with the Fort Smith Police Department in Fort Smith, Arkansas. She is currently a board member with Rural American Ministries and Marcy’s Law for Oklahoma. She previously served as a board member of the Oklahoma Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association and Catholic Charities of Oklahoma City. Maria and her husband Chris have been married for 29 years and have two adult children.
For questions, please contact Tricia Everetts, DCJS Victims Services Training and Communication Coordinator, at tricia.everetts@dcjs.virginia.gov.