NC Child Fatality Prevention

Here is a link to the final agenda.

In Person – Registration, Breakfast & Networking 8:30-8:55

PLENARY SESSIONS (Live Streamed and In Person) 9-11am

Welcome and Our Why: Jordan Institute for Families Team

Title: Our NC Child Fatality Prevention System – Why We Matter, Where We Are, Where We Want to Go

Description: The statewide Child Fatality Prevention System is large, complicated, and critical to preventing child deaths and promoting child well-being in our state! This session provides a brief refresher on the purpose and various moving parts of the system, a bit of the latest child death data that illustrates the importance of our systems’ work, and how we want to support and optimize the efforts of everyone who works in the system.

Speakers: Karen McLeod, MSW, Co-Chair, NC Child Fatality Task Force and Kella Hatcher, JD, Executive Director, NC Child Fatality Task Force

Title: Your job is hard! Dealing with Secondary Trauma and Burnout

Description: Team health is contagious. The relationship between burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) is well documented and shows that burnout can precede STS. Burn-out is a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy. This presentation will explore the ways in which intentional team-based practices can reduce secondary trauma and burnout.

Speaker:  Michael Cull, PhD, Associate Director, Center for Innovation in Population Health, Associate Professor, Health Management and Policy, University of Kentucky, College of Public Health

Title: Bringing a Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Lens to Child Death Reviews

Description: The role of equity in fatality review: Identifying and reducing unconscious bias in fatality review; layering primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies to identify issues of equity, and action steps toward equitable reviews.

Speakers: Abby Collier, MS, Director, National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention and Sasha Mintz, Senior Epidemiologist, National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention

Charge for the Day: Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, MD, MPH, State Health Director and Chief Medical Officer, NC Department of Health and Human Services

BREAK OUT SESSIONS (In Person Only): (Session 1 from 11:10-12, Sessions 2-4 from 1-4pm – Participants can attend 4 sessions.)

Title: Integrating Secondary Trauma Reduction Strategies into Child Death Review Work

Description Burnout and secondary trauma can be lessened through intentional team planning that increases psychological safety and mindful organizing. This breakout session will explore specific strategies and provide tools for building team habits that buffer against burnout and the effects of secondary trauma exposure.

Speaker:  Michael Cull, PhD, Associate Director, Center for Innovation in Population Health, Associate Professor, Health Management and Policy, University of Kentucky, College of Public Health

Title:  Youth Suicide and Youth Mental Health

Description: Participants will hear a brief update on some of the latest NC data related to youth suicide and mental health and will learn how they can put the NC Suicide Prevention Action Plan and suicide prevention resources to use in their communities. Participants will also hear about tools for reviewing suicides and examples of prevention initiatives that are within reach for communities to implement with existing resources. Note: firearm safe storage and addressing access to lethal means, which are critical strategies in suicide prevention, are addressed in the breakout session “Violence Prevention, Firearm Safety and Access to Lethal Means”

Speakers: Ty Lautenschlager, MPH, CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellow, Injury & Violence Prevention Branch, NC Division of Public Health; Anne Geisinger, MPH, RDN, NC Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program Coordinator & Team Lead, NC Division of Public Health; Community Partner, Sharon Bell, MBA, Child Behavioral Health Manager, Division of Child and Family Wellbeing, NC DHHS, Kenya Procter, Kenya L. Procter, Senior Consultant, Procter Solutions, LLC, and Trainer for Faith Leaders for Life Suicide Prevention Program

Title: Violence Prevention, Firearm safety, and Access to Lethal Means

Description: Participants will hear the latest data on violence-related child deaths and injuries with a particular focus on firearm violence. Participants will hear about trends in juvenile offenses involving firearms, about the impact of domestic violence on children, and considerations for domestic violence in reviewing child deaths. Information about current state-level policy and program work on violence prevention and firearm safe storage will be shared. This session will include examples and resources for community-level prevention that are within reach to use or implement with existing resources.

Speakers: Ty Lautenschlager, MPH, CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellow, Injury & Violence Prevention Branch, NC Division of Public Health; Trishana Jones, MSW, Director of Youth exposure to DV & Special Projects, NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Anne Geisinger, MPH, RDN, NC Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program Coordinator & Team Lead, NC Division of Public Health, and William L. Lassiter, MPA, Deputy Secretary for Juvenile Justice, NC Department of Public Safety; Community Partner

Title: Dive into Data: Trends, Access, and Review Integration

Description: Participants will learn about current data trend for child deaths, infant mortality, and child injuries in North Carolina. They will also learn about how to access various data sets in our state and in their county that can assist them in their work to review and prevent child deaths.

Speakers: Scott Proescholdbell, MPH, Injury Epidemiology, NC Division of Public Health and Kathleen Jones-Vessey, MS, Perinatal Epidemiologist, NC Division of Public Health

Title: Building a Self-Care Practice

Description: Participants will learn how to develop a self-care practice that works for them.  Using group discussions and practical activities, this engaging and interactive session will help participants better understand stress and vicarious trauma and identify strategies to create their own personal self-care plan.

Speaker: Sarah Reives-Houston, PhD, Director, Behavioral Health Springboard, UNC School of Social Work

Title: Local CFPT/CCPT Prevention Success and Sharing (Rounds 1 and 2)

Description: This session will provide an opportunity for local CCPT and CFPTs to collaborate with colleagues across the state. Discussion will include ‘hot topics’, how teams work through challenges, manner specific matters and more! Team members will engage in whole room conversation as well as a ‘speed dating’ format in addition to presentations on successful prevention work in communities that has been launched/facilitated. Come and join in on the conversation! Each session will have different panelists and stories.

Speakers: Kerry Young, MS, Local Child Fatality Prevention Team Program Coordinator and Debra McHenry, MSW, Administrator, Child Welfare Intensive Review Program, Team Members plus members from local teams!

Title: Infant Death Review and Prevention Strategies

Description: The session will also address some of the unique components of infant death reviews, particularly due to prematurity and maternal health conditions and will include a mock infant review. The session will conclude with a brief overview of prevention work being done in North Carolina to reduce infant mortality and address disparities, including the state Perinatal Health Strategic Plan.

Speakers: Jessica Johnson, MPH, Coordinator, NC Perinatal Health Equity Collective, NC DHHS, Shelby Weeks, MPH Infant and Community Health Branch Head, NC DHHS, and Susanna Joy, National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention

Title: Infant Death Investigation Pitfalls and Review Considerations

Description: This session will provide an overview on infant manners and causes of death with a specific focus on infant sleep related fatalities. Learn how to understand the terms and acronyms associated with these deaths and correctly interpret and apply them in reviews. We will explore the various mechanisms of death for infants and young children and discuss crafting functional recommendations based on review findings. We will look at prevention efforts teams can do in their own backyard, and how it won’t cost you a thing.

Speaker: Lisa Mayhew, MS, Child Death Investigator/Trainer, NC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

Title: Social Determinants of Health: Identifying Life Stressors and Protective Factors in Child Death Review

Description: Social determinants of health – where we live, work and play – have a tremendous effect on the health and well-being of children and their families. This session will help you, your team, and community better understand social determinants of health and their impact on child deaths. Participants will learn about North Carolina specific efforts to address SDOH and data sources.

Speakers: Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, MD, MPH, State Health Director and Chief Medical Officer, NC Department of Health and Human Services, and Abby Collier, MS, Director, National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention

Title: Sentinel Injuries and the Importance of Identification in Preventing Future Deaths

Description: This session will examine the importance of looking at Sentinel injuries in a child fatality review, what to look for and where you find this expertise in your community.  Included in this discussion will be an overview of how the NCDSS Regional Abuse and Medical Specialists (RAMS) support local DSS around sentinel injuries in general and specifically how to recognize them in a case review.

Presenters: Molly Berkoff, MD MPH, Public Health Pediatrician, Wake County Human Services and Emi Wyble, MSW, RAMS (Regional Abuse and Medical Specialist) Manager, NC Division of Social Services

Title: The A, B, C’s of Medical Examinations from the Chief Medical Examiner

Description: This session will offer a transparent look at how medical examiners work. Participants will learn how to interpret an autopsy, why autopsies take a while to get back, cause of death determinations, understand the “hows’ and ‘whys’ of death investigations, and have the chance to ask questions about this important process.

Speaker: Dr. Michelle Aurelius, MD, Chief Medical Examiner, NC Department of Health and Human Services

Title: Disguised Dangers: Gummies, Snacks and Supplements

Description: Edibles are not eatable for children. Understand how businesses are marketing products that appear safe and appealing to people of all ages. This presentation will explore pediatric fatality case studies involving over-the-counter supplements, food, and vape products.

Speaker: Dr. Sandra Bishop-Freeman, Ph.D. F-ABFT, Deputy Chief Toxicologist, Division of Public Health, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

Michelle Aurelius, MD, is the Chief Medical Examiner, NC Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Aurelius completed her anatomic and clinical pathology residency at The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and her forensic pathology fellowship at the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. She has served North Carolina as the Chief Medical Examiner for over three years and is currently a Clinical Professor of Pathology at the University of North Carolina. Prior to that, she served as North Carolina’s Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for four years encompassing the role of interim Chief Toxicologist for one year. Before joining the NC OCME team, Aurelius served the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator as Assistant Chief Medical Investigator and Hospital Autopsy Director. Dr. Aurelius holds triple board certifications in Anatomic, Clinical, and Forensic Pathology. She has performed and supervised more than 3,500 autopsies, reviewed or produced over 6,000 medicolegal death investigation reports and has testified in state and federal courts. She is a recognized national leader with pathology organizations and in forensic research.

Sharon Bell, MBA, has 20 years of direct care, management, and executive leadership experience with behavioral health, substance use, child welfare, and early education providers delivering services in the Carolinas.  She has spent the last four years in the public sector working with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a contractor for the North Carolina Division of Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities/Substance Use Services and currently as the Child Behavioral Health Manager for the North Carolina Division of Child and Family Wellbeing.  Sharon has a bachelor’s degree in Child Development and Family Relations from East Carolina University and an MBA from Queens University of Charlotte.

Molly Berkoff, MD is both a general and child abuse pediatrician. She is the medical director for the NC Child Medical Evaluation Program which oversees outpatient medical consultations for NC Division of Social Services as well as the Children’s Health and Development Program with Wake County Health and Human Services where she assists with identifying well-being issues for children entering custody. Dr. Berkoff received her Master of Public Health and medical degrees at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, completed her residency at Yale – New Haven Hospital and her fellowship with the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the UNC School of Medicine at Chapel Hill.

Sandra Bishop-Freeman, Ph.D. F-ABFT, is the Deputy Chief Toxicologist, Division of Public Health, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Dr. Bishop-Freeman started her career in forensic toxicology at the Monroe County Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Rochester, NY as an intern. After graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in biochemistry, she earned her Ph.D. in chemistry developing advanced methods for the detection of drug-facilitated sexual-assault substances at Ohio University. She has been a Toxicologist for the Navy Drug Screening Laboratory in San Diego, CA and a Criminalist at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Scientific Investigation Division. At the LAPD, she was responsible for working in the drug and alcohol testing units, as well as investigating crime scenes. She taught Forensic Toxicology for the Cal State L.A. Criminalistics graduate program. In 2009 Dr. Bishop-Freeman moved to North Carolina to serve as the Deputy Chief Toxicologist at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. She obtained her board certification in 2011 as a Fellow of the American Board of Forensic Toxicology. She is an active member of both the Society of Forensic Toxicologists and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and has published scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals on a wide range of forensic topics.

Abby Collier, MS, is the Director for the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention. In her role as the Director for National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention (NCFRP), Ms. Collier leads NCFRP in providing technical assistance and supporting to local and state child death review (CDR) and fetal infant mortality review (FIMR) programs throughout the United States. Additionally, she provides leadership to the National Fatality Review-Case Reporting System (NFR-CRS). Ms. Collier provides training on best practices in facilitation. Additionally, Ms. Collier provides training on improving wellbeing and psychological safety. In her almost 15 years of experience working in fatality review, she has worked at the local, state, and national levels. She provides training on a variety of topics including improving death scene investigations, best practices for CDR and FIMR reviews, self-care, and vicarious trauma, writing prevention recommendations, implementing evidence-based recommendations, advocacy, and engaging partners. She has a master’s degree in Counseling and is currently pursuing a doctorate in public health.

Michael Cull, PhD, is Associate Professor, Health Management and Policy in the College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky. He is also an Associate Director in the Center for Innovation in Population Health. Mike’s work focuses on quality improvement and system reform efforts in child welfare jurisdictions. He has specific expertise in applying safety science to improve safety, reliability and effectiveness in organizations. His approach leverages tools like organizational assessment and systems analysis of critical incidents, including deaths and near deaths, to build team culture and help systems learn and get better. 

Anne L. Geissinger has a Master of Public Health degree in Health Behavior and Health Education (MPH) and is a Registered Dietitian (RD).  She has over ten years of experience in injury and violence prevention including suicide prevention, the intersections with opioid use and ACEs (adverse childhood experiences), and issues of equity. Although she has worked in Arizona, the Midwest, and the Middle East, her work primarily has been in North Carolina. Anne is lead for the NC Comprehensive Suicide Prevention team that is funded jointly by CDC and Covid-19 Health Equity grants.  As Program Coordinator, she leads the strategic planning for successful implementation of suicide prevention strategies across the state.   

Kella Hatcher, JD, is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force. Kella’s background is in juvenile law. Her previous roles include authoring juvenile law manuals for the University of North Carolina School of Government and serving as legal counsel for North Carolina’s Guardian ad Litem Program where she advised and trained attorneys and staff advocating for children in abuse and neglect cases in juvenile court. Early in her career she also worked as an assistant district attorney. Kella currently serves on over a dozen state-level advisory groups related to child well-being and she has served in multiple volunteer leadership roles for organizations serving the needs of children.

Jessica Johnson is the Perinatal Health Strategic Plan Coordinator at the NC Department of Health and Human Services. She has over ten years of experience focused on the health and educational outcomes of children and families.  Throughout her career, she has worked in the nonprofit and government sectors (state and local), specifically focused on improving the inequitable outcomes in maternal and child health through program planning and evaluation and policy development.  She is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, where she earned her MPH with a concentration in Leadership in Practice.  

Trishana Jones, MSW (she/her) is the Director of Youth Exposure to DV and Special Projects for the NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Her spectrum of work consists of addressing programmatic activities related to childhood exposure to domestic violence, language access services, and ad hoc projects aligned with meeting the ever-emerging needs of survivors and domestic violence service providers. She has a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Clark Atlanta University and attained a Master of Social Work degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a concentration on Children and Families Direct Practice. Trishana brings over 22 years of human services experience of supporting adults, children and families in the areas of domestic violence, child welfare and child advocacy services. She has been with the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence for over 11 years. When she is not working, she enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends and being in nature. 

Kathleen Jones-Vessey, MS, is a Perinatal Health Epidemiologist with the Title V Office in the North Carolina Division of Public Health. Prior to joining the Title V Office, she served as the Head of the Statistical Services Branch at the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics and as a Statistical Team Lead with the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC. In her current role, she directs the development of population-based epidemiological analysis in support of a variety of initiatives focused on maternal and child health, such as North Carolina’s Title V programs, Perinatal Health Equity Collective, Maternal Health Innovation program, and Maternal Mortality Review Committee.

Susanna Joy is a senior project coordinator with the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention where she provides technical assistance, training, and consultation to Fetal and Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) and Child Death Review (CDR) teams across the country. She leads special projects, workshops, workgroups, and provides facilitation support, leading five CDR regional networks. Ms. Joy is committed to helping fatality review professionals identify root causes that drive fatalities and ways to improve systems to make their communities safer, healthier, and more just. Susanna holds a master’s degree in Health and Risk Communication from Michigan State University, and she is currently pursuing her PhD in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences from Western Michigan University. When she’s not working she can be found studying on the sidelines of her kids’ sporting activities.

Ty Lautenschlager, MPH (she/her) is a second-year Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologist (CSTE) Applied Epidemiology Fellow. She graduated with her MPH from The Ohio State University in 2021. Since then, she has been working diligently within the North Carolina Division of Public Health in the Injury and Violence Prevention Branch, taking lead on projects surrounding overdose, and CORE injury topics. Special interests include mapping, veteran suicide, overdose, and data visualization. 

William L. Lassiter, MPA, is the Deputy Secretary for Juvenile Justice in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Mr. Lassiter plans and directs operations of the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and serves as a member of the Department’s senior leadership team. As Deputy Secretary of Juvenile Justice, he oversees juvenile facility operations, court services, juvenile community programs, intervention and treatment programs. Lassiter began his career in juvenile justice in 1998 as a researcher for the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the Center for Prevention of School Violence. In 2005, he became the Center’s Director. He became the State Contracts Administrator for Juvenile Community Programs in 2010. In 2013, he was promoted to Director of Juvenile Community Programs, where he worked to develop a comprehensive service delivery model for youth in the state’s juvenile justice system. In addition, he is co-author of “Preventing Violence and Crime in America’s Schools: From Put-Downs to Lock-Downs,” and has been featured on a number of major new networks and national publications.

Lisa Mayhew, D-ABMDI, has served as the Child Death Investigator/Trainer for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner since 2000 conducting investigations of child deaths statewide, and providing assistance in investigations to local, state and federal agencies. In addition, Lisa operates the Child Death Investigation Training Program in conjunction with the North Carolina Justice Academy to agencies statewide involved in the investigation of child fatalities. She provides training to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies across the US, and is the author of Child Death Investigations: Interdisciplinary Techniques from Cradle to Court available through Carolina Academic Press.

Debra McHenry, MSW has spent 21 years working at both the Local and State level in Child Welfare.  Debra was one of two initial people hired when the Intensive Fatality Review Program was begun in 1998 and currently serves in the role of Administrator for the Child Welfare Intensive Review Program.  In this role Debra also provides case review support to local Community Child Protection Teams and works closely with the CFPT coordinator and the State Fatality Team Coordinator.  Additionally, Debra serves as the NCDSS representative on the State Fatality Prevention Team.  She earned her MSW from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Karen McLeod, MSW, is a Co-Chair of the Child Fatality Task Force. Karen has served as the President/CEO for Benchmarks, a statewide non-profit association, since June 2006. In this role, she provides strategic leadership in the representation of provider agencies that deliver MH/DD/SA, child welfare and juvenile justice programs to children, adults and families across North Carolina. She engages state legislators and state/federal agencies to secure funding and legislation that supports providers in improving behavioral healthcare and quality of life outcomes for the people they serve. Karen moves forward policy/practice issues to proactively promote association positions with key state government decision makers, legislators and community advocacy groups.

Sasha Mintz, MPH, is a Senior Epidemiologist for the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention, a program of the Michigan Public Health Institute. Her work focuses on providing epidemiological support to users of the National Fatality Review-Case Reporting System and disseminating data using an equity lens. Her research interests are in the epidemiology and prevention of childhood deaths due to child maltreatment, unintentional injury, and violence. She received a Bachelor’s in Biomedical Sciences in 2012 from Colorado State University and a Master’s in Public Health in 2017 from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. 

Kenya Procter is the CEO and Senior Consultant with Procter Solutions and is the former chair of the Board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, North Carolina Chapter. She served as the Suicide Prevention Program Manager for Forces Command US Army and Fort Bragg, NC. Mrs. Procter possesses a BA in Psychology from Southern University at New Orleans, LA. She also received an MA in Religious Studies from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, KS. She is trained in LivingWorks ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), safeTalk, and Faith. She has 25 years of Social Services and training experience. 

Scott Proescholdbell, MPH, joined the Injury and Violence Prevention Branch (IVPB) at the North Carolina Division of Public Health in 2008 to head the Injury Epidemiology, Surveillance and Informatics Unit where he is the Principal Investigator of the NC Violent Death Reporting System (NC-VDRS), NC Overdose Data to Action (NC-OD2A) and NC Firearm Injury Surveillance Through Emergency Rooms (NC-FASTER) CDC cooperative agreements. He serves on several state and national workgroups addressing drug overdose, injury and violence. He has an Adjunct Faculty appointment with the Department of Epidemiology at UNC Gilling’s School of Global Public Health at UNC.

Sarah Reives-Houston, PhD, is director of the Behavioral Health Springboard at the UNC School of Social Work.  She has developed and facilitated training and curriculum materials focused on mental health, substance abuse, systems of care for individuals and families and developed all technical reports for state, federal and specialized accountability and reporting processes. She is certified as a family trauma specialist and as a child and adolescent trauma specialist. 

Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, MD, MPH serves North Carolina as the State Health Director and the Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health and Human Services.  In this role, she promotes public health and prevention activities, as well as provides guidance and oversight on a variety of cross-Departmental issues including the Opioid Epidemic, Early Childhood, Medicaid Transformation and Healthy Opportunities. Most recently, her work has largely focused on fighting the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.Dr. Tilson received her BA in biology from Dartmouth College, earned her Medical Degree at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.  She completed a Pediatric residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a General Preventive Medicine/Public Health Residency at the University of North Carolina –Chapel Hill and is board certified in both fields. Prior roles include serving as the Medical Director of Community Care of Wake and Johnston Counties, Chief Network Medical Director for Community Care of North Carolina, Assistant Consulting Professor and Cancer Control Specialist with Duke University Medical Center, and a Clinical Pediatric Fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill.   She practiced primary care pediatrics for 26 years, primarily at her local health department – Wake County Human Services Child Health Clinic. She has been active and has served in leadership roles in many local, state, and national pediatric, public health and preventive medicine organizations. 

Shelby Weeks, MHS is the Infant and Community Health Branch Head within the NC Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health’s Women, Infant and Community Wellness Section. Presently, Shelby provides oversight to several programs that focus on infant mortality prevention, preconception health and newborn screening efforts inclusive of sickle cell disease. Shelby has extensive experience managing public health, community, and academic partnerships that address minority infant mortality disparities, adolescent parenting and improving maternal and child health outcomes in urban and rural communities around the state.  Shelby has a graduate certificate in Maternal and Child Health Leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill-Gillings School of Public Health, a Master’s degree in Human Services from Lincoln University and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Millersville University.

Emi Wyble, MSW entered the field of Child Welfare immediately following graduate school. Early in her career she was assigned to a forensic unit and since that time has had an interest in assessing physical abuse cases involving young children. Emi currently co-supervises a team of social workers (Regional Abuse and Medical Specialists) that work directly with counties, supporting and coaching supervisors in the assessment of these cases. Emi has enjoyed working in the field of child welfare for more than 30 years.  She earned her Master’s degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Kerry Young is the Local Child Fatality Prevention Coordinator. She has worked in the child fatality system since 2017. In her current role, she is responsible for training, technical assistance, overseeing of reports and operational components of the 100 local Child Fatality Prevention Teams. Ms. Young actively serves on the State Child Fatality prevention team and the Child Fatality Task Force committees. 

Click here to access the slides from the Morning Plenary. Click here to watch a video with all three morning presentations. Click here to watch just the presentation – Preventability Using Multiple Frames.

BREAK OUT SESSIONS:

Social Determinants of Health: Life Stressors & Protective Factors – Click here for slides and here for hand out.

Infant Death Review and Prevention Strategies – Click here for Susanna Joy’s slides and here for Shelby Weeks and Jessica Johnson’s slides. NC Perinatal Health Strategic Plan – click here to read.

Sentinel Events and Prevention Strategies – Click here for slides.

Secondary Trauma Break Out Session. Click here for slides.

Youth Suicide and Mental Health Session slides here.

Deep Dive into Data Session. Click here for slides.

Building a Self Care Plan. Click here for slides.

Suicide Prevention Resources – click here.

Additional items coming soon!

Kerry Young, MS, Local Child Fatality Prevention Team Program Coordinator, NC Division of Family and Child Well-Being

Debra McHenry, MSW, Administrator, Child Welfare Intensive Review Program, NC Division of Social Services

Lisa Mayhew, MS, Child Death Investigator/Trainer, NC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

Catherine Joyner, MSW, Executive Director, Child Maltreatment Prevention Leadership Team, Essentials for Childhood, NC Division of Public Health

Murphy L. Jones, Social/Clinical Research Associate, NC Division of Public Health, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

Belinda Pettiford, MPH, Section Chief, Women, Infant, and Community Wellness Section, Division of Public Health, NC DHHS

Gerri L. Mattson, MD, MSPH, FAAP, Senior Medical Director, Division of Child and Family Well-Being, NC DHHS

Ingrid Bou-Saada, MA, MPH, Injury Prevention Consultant, Division of Public Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Branch, NC DHHS

Kathy Stone, Section Chief for Safety and Prevention Services, Division of Social Services, Child Welfare, NC DHHS

Walker Wilson, MPH, Assistant Secretary for Policy, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

Kella Hatcher, Executive Director, NC Child Fatality Task Force, NC DHHS

Sarah Verbiest, Jordan Institute for Families, UNC School of Social Work

Katherine Bryant, Jordan Institute for Families, UNC School of Social Work

Yvette Thompson, Jordan Institute for Families, UNC School of Social Work

Carlton Johnson, Jordan Institute for Families, UNC School of Social Work

Allison DeMarco, Jordan Institute for Families, UNC School of Social Work