June 21, 2023 | 9:00am
Date: June 21, 2023
Time: 9AM-12PM
Location: Virtual (Zoom)
Cost: Free thanks to generous funding from the Office of the Governor Child Sex Trafficking Team.
Brief human trafficking overview which includes information on normalization of the problem and data on offenders. This training presents person-centered, trauma-informed approaches/considerations and best practices, interview techniques, social media, discussion and videos.
Specific to any CSEY provider/advocate, counselor/social worker, and youth providers
DESCRIPTION: Victims and survivors of human trafficking, child sexual abuse materials, and commercial sexual exploitation have a level of trauma which requires a variety of person-centered approaches to provide the best possible care. This session will focus on more than just the basics of trafficking, but will take a deeper look at the needs of victims and survivors, best practices in the field, and how to be creative and trauma-informed in approaches to ensure success for those we serve. Attendees will gain a variety of interview and best practice techniques to build trust and rapport with victims and survivors, and ensure they are at the center of the care they receive. This session will include discussion on the market and demand for CSEY and trafficking victims as well as social media risks and concerns.
Melissa Kaiser is an independent consultant in the anti-human trafficking field. She was the first Human Trafficking Navigator hired for Eastern North Dakota, contracted with the North Dakota Human Trafficking Task Force. Melissa was employed with the Bureau of Criminal Investigations as their first Victim/Witness Specialist, and assisted in creating the integrated victim services and law enforcement program in ND. Melissa graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social work from Minnesota State University Moorhead. She was a member of the North Dakota Human Trafficking Task Force for six years, and during that time she was the vice chair of the Labor Trafficking Subcommittee. Melissa has been involved in additional committees and task forces specific to underserved populations, and is a trained facilitator in Compassion Fatigue, Green Dot, SHARP, GEMS, My Life My Choice, and Stand to Protect. She has additional training in Child Welfare, Pride and Safe Zone. Melissa is a board member for the Fargo Police Department’s Badges of Unity program and was a nominee for the YWCA’s Women of the Year 2020. She is a skilled facilitator working with groups within foster care systems, psychiatry and addiction patients, and human trafficking multi-disciplinary teams. She has experience in team supervision, protocol development, team development and maintenance, crisis management, public speaking, training development, prevention/education, advocacy, and case management. Melissa has trained over 11,000 professionals and students, and has trained at GRIT, IHTSJ/GAHTS, NCPTF, Shared Hope/JuST and IAHTI conferences on the topics of human trafficking and secondary traumatic stress. Melissa assisted in creating a summer food service program for children in Fargo, ND, and studied abroad the social welfare system of Ireland. She currently lives in Clearwater, FL, and working nationally and internationally in the anti-human trafficking field. Melissa was born and raised in North Dakota.