Hybrid Conference – Violence Risk Assessment and Diversity Considerations for Working with Youth – May 14, 2024 (Registration Closed)

May 14, 2024 @ 8:45 am – 2:30 pm

REGISTRATION CLOSED

Registration: 8:15 – 8:45 am
Conference: 8:45 am – 2:30 pm

Attend In Person or Via Zoom

Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School
565 Maple Street
Danvers, MA 01932

To receive PDPs, participants must attend this conference and the conference, Through a New Lens: Understanding Gender Identity and Autism, on May 7, 2024. Members can participate in-person, virtually or by viewing the recording.

SpeakerS

Description

This conference focuses on how violence risk assessment has evolved and examines the current tools that educators can use to identify students at risk. This presentation will address race, ethnicity, culture, and other intersecting identity variables as well as the relevance of context with violence risk assessment and management. Presenters will examine the use of data to evaluate risk factors associated with youth violence risk and how educators can use this data to inform violence risk formulation and management practices and strategies. Attendees will learn how to identify variables and discuss the relevance of those variables on both violence risk and management.

About the Speakers

Russell Johnston, Ph.D., is the Acting Commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, where he oversees special education, instructional support, and a variety of initiatives to identify interventions and monitor improvement. During his time at DESE, Russell has led the team that provides direct support to the Lawrence, Holyoke and Southbridge schools; worked closely with school districts on a variety of COVID-19 mitigation measures that helped keep students in school; met regularly with special education stakeholders to improve services to students with disabilities before, during, and after the pandemic; helped pass policies that led to a reduction in the use of restraints and increased public reporting of their use; collaborated on improvements to the Individualized Education Program process for students with disabilities; and provided leadership to the instructional support staff who work to strengthen teaching and learning for all students.

Before coming to DESE, Russell was superintendent of the West Springfield Public Schools from 2010 to 2014. Under his leadership, the district saw a 10 percentage-point increase in the graduation rate, a decrease in the annual dropout rate, and gains in student performance. He worked to increase the depth and rigor of the district’s curriculum; create a collaborative process between school committee members, administrators, and the local teacher’s union; and engage families to address barriers to learning. He also launched a Pathways to Prosperity program in which students received coursework and training at both the high school and through Springfield Technical Community College.

James Barrett, Ph.D., is the Director of School-Based Programs in the Division of Child/Adolescent Psychiatry at the Cambridge Health Alliance and an Instructor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is the site director of the Safety Net psychology fellowship program and clinical coordinator of the Safety Net Collaborative in partnership with the Cambridge Police Department. Dr. Barrett has presented at numerous national conferences on juvenile justice, preventing retaliatory violence, juvenile risk assessment, and police-mental health partnerships. He is a contributor to Psychological Services, Adolescent Psychiatry, The Community Psychologist, and The Handbook of Human Development for Health Professionals.

Ronald Schouten, M.D., J.D., is Director of the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC, Director Emeritus of the Law & Psychiatry Service (LPS) of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Chair of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) Governmental Affairs Committee. Dr. Schouten previously served as Director of the MGH/Harvard Medical School Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship and is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Schouten is currently a member of the MassBay Threat Assessment Team based at the Boston FBI Field Office and is past president of the New England Chapter of ATAP.

Dr. Schouten is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist with Added Qualifications in Forensic Psychiatry, a Past President of the Academy of Organizational and Occupational Psychiatry, licensed to practice medicine in Massachusetts, California, New York, and the District of Columbia, and is a Member of the Bar of the State of Illinois. In 2016, the American Psychiatric Association named his a Distinguished Life Fellow.

He is the co-author of “Almost a Psychopath: Do I (or Does Someone I Know) Have a Problem with Manipulation and Lack of Empathy” published by Hazelden/Harvard Health Publications in 2012.  He is the editor of “Mental Health Practice and the Law” published in 2017 by Oxford University Press. He serves on the Advisory Boards of “Parents for Peace” (http://parentsforpeace.org) and “Psychopathy Is.” (https://PsychopathyIs.org).

Ashley Murray, Ph.D.,  obtained her doctorate degree in clinical forensic psychology at Simon Fraser University, where her research and clinical work focused on violence risk assessment and psychopathic personality disorder. She completed a predoctoral internship at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at UMass Chan Medical School. She currently works as a designated forensic evaluator for the state of Massachusetts, and is the Director of the UMass Chan Forensic Psychology Fellowship, where she also serves as a Forensic Mental Health Supervisor. She is an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at UMass Chan Medical School, and has conducted many trainings across the state for the trial courts, DMH, DYS, and UMass Chan Medical School, on topics of violence risk assessment, psychopathic personality disorder assessment, competency to stand trial, ethical practice, and the intersection of mental illness and the criminal justice system.

Danielle Rynczak, J.D., PsyD, ABPP, is an attorney, a clinical and board-certified forensic psychologist licensed in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maine, and both a designated forensic examiner and forensic mental health supervisor in the state of Massachusetts. Dr. Rynczak is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School where she serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging for the Psychology Training Program and as the Director of Legal Education and Training for the Law and Psychiatry Program. She conducts evaluations of youth and adults involved in criminal proceedings, serves as a violence risk consultant to state psychiatric hospitals, provides expert witness testimony, and supervises postdoctoral trainees and new professionals with a focus on race, ethnicity, and cultural considerations in the psycho-legal system. She is the recipient of the Early Career Achievement Award by APA Division 18, Criminal Justice Section, and she serves in several leadership positions, including Chair of the Forensic Psychology Board, Chair of the Teaching, Training, and Career Committee for the American Psychology-Law Society, and as a Commissioner, representing Specialized Practice, on the APA Commission on Accreditation. She has co-authored articles and book chapters, and has presented at local, national, and international conferences. Dr. Rynczak also holds teaching appointments at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She is a second generation American who was reared in a bicultural home.

Membership Information

Most MPY webinars are available ONLY to current staff from member districts and organizations. Public school memberships include police and fire personnel. Former and retired employees and members of committees, including but not limited to, PTO/PTA, PAC, School Improvement Councils, Health Councils, Drug/Alcohol Councils, and school volunteers, are not considered MPY members.

PDPs and CEUs

MPY is an approved Professional Development Provider through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (Provider No. F20180079). Professional Development Points (PDPs) are offered for most MPY professional development webinars. PDPs are issued in 10 hour increments, per DESE requirements.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for clinical staff through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association, Inc. (MaMHCA). The NASW and the MaMHCA approve each event individually. CEUs may be given in hourly increments.

To receive PDPs and CEUs, participants must pass the quiz. The PDP quiz will be made available only to participants who have registered for and attended both conferences.

Event Cancellation Policy

If you are unable to attend a MPY webinar you must cancel, through Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org, one business day before the webinar.

For MPY hybrid conferences, the date in-person registration closes will be posted on MPY’s website. Virtual conference registration will close one business day before the hybrid conference. You cannot cancel or switch your registration from in-person to virtual after in-person registration closes. Please email Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org with any questions regarding registration.