Stay Tuned for Upcoming Trainings
Title: What do Red States and Blue States Tell us about Religion, Parenting and Corporal Punishment in America?
October 6, 2021 from 2 pm to 3 pm ET
Welcome: Dr. Darrell Armstrong, DDIV., MDIV., ED.S.-MFT
Summary: Drawing from recent research from the Pew Charitable Trust and the Lilly Foundation, this webinar will explore the latest trends of American religion in light of the global pandemic. Emphasis will be placed on the acute conservative entrenchment of religiosity in America's Southern and Mid-Western states and its implications on parenting, especially the use of corporal punishment.
Lives In The Balance 2021 Children's Mental Health Conference
October 8, 2021
Summary: This will be a day devoted to the Keeping All Students Safe Act (KASSA) and the Protecting Our Students in Schools Act. Speakers include Dr. Stacey Patton, Dr. Liz Gershoff, Dr. Ross Greene, Senator Chris Murphy, Denise Marshall, Kenneth Polishchuk, The Rev. Darrell L. Armstrong, Ellen Reddy, Guy Stevens, Congressman A. Donald McEachin and congressional aide Blair Wriston.
A Clinician’s Guide to Corporal Punishment
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Workshop leader: Jamie Hoffman-Rosenfeld, M.D.
Summary: The workshop will review the history of corporal punishment use and acceptance in society throughout the ages, describe the current laws which address the issue in various regions in the U.S. as well as other countries, discuss the current literature about the effects of corporal punishment on children, review risk factors for corporal punishment, describe alternatives to corporal punishment and strategies to promote safe discipline practices. Dr. Hoffman-Rosenfeld will use case vignettes to engage participants in an interactive discussion.
Energizing No Hit Zones: Uplighting Prevention Conference
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Thursday, November 18, 2021
Austin, TX
Summary: No Hit Zones are quickly emerging as an effective, low cost, and easy to implement strategy for the prevention of child abuse. While creating “safe spaces” for both children and adults, it promotes healthy interpersonal relationships and behaviors that support positive and completely non-violent interactions.
Are you hoping to implement No Hit Zones in your agency or business but are not sure where to begin? Have you implemented No Hit Zones in your workplace and now are asking “what next”? Are you a No Hit Zone advocate but really want to know what to do to sustain the initiative and keep it moving forward? Do you need to know what techniques to use to expand your No Hit Zone program into other organizations or community agencies/businesses? The conference agenda is stacked with national faculty and leaders in the prevention field to answer these and many other questions you may have regarding the No Hit Zone initiative.
To register click here.
Straight Talk About the Harms of Corporal Punishment
April 13, 2021 from 2 pm to 3 pm ET
Welcome: Viola Vaughan-Eden, Ph.D., MJ, LCSW
Summary: This webinar addresses the myths and harms associated with corporal punishment. Clinicians often dread conversations regarding spanking, but parents are often relieved to know they have alternatives. Corporal punishment is a public health issue and important to preventing child maltreatment. Educating parents and other adults on safe and effective ways of parenting is essential for the health and wellbeing of all children.
No Hit Zones: Low-Cost, Low-Effort Interventions to Reduce the Hitting of Children in Our Communities
February 9th, 2021 from 2:00 pm- 4:00 pm ET
Presenters: Elizabeth Gershoff, PhD and Stacie LeBlanc, MEd, JD
Summary: Parents in the U.S. currently have a legally sanctioned “reasonable discipline” defense for hitting their children, and its use in public settings poses a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is that observers may experience stress or secondary trauma from seeing children hit by their parents. Yet such incidents also create an opportunity for intervention and education about the ineffectiveness and harmfulness of physical punishment. This webinar will discuss an intervention known as No Hit Zones, which are institutional policies that promote intervention by employee bystanders when parents hit, or threaten to hit, their children. No Hit Zones have been established in a variety of settings, including hospitals, courts, schools, and libraries. At this webinar, you will learn about research indicating why No Hit Zones are needed and how they have been shown to be effective in reducing behaviors and attitudes that lead to violence against children. You will also learn about the steps to effectively implement a No Hit Zone in your institution or community and where to find resources and support for doing so.
Preventing Abuse and Neglect in Our Lifetime
Recorded on October 15th, 2020
Welcome: Dr. Viola Vaughan-Eden & Keynote Presentations by Dr. Joan Durrant & Dr. David Finkelhor
Recent Research Trends and Topics by Dr. George Holden & Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff
Let’s Talk about Race, Culture, Corporal Punishment and Child Abuse Prevention by Dr. Stacey Patton
No Hit Zones: A Promising Solution to Ending Corporal Punishment by Stacie Leblanc & the No Hit Zone National Committee & Closing: Dr. George Holden
Cultural Norms, and Cultural Shifts, Regarding Physical Punishment
Elizabeth Gershoff, Ph.D.
September 14, 2020 2 pm - 3 pm EST
Summary: Parents often defend their use of physical punishment by pointing to the norms of their cultural group. Dr. Gershoff will discuss some of the cultural norms regarding physical punishment and what research and science can tell us about each. Register here.
A Clinician’s Guide to Corporal Punishment
Jamie Hoffman-Rosenfeld, M.D.
September 30, 2020 Time: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm EST
Summary: The workshop will review the history of corporal punishment use and acceptance in society throughout the ages, describe the current laws which address the issue in various regions in the US as well as other countries, discuss the current literature about the effects of corporal punishment on children, review risk factors for corporal punishment, describe alternatives to corporal punishment and strategies to promote safe discipline practices. Dr. Hoffman-Rosenfeld will use case vignettes to engage participants in an interactive discussion.
Preventing Abuse and Neglect in Our Lifetime: A Virtual Conference
Keynote Speakers: Joan Durrant, Ph.D. and David Finklehor, Ph.D.
October 15, 2020 Time: 10:00 am - 4:15 pm EST
Workshops: "Recent Research Trends and Topics” George Holden, Ph.D. and Elizabeth Gershoff, Ph.D.
“Spare the Rod: The Intersectionality of Race, Religion, and the Raising of America's Children” Victor Vieth, JD, MA. and Darrell Armstrong, DDiv, MDiv, EdS-MFT. “Let’s Talk about Race, Culture, Corporal Punishment and Child Abuse Prevention” Stacey Patton, Ph.D. “No Hit Zones: A Promising Solution to Ending Corporal Punishment” Stacie LeBlanc, MEd, JD. CEO. For more information, click here.
Recent Trainings
Upcoming Trainings
Violence -- A Family Tradition
Dr. Robbyn Peters Bennett
View the TEDx talk below by Robbyn Peters Bennett explaining how harmful spanking is for children.
The State of Evidence that Physical Punishment Harms Children
Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Summary: There is now a large body of research demonstrating that physical punishment is not effective and puts children at risk of harm. In this workshop, Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff summarized the research evidence and how it has informed interventions across the country and the world. Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff is a Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences and Associate Director of the Population Research Center, at the University of Texas at Austin. She is an internationally recognized expert on the effects of physical punishment on children and the 2019 recipient of the Nicholas Hobbs Award recognizing her work advocating on behalf of children. Click on the video below to view this webinar:
A Clinician’s Guide to Corporal Punishment
Jamie Hoffman-Rosenfeld, M.D.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
New York Foundling
Summary: The workshop reviewed the history of corporal punishment use and acceptance in society throughout the ages, described the current laws which address the issue in various regions in the US as well as other countries, discussed the current literature about the effects of corporal punishment on children, reviewed risk factors for corporal punishment, and described alternatives to corporal punishment and strategies to promote safe discipline practices. Dr. Hoffman-Rosenfeld used case vignettes to engage participants in an interactive discussion.
No Hit Zones
Stacie LeBlanc, MEd, JD
March 13, 2019
Webcast
Summary: The purpose of this educational webcast was to educate the audience about no hit zones. The learning objectives upon completion of this activity, were that participants would be able to (1) Describe the harms of corporal punishment and the most prevalent risk factor for child physical abuse (2) Explain the No Hit Zone policy and learn how to implement it in medical facilities and other youth-serving organizations and (3) Summarize communication strategies with families and co-workers in a non-judgmental manner regarding the harms of physical discipline. Ms. LeBlanc is the director of the New Orleans Children’s Advocacy Center (NOCAC) and the Audrey Hepburn CARE Center, Children’s Hospital, New Orleans
To view the webinar, please click here.
'Spare the Rod' - Evaluating Child Physical Abuse
Debra Esernio-Jenssen, MD; Barbara Knox, MD
APSAC Conference 2019
Summary: This all day pre-conference institute reviewed the basics of child physical abuse including cutaneous manifestations of abuse, occult and apparent fractures, abusive head and abdominal trauma.
No Hit Zones: An Innovative Approach to Child Physical Abuse Prevention
Julia Fleckman, PhD, MPH; Rachel Ruiz, MPH; Stacie Leblanc, JD, Med; Hannah Gilbert; Catherine Taylor, PhD, MPH, MSW
APSAC Conference 2019
Summary: No Hit Zones (NHZ) are an emergent and highly promising public health strategy designed to change community-level social norms regarding the acceptability of physical punishment of children. This workshop reviewed the premise and foundation of NHZ.
Training Professionals to Change Attitudes about Spanking Among Conservative Christians:
How to Talk with People of Faith
Cindy Miller-Perrin, PhD; Robin Perrin, PhD
APSAC Conference 2019
Summary: This presentation examined alternative biblical interpretations of scripture related to spanking and offered practical strategies and specific language for talking with people of faith about using alternatives to spanking.
To Beat or Not to Beat: What Does Faith, Religion, and Spirituality Have to Say About Corporal Punishment and Loving Our children?
Darrell Armstrong, DDIV., MDIV., ED.S.-MFT
December 12, 2018
Summary: In this webinar, Pastor Darrell Armstrong drew upon his clinical training in marriage & family therapy, his policy training from Stanford University, and his theological training from Princeton Theological Seminary to explore how we love our children to life. Specific attention was given to how major world religions and spiritual/faith traditions approach the topic of disciplining with/through physical means like spanking and hitting.