Forensic Training

To obtain justice for innocent victims, professionals must have the knowledge and skills to identify abuse, complete thorough investigations, build strong legal cases, and provide needed support to victims. 

Training and education are the keys for professionals involved in the field of forensics to meet this challenge.

 

For over 23 years, The Shaken Baby Alliance’s award-winning training programs have taught best practice standards using evidence-informed curriculum to over 28,000 professionals in the field of forensics.

We provide a full range of forensic investigative training programs for multidisciplinary professionals to promote successful legal outcomes.  This training is targeted:

  • Law Enforcement
  • First Responders
  • Child Protection
  • Adult Protection
  • Medical Practitioners
  • Mental Health Providers
  • Legal Professionals

Our training is based on the philosophy that professionals with a strong foundational understanding of the medical aspects, forensic investigative techniques, and the legal aspects of child and elder abuse will be provided with the tools necessary to investigate, understand the legal issue, and ultimately protect these vulnerable victims. 

Our training faculty is composed of MDT members including medical providers, investigators, attorneys, educators, and consultants who are recognized as state and national experts in the field of forensics.  All faculty actively work cases and/or practice in the field of forensics and/or law.  This approach ensures our training mirrors our philosophy of the importance of staying current in the field and utilizing the MDT in all aspects of training and practice.

Courses Offered:

Course Modules:

  • Clinical Presentation in Pediatrics: Indicators of Child Abuse and Neglect
  • Child Death Cases: Natural/Accidental Death vs. Homicide
  • Forensic Pathology of Child Physical Abuse
  • Forensic Investigative Techniques: The 12 Elements of the Successful
  • Forensic Investigation© (Child Abuse Focus)
  • Scene Investigation & Photography
  • Interviews in Child Physical Abuse: The Devil is in the Details
  • Timeline Development
  • Building the Strong Legal Case Together: Case Studies in Child Physical Abuse
  • The WHOLE Truth About Pediatric Head Trauma: How a Thorough Investigation Impacts the Legal Case

Time: ½ day to 2.5 days

This module focuses on what the First Responder needs to know to assist in determining natural death vs. homicide.  The infant death scene provides valuable information for the forensic investigator to consider including what the First Responder and/or investigators saw, felt, smelled, and heard at the death scene.  The Triple Risk Model will be discussed to include the critical development period, the vulnerable infant, and environmental stressors that increase the risk of SIDS.  Case studies will be utilized to compare and contrast the natural death vs. homicide.

Time: 1.25 hours

This module focuses on the forensic markers of the Abusive Head Trauma (AHT)incident including mechanism of injury, symptoms and timing of the injury, and the importance of asking specific, detailed questions related to the activities of the caregiver and child before and after the abusive incident.  The 12 Elements of the Successful Forensic Investigation© will be presented with emphasis on the elements impacted by the First Responder’s actions at the scene and the importance of the First Responder to the thorough forensic investigation.

Time:  2.0 – 2.5 hours

Course Modules:

  • Medical Aspects of Elder Abuse
  • Forensic Investigative Techniques: The 12 Elements of the Successful Forensic Investigation© (Elder Abuse Focus)
  • Scene Investigation & Photography
  • Timeline Development
  • Overcoming Challenges to
  • Interviewing the Elder Victim
  • Interviewing Alleged Perpetrators/Suspects in the Elder Abuse Case
  • Building the Strong Legal Case Together: Case Studies in Elder Abuse
  • Building an Elder Law Case by Asking Questions
  • When Opportunity Knocks, Don’t Answer: Dealing Ethically with Incapacitated and Elderly Individuals
  • The Crime of the 21st Century: Financial Exploitation
  • Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way: Case Studies of Elder Abuse
  • An Overview of Aging
  • Mental Health Conditions in the Elderly and People with Disabilities
  • Physical Conditions in the Elderly and People with Disabilities
  • Untreated Conditions:  The Silent Killer of Our Elderly and How Intervention Can Change the Course
  • Pills, Potions, and Polypharmacy:  Medications and the Elderly