OU-Tulsa Learning Center (4502 E. 41st Street, Tulsa, OK 74135) Room 231 & Perkins Auditorium

Registration: $50* (includes 35 CEU credit hours for Social Work and Behavioral Health)

Morning and afternoon refreshments will be provided, lunch on your own.

Course description: ChildFirst® Oklahoma is an in-person five-day course in which students learn the ChildFirst® Protocol for forensic interviewing. Registration is limited to 40 professionals who are Oklahoma-based MDT Professionals  who have applied and been accepted by ChildFirst® Oklahoma faculty.

Finding words can be difficult for a child victimized by abuse. Conflicting emotions of fear and love for the alleged perpetrator may cause a child to be reluctant to reveal abuse. If a child tries to speak of abuse, they may lack the verbal skills to adequately communicate the event to an adult.

Finding words can be difficult for a police officer, social worker, or prosecutor who must speak to a child about abuse. In order to communicate competently with a child, the interviewer must be able to speak in a manner consistent with the child’s linguistic and developmental abilities.

Finding words can be difficult for an investigator or prosecutor forced to defend an interview from an attack by defense counsel that the child was “led” into making a false accusation.

ChildFirst® Oklahoma is the ideal course for multidisciplinary child abuse team investigators and prosecutors seeking to enhance their ability to speak to and for abused children in Oklahoma. ChildFirst® Oklahoma supports a multidisciplinary approach (MDT) to child maltreatment cases and satisfies statutory training requirements for new core MDT members.

LINK TO AGENDA

*Please note the payment transaction will appear as “Haruv Institute” (mahon harov) and the confirmation may take several hours to appear in your email.

The post ChildFirst® Oklahoma: Interviewing Children & Preparing for Court (March 23-27, 2026) appeared first on haruv.

OU-Tulsa Learning Center, Room 136 (4502 E. 41st Street, Tulsa, OK 74135)

Morning refreshments provided, lunch on your own

Registration: $10* (includes CLE and CEUs for Social Work and Behavioral Health)

Limited number of OFR scholarships available – first come first serve, contact Allyson McCormick, allyson.mccormick@laok.org for more information

With Timothy Michaels-Johnson, J.D. & Tessa Chesher, DO, IMH-E

Having earned his Juris Doctorate with Honors from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 2011, Timothy Michaels-Johnson focused his career in child welfare. He joined the District Attorney’s Office of Tulsa County and prosecuted deprived child cases for nearly 5 years. In July 2016, Michaels-Johnson joined Tulsa Lawyers for Children representing children and training TLC’s volunteer attorneys. He subsequently served as TLC’s third Executive Director until April 2024. Michaels-Johnson now assists with the development and roll out of Oklahoma’s new central office of parent and child representation as the Region 5 Managing Attorney for Child Representation with the Oklahoma Office of Family Representation. In addition, Michaels-Johnson has returned to the University of Tulsa College of Law as an adjunct professor teaching Juvenile Law and serves as a Commissioner on the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth.

Dr. Chesher is a child and adolescent psychiatrist interested in pediatric trauma, infant and early childhood mental health, and behavioral health integration into primary care. She is from Oklahoma and went to medical school at Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Chesher completed a psychiatry residency at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Tulsa followed by a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship and an Irving Harris Fellowship in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health at Tulane School of Medicine. She was on faculty at Tulane School of Medicine as an instructor, OU School of Community Medicine in Tulsa, OK as an assistant clinical professor and the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine as an associate and then full clinical professor. Dr. Chesher is the Medical Director of the Children’s Specialty Program at Oklahoma Complete Health. Dr. Chesher owns TC², offering consultation and training in infant and early childhood mental health.

Workshop description: QIC-ChildRep is an evidence-based best practice model of child representation. This training was developed to advance the QIC-ChildRep Best Practice Model and integrates key aspects of Oklahoma child welfare law and practice, including Oklahoma practice standards, with the goal of advancing high quality legal representation for attorneys representing children in Oklahoma child welfare cases.

*Please note the payment transaction will appear as “Haruv Institute” (mahon harov) and the confirmation may take several hours to appear in your email.

The post Creating Champions for Children: Best Practices for Oklahoma’s Attorneys appeared first on haruv.

FREE CEUs available for Social Work and Behavioral Health

Juliana E. Karras, Ph.D.

Juliana Karras, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Director of the A.R.C. Lab dedicated to Advancing the Rights of Children through psychological science at San Francisco State University. She completed her: postdoc in Human Development & Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles; Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at the Graduate Center City University of New York; and M.A. in Human Development & Social Intervention at New York University. Dr. Karras’ work straddles both developmental and social research areas by focusing on the social development of children and adolescents in context. Specifically: the intersection of race, inequality, and civic development; attitudes towards and conceptions of children’s human rights; and ethnic/racial inequality across contexts. The goal of her work is to advance the human rights of children through actionable science by generating empirical knowledge that researchers, practitioners, and policymakers can use to identify and rectify social systems that reproduce inequality in development.

The post Children’s Rights: What Are They and Why Do They Matter? (November 20, 2025) appeared first on haruv.

November 13, 1-3pm CST on Zoom

CEUs available for Social Work, Behavioral Health, CLEET & DHS/OHS

Presenter’s bio: Christi Cornett serves as the Program Director at Abbott House Child Advocacy Center, where she leads efforts to ensure children and families receive the highest level of trauma-informed care. She earned her Master’s Degree in Psychology in 2017 and brings extensive expertise to her role. As Program Director, Christi oversees all direct service programs, coordinates the Multidisciplinary Team, facilitates case reviews, and fosters collaboration among partner agencies. She is also a highly experienced forensic interviewer, having conducted more than 2,300 child interviews and provided testimony in court on 37 occasions across multiple jurisdictions. With over 800 hours of specialized training in forensic interviewing and child abuse response, Christi is dedicated to ensuring that every child’s voice is heard in a safe, respectful, and court-defensible manner.

Lecture description: Be the safe adult a child needs. When a child chooses to disclose potential abuse or neglect, your response can make all the difference. This training will prepare first responders and child-serving professionals with the tools to respond calmly, appropriately, and effectively. Learn how to offer support without leading the child, ask only the right minimal questions when necessary, and protect the integrity of the investigation, all while ensuring the child feels heard and safe.

The post Minimal Facts: Protecting Investigations, Supporting Children When They Disclose – Virtual Training (November 13, 2025) appeared first on haruv.

Fort Sill Federal Credit Union, Community Room (1614 NW 67th Street, Lawton, OK 73505)

Registration: $10 (includes morning refreshments, CLE and CEUs for Social Work and Behavioral Health (7 credit hours)

Limited number of OFR scholarships available – first come first serve, contact Allyson McCormick, allyson.mccormick@laok.org for more information

Workshop description: QIC-ChildRep is an evidence-based best practice model of child representation. This training was developed to advance the QIC-ChildRep Best Practice Model and integrates key aspects of Oklahoma child welfare law and practice, including Oklahoma practice standards, with the goal of advancing high quality legal representation for attorneys representing children in Oklahoma child welfare cases.

Timothy Michaels-Johnson, J.D. – Having earned his Juris Doctorate with Honors from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 2011, Timothy Michaels-Johnson focused his career in child welfare. He joined the District Attorney’s Office of Tulsa County and prosecuted deprived child cases for nearly 5 years. In July 2016, Michaels-Johnson joined Tulsa Lawyers for Children representing children and training TLC’s volunteer attorneys. He subsequently served as TLC’s third Executive Director until April 2024. Michaels-Johnson now assists with the development and roll out of Oklahoma’s new central office of parent and child representation as the Region 5 Managing Attorney for Child Representation with the Oklahoma Office of Family Representation. In addition, Michaels-Johnson has returned to the University of Tulsa College of Law as an adjunct professor teaching Juvenile Law and serves as a Commissioner on the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth.

Tara Glenn, LCSW, IMH-E® (III)– Tara is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and is an endorsed infant mental health clinician by the Oklahoma Association of Infant Mental Health. Tara’s work has focused on treating childhood sexual abuse and trauma, treating families with infants/young children who have experienced scary and confusing things or have experienced attachment disruptions, and serving adults with complex trauma histories. Tara is an EMDR trained therapist as well as Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), and Circle of Security. Tara believes we are created for connection and with a purpose and wants to serve people so that any barriers to that fulfillment can be diminished.

The post Creating Champions for Children: Best Practices for Oklahoma’s Attorneys (August 29, 2025) appeared first on haruv.

Tulsa County Juvenile Center: 500 W Archer St, Tulsa, OK 74103

Presenters:

• Jill McAbee, Executive Director of DCCSAN, the CAC in Delaware County
• Stephanie Bishop, Assistant Attorney General for Cherokee Nation, and former Assistant District Attorney for Delaware County (she is on the DCCSAN MDT)
• Tisha Boggs, the lead Forensic Interviewer for DCCSAN and CACO’s FI Peer Review Facilitator and Expert FI Mentor

The post Haruv USA and CACO Present: Forensic Interviewer Testifying 2025 appeared first on haruv.

with David McLeod, PhD, MSW

CEUs available for Social Work and LPC: $10 for 1 credit hour

Presenter’s Bio:  David McLeod, PhD, MSW has spent the past three decades working to actively reduce violence, particularly that directed at people and communities with diminished capacities for self-protection. In addition to being a Professor and the Interim Director of the AHZSSW he holds affiliate faculty status with the OU Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, the OU Center for Social Justice, the OU Carceral Consortium, the OU Institute for Community and Society Transformation, and the Ruth Knee Institute for Transformative Scholarship. David is highly involved in the community and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Forensic Social Work(www.JoFSW.org), the Co-Editor of the Handbook of Forensic Social Work (available here), and the President of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work (www.NOFSW.org), and the Chair of the Oklahoma Children of Incarcerated Parents Legislative Advisory Committee. For more on his background and work visit www.damcleod.com.

The post State of the State: Children of Incarcerated Parents in Oklahoma appeared first on haruv.

Tulsa County Juvenile Center: 500 W Archer St, Tulsa, OK 74103

Presenters:

• Jill McAbee, Executive Director of DCCSAN, the CAC in Delaware County
• Tisha Boggs, lead Forensic Interviewer for DCCSAN, and CACO’s FI Peer Review Facilitator and Expert FI Mentor
• Stephanie Bishop, Assistant Attorney General for Cherokee Nation, and former Assistant District Attorney for Delaware County (she is on the DCCSAN MDT)

The post Haruv USA and CACO Present: Forensic Interviewer Testifying appeared first on haruv.

Tulsa Central Library, 400 Civic Center, Tulsa, OK

15 hours CLE requested, including 1 hour of Ethics

In an effort to make this training accessible to legal professionals across the state, we are offering mileage and hotel reimbursement to those traveling over 200 miles roundtrip.  If this applies to you, please register for this event and email Haruv USA Director, DeJon Knapp, dejon@ou.edu for more details.

Workshop description:

QIC-ChildRep is an evidence-based best practice model of child representation. This training builds on the two-day training developed to advance the QIC-ChildRep Best Practice Model and integrates key aspects of Oklahoma child welfare law and practice, including Oklahoma practice standards, with the goal of advancing high quality legal representation for attorneys representing children in Oklahoma child welfare cases.

Presenters’ bios:

Ashleigh Kraft, LPC-S, IMH-E®

Ashleigh Kraft provides training and consultation in the areas of infant mental health, non-profit leadership, and trauma-informed care.  The major areas of focus in her professional experiences have included working with survivors of domestic violence, child maltreatment, and interpersonal trauma.  She is trained to provide Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), Circle of Security and Reflective Supervision/Consultation, and is endorsed as an Infant Mental Health Mentor, Clinical.  She is a state-wide trainer for CPP in Oklahoma and is endorsed through Zero to Three as a certified state trainer for DC: 0-5.  Ashleigh is passionate about the power of relationships, supporting professional growth of therapists, and the importance of early relationships.

Hope Cooper, Staff Attorney, Tulsa Lawyers for Children

Hope Cooper, fka Hope Sheppard-Mahaffey, was born in Louisiana and grew up in Texas. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Austin College in 2013 while volunteering at the North Texas Montessori Academy and participating in multiple extracurricular activities and groups on campus. Upon graduation, Cooper worked for a law firm specializing in Personal Injury and Probate in Richardson, Texas for two years in order to decide which route to pursue in her life career. During this time, she pursued her passion of helping children while volunteering at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center. Cooper moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma in August of 2015 to attend the University of Tulsa College of Law. She was involved in multiple organizations at TU Law including Women’s Law Caucus, Student Bar Association, Immigration Law Clinic, Phi Alpha Delta, and Board of Advocates.  Cooper co-authored a research article on Munchausen by Proxy.  Cooper earned her Juris Doctorate in 2018 and began work at the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office prosecuting juvenile and deprived and criminal cases for almost two years. Cooper began working for Tulsa Lawyers for Children in May 2021. She married Teddy Cooper in April 2022. They have one dog and two cats – Pig, Rico and Ollie; and they enjoy hiking and visiting National Parks.

Timothy Michaels-Johnson, Executive Director, Tulsa Lawyers for Children

Having earned his Juris Doctorate with Honors from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 2011, Timothy Michaels-Johnson focused his career in child welfare. He joined the District Attorney’s Office of Tulsa County and prosecuted deprived child cases for nearly 5 years. Since 2016, Michaels-Johnson has worked for Tulsa Lawyers for Children representing children and training TLC’s volunteer attorneys. In May 2020, Michaels-Johnson was honored to become TLC’s third Executive Director. In addition to his work with TLC, Michaels-Johnson is Co-chair of the Juvenile Section of the Tulsa County Bar Association, member of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Oversight Committee on Uniform Representation of Children and Parents in Cases Involving Abuse and Neglect, Oklahoma State Coordinator for the National Association of Counsel for Children, and will be returning to the University of Tulsa College of Law as an adjunct professor teaching Juvenile Law in the fall 2023.

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November 17 & 18, 9:00am – 5:30pm

Tulsa Central Library 400 Civic Center, Tulsa, OK 74103

Pocahontas Greadington Learning & Creativity Center

FREE CLE credits (17 hours, including 1 hour ethics)

FREE morning refreshments and lunch provided

Registration is closed

Download agenda

Presenters:

Kristen Pisani-Jacques JD, CWLS, is the Training Director of the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC), a non-profit professional membership and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing justice for children, youth, and families. Kristen has over a decade of experience working in the dependency system, as a guardian ad litem, supervisor, and manager, and now uses that experience to create, manage, and deliver highquality trainings and resources for attorneys nationally. Prior to joining NACC, Kristen spent over eleven years at the Children’s Law Center in Washington, D.C., where she most recently served as the Deputy Director of the Guardian ad litem (GAL) project. Kristen has presented locally and nationally on a variety of child welfare topics and earned her law degree at Georgetown. Kristen is barred in Washington, D.C. and Maryland and is based in Silver Spring, Maryland. She is a certified Child Welfare Law Specialist (CWLS).

Christina Lewis, JD, CWLS, is a Staff Attorney at the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC), where she supports the creation of trainings and resources for child welfare practitioners. Prior to NACC, Christina served as a public defender with the St. Charles Parish Public Defender’s Office in Louisiana. During her twelve years as a public defender, Christina represented adults charged with misdemeanors, served as the defense attorney for the St. Charles Parish Adult Drug Court, and represented juveniles charged with delinquencies in juvenile court. Christina also represented children in child welfare cases, but most of her career has been devoted to providing high quality representation to parents whose children were removed from their custody due to abuse and/or neglect. Christina graduated from Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center with a Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Civil Law. Christina began her legal career as a judicial law clerk with the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal for the Honorable Marc T. Amy for three years. Christina is licensed to practice in Louisiana where she currently resides. She is a certified Child Welfare Law Specialist (CWLS)

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