About
Jerri's Mission:
To empower professionals to improve
the system's response to child abuse.
With 30 years of experience working in the field of child abuse investigations, Jerri Sites has developed and honed her expertise which includes two decades working in the Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) movement. Throughout her career, she has conducted over 2100 child forensic interviews, testified on countless occasions as an expert witness, and has provided training at the national, regional, state, and local level.
Jerri has vast experience in providing trauma-informed, research-based training and technical assistance to MDTs, CACs, and child serving professionals throughout the United States. She has led efforts to provide team and organizational strategic planning, create train-the-trainer programs, and facilitate curriculum development for a variety of trainings in the child abuse investigation arena.
Jerri co-authored “The Child Abuse Investigative Field Guide,” published in 2015, and in recent years in her role as Regional Training Specialist for the Southern Regional Children's Advocacy Center, a project of the National Children's Advocacy Center, Jerri co-authored "Research to Practice" white papers and presented webinars on the topics of the MDT and CAC approach to recantation, as well as the MDT and CAC approach children with problematic sexual behaviors. In addition, in collaboration with colleagues from the Native American Children's Alliance, Jerri co-authored the publication, "Listen and Learn: A Process for Initiating Collaboration between Tribal Communities and CACs." Access to these publications can be found in the Links to Resources section.
Jerri holds a Master of Arts Degree in Communications with an emphasis in professional development from Lindenwood University.
Training Topics
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MDT/CAC Investigative Approach to Child Abuse
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MDT/CAC Approach to Recantation
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MDT/CAC Approach to Children with Problematic Sexual Behaviors
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Identifying Corroborative Evidence from the Forensic Interview
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Strategies to Address the Impact of Secondary Traumatic Stress on Child-Serving Professionals
Services
Jerri has firsthand working knowledge of the field of child abuse investigations. With three decades of experience and a thorough understanding of the complexities of child protection and criminal justice systems, Jerri has the expertise to provide child abuse professionals with real-life, research-based tools and solutions to enhance their response to allegations of child abuse.
Training
Including, but not limited to:
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Maximizing your efficiency and training dollars by providing virtual or onsite practical, research-based training for child abuse professionals in your community;
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Working with your multidisciplinary team stakeholders to determine your MDT's needs in an effort to create a unified approach to child abuse in your community;
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Developing a plan for training and technical assistance that will benefit the unique needs of your community;
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Developing customized MDT Orientation Training for CACs to continue to provide for their teams as required through the National Children's Alliance National Standards of Accreditation; and
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Follow-up technical assistance with your team to ensure sustainability of the strategies identified the training and technical assistance plan.
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Contact Jerri to discuss your training needs and request a list of her course descriptions.
Technical Assistance
Including, but not limited to:
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Virtual or onsite assistance in assessing your approach to child abuse and offer a written analysis of your multidisciplinary team process;
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Strategic planning with MDT stakeholders to empower leaders to make change in their system's response;
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Assistance with multidisciplinary team protocol development; and
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Follow-up technical assistance with your team to ensure sustainability of the strategies identified in the consulting process.
Trial Support
Including, but not limited to:
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Analyzation of case information;
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A written report of case analysis and recommendations;
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Assistance in court preparation; and
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If conflicts of interest exist, referrals for other qualified experts will be provided.
Expert Testimony
Related to:
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Dynamics of abuse and process of disclosure in child abuse cases
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Offender manipulation in child sexual abuse cases
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MDT child abuse investigative process
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Cases involving children with problematic sexual behavior
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Recantation
What People Are Saying
Jerri's recantation presentation was perfect for our multi-disciplinary team. She shared the latest research and common characteristics of child abuse cases with children who experience recantation. She spoke about what professionals can do from the beginning to the end of an investigation to avoid recantation and what MDTs can do to successfully prosecute cases with children who are recanting.
Great informative presentation.
Thanks Jerri!
Tricia Kelly, MA, LPC
17th Judicial District Manager
Ralston House
Children's Advocacy Center
Arvada, CO
I have had the opportunity to work with Jerri several times over the years for MDT training. From the planning phase to implementation, she is always well organized, thoughtful and does a great job. Her depth of experience in child abuse work, as a forensic interviewer, MDT member and facilitator give her a valuable perspective on the various roles in teams. She always delivers a great experience for all in attendance.
Maureen Runyon, MSW, LCSW
Coordinator
Charleston Area Medical Center Children's Advocacy Center
Charleston, WV
Jerri's MDT Orientation training and Minimal Facts training she developed specifically for our program was phenomenal. She not only provided the training, but also gave us the curriculum to present for our teams in the future. Jerri is very knowledgeable and is a powerfully engaging speaker. She provided a significant amount of information over a 2-day period. All in attendance stated it was one of the best trainings they had ever participated in!!
Pamela Carey, M.Ed., LPCC-S, CCTP
Executive Director
Care Cottage
Kentucky River Child Advocacy Center
Hazard, KY
