NAMI Ask the Expert: How to Talk About Child Abuse and Neglect

Thursday, April 13, 2023, 4:00pm – 5:30pm ET

Did you know that 1 in 4 children in the U.S. experience maltreatment? Unfortunately, many abused children experience negative physical, mental and social outcomes. Children need to be able to talk with supportive adults. However, it can be challenging for adults to know what to say when children share their experience with abuse.

In this webinar, you’ll learn from Michelle Fingerman, Larel Jacobs and Dr. Laura Schwab-Reese about their work creating evidence-based conversation strategies for the National Child Abuse Hotline. They’ll summarize their research on what kids say is helpful and what is harmful. They’ll also share a general framework for these conversations, including several strategies that work well for any conversation about maltreatment.

Our Experts

Michelle Fingerman, Vice President of Prevention Programs at Childhelp
Michelle Fingerman serves as the Vice President of Prevention Programs at Childhelp. For over 25 years, her passion has been working with children and families impacted by child abuse and neglect. Her work has included direct clinical service in residential treatment, school-based settings, the hotline industry and prevention education. In her current role, she focuses on program innovation, implementation and growth, building collaborative teams, trauma-informed practices and research evaluation outcomes. Michelle received her M.S. in Counseling Psychology from Gannon University and her B.A. in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University.

Larel Jacobs, Director of Hotline Operations at Childhelp
Larel Jacobs serves as Director of the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline. Her career has been dedicated to addressing the mental health needs of children and families impacted by child abuse and neglect. Her professional work has included direct clinical service in residential treatment, school-based settings and the hotline industry. Prior to the director role, Larel served as Clinical Program Manager at Childhelp and worked collaboratively on quantitative and qualitative research and evaluation of hotline services in order to help counselors utilize theevidence-informed practice model to support help seekers reaching out to the hotline. She has earned a Master of Arts in Education, School Counseling as well as a Master of Science, Family and Human Development.

Dr. Laura Schwab-Reese, Assistant Professor of Public Health at Purdue University
Dr. Schwab Reese is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at Purdue University. Her primary research focuses on family violence prevention, specifically understanding child maltreatment-related help-seeking and services. She completed the Berger Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect. She earned an MA in mental health counseling and a PhD in public health from the University of Iowa.