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    Conferences & Training

    Criminal Justice Advisory Board (CJAB) Conference

    The deadline to register for the 2025 conference is Friday, March 28, 2025.

    Agenda + Session Descriptions
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    10:45 AM - 12:00 PM

    Room 207🔹Enhancing Emotional Intelligence: A Key to Successful Leadership

    • Col. Brenda Dietzman (ret.), Wayfinder Consulting, LLC

    Room 105 🔹 Huntingdon County Endangered and At-Risk Youth Response Team 

    • Kelvin Forrest Abrashoff, Administrator, Huntingdon County Children’s Services
    •  Chief Charles T. Streightiff, Huntingdon Borough Police Department
    • Kirsten C. Streightiff, Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment for Grades 6-12, Mount Union Area School District 

    Room 106🔹 Informed Decision-Making Through Behavioral Health Screening and Risk Assessment in Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Justice System 

    • William Keim, Policy & Program Development Specialist, The Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission
    • Jay Leamy, Deputy Chief Probation Officer, Chester County Juvenile Probation 

    Room 206🔹Better Together: When Social Workers and Police Join Forces for a Stronger Community

    • Cara Gadzinski, Human Service Co-Responder/Training Coordinator, Bucks County
    • Ivone Kovalsky, Community Engagement Officer, Bucks County
    • Chief Nelson E. Whitney, II, Falls Township Police Department

    Room 208🔹 Examining the Intersection of Crisis Response and the Justice System in Pennsylvania: Lessons Learned from Listening Sessions with Key Stakeholders

    • Megan Davidson, Program Director, Behavioral Health, CSG Justice Center
    • Kate Reed, Project Manager, Behavioral Health, Council of State Governments Justice Center 

    Room 108🔹Harnessing the Power of Treatment Courts: A Collaborative Approach to Justice and Rehabilitation

    • Hon. Nancy Butts, President Judge and CJAB Chair, Lycoming County and PATCP President
    • Abbey Geffken, Executive Director, PA Association of Treatment Court Professionals 
    • Jessica Miraglia, Assistant District Attorney, Wyoming County
    • Nevin Warner, Problem-Solving Courts Analyst, Problem-Solving Courts Analyst 

    1:45 - 3:00 PM

    Room 108🔹Expanding the S.C.O.P.E. of Law Enforcement-Community Partnerships 

    • Corporal Todd Kessler, Bucks County Sheriff’s Office
    • Deputy Salvatore Lamantia, Bucks County Sheriff’s Office
    • Dr. Christi M. Smith, Resident Senior Fellow, Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties, R Street Institute 
    • Deputy Justin Sturkey, Bucks County Sheriff’s Office

    Room 207🔹Collaborative Solutions for Behavioral Health in Rural Pennsylvania: Addressing Needs Before, During and After Jail

    • Scott Berry, Metal Health Director of Crisis, Emergency and Disaster Services, Behavioral Health, and Developmental Services
    • Gretchen Frank, Senior Policy Analyst, Behavioral Health Division, Council of State Governments Justice Center
    • Audra Goldsmith, Project Manager, Behavioral Health Division, Council of State Governments Justice Center 
    • Jennifer Scott, Administrator and Human Services Care Management Director, Behavioral Health and Development Services
    • Jared Soto, Social Worker, Carbon County Public Defender’s Office

    Room 208🔹Courts Leading Change: A Behavioral Health Initiative

    • Hon. Wilden Davis, Magisterial District Judge, Delaware County Truancy Leader
    • Hon. Rose Marie DeFino-Nastasi, Judge, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas
    • Jennifer Napp Evans, Psy.D., M.Ed., Director, Snyder County Children & Youth Services\
    • Michael Harper, AOPC Behavioral Health Administrator
    • Hon. Margherita Patti-Worthington, Senior Judge, 43rd Judicial District, Monroe County 

    Room 106🔹From START to LeCSI: Improved Outcomes for Those with Intellectual Disability and Autism

    • Brenda Bulkoski, Director, Allegheny County Office of Developmental Supports
    • Tamara Siegert, Legal & Regulatory Compliance Manager, Allegheny County Office of Developmental Supports 

    Room 105🔹 Translating Research into Practice: How Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Detention Risk Assessment Instrument Revalidation Study Advanced Solutions to Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Detention Crisis

    • Melanie King, Research Analyst, Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission
    • Dr. Carrie Maloney, Professor and Criminal Justice Program Director, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
    • Cheri Modene, Director, Lancaster County Juvenile Probation
    • Adrianne Robbins, Juvenile Court Consultant, Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission
    • Alan Tezak, Project Consultant, Pennsylvania Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers

    Room 206🔹Beyond the Public Meeting Notice: Meaningful Engagement of Community Partners in Criminal Justice Planning Boards

    • Allison Badger, Director, NCJA Center for Justice Planning
    • Simone Greene, Deputy Director, NCJA Center for Justice Planning
    • Anica Stieve, Program Manager, NCJA Center for Justice Planning

     

    10:45 AM - 12:00 PM

    Room 105🔹Community Empowerment through COSSUP: Innovative Initiatives to Combat the Opioid Epidemic in Pennsylvania

    • Hallie Allen, Associate, Justice System Partners
    • Jennifer Lerch, Senior Associate, Justice System Partners

    Room 106🔹Implementation of EBP in County Probation: Where Are We Now?

    • Jeff Angradi, Chief Probation Officer, Pike County Probation
    • April J. Billet, Chief Probation Officer, York County Department of Probation Services
    • Regina Himes, Executive Director, Armstrong County Probation
    • Douglas J. Wilburne, Chief Probation Officer, Franklin County Adult Probation Department

    Room 208🔹 Improving Behavioral Health Treatment in the Criminal Justice System: Understanding the State of Addiction Treatment in Pennsylvania

    • Chris McKenzie, Community Relations Coordinator, Pinnacle Treatment Centers
    • Florence Paige, MHS, Executive Director of Pennsylvania Region, Gaudenzia
    • Arianne Scheller, PhD, LPC, Chief Executive Officer, Endless Mountains Extended Care
    • Jason Snyder, Policy Director, SUD Treatment Services, Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association (RCPA)

    Room 207 🔹 Mental Health Meets Law Enforcement: Collaboration for Resilient Policing

    •  Lieutenant Rodger H. Ollis, Jr., Coatesville City Police Department
    • Julie Knudsen, Director of Development, The Lincoln Center for Family & Youth
    • Nicole Martin, Trauma Training Manager, The Lincoln Center for Family & Youth

    Room 206🔹Trauma Informed Debriefs: What, Why and How?

    • Melanie G. Snyder, Consultant & Trainer: Reentry, Trauma, Resilience & Trauma Informed Care, Sole Proprietor 

    The Details

    When: April 22-23, 2025 

    Where: The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, State College

    Fee: There is no fee to attend. Continental breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided on both days. 

    For overnight accommodations, please visit The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center, or contact 800-233-7505 and utilize the booking code CJAB25A.  

    The deadline for the discounted room rate of $139.00 is Friday, March 21, 2025.  

    To ensure that this conference continues to be free for attendees, PCCD asks that registrants make every effort to notify staff of cancellations by Friday, April 11, 2025.  Cancellations after the deadline or 'no shows' to the conference may be subject to a fee of up to $79.00 per person.  This amount is based on the Premium Day Meeting package rate charged by the Penn Stater and paid for by PCCD.

    Questions?

    Contact us

    ​​We hope to see you at the 2025 CJAB Conference. If you have questions, please contact us.

    Email us

    From Crisis to Collaboration: Building Resilient Justice Systems

    The 2025 CJAB Conference "From Crisis to Collaboration: Building Resilient Justice Systems" will bring together criminal justice, behavioral health, and treatment partners for what promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking one and a half-day event.  We have an exciting line-up of national and local experts who will discuss new and reemerging issues impacting our criminal justice and behavioral health systems, providing innovative strategies and collaborative solutions to meet the challenges ahead.

    • Retired Col. Brenda Dietzman will introduce "The LEAF Concept", an innovative approach encouraging employees to think long-term, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and personal fulfillment. 
    • In "Thriving After Resiliency", Jeff Wallace will explore the critical journey of moving beyond resilience to true thriving; not just for the youth you serve but for yourself. 
    • We will also be joined by retired Sgt. Mark DiBona who, in "More Than A Feeling", will speak about how his childhood trauma, his mental health issues and how his suicide attempt affected his career and marriage. 
    • In addition to these engaging plenary sessions, we will feature break-out sessions covering topics such as behavioral health screening and risk assessment, collaboration, crisis response, intellectual disabilities and autism, mental health and law enforcement, and building your CJAB's resiliency. 

     

    Who Should Attend

    The conference is open to all CJAB members, criminal justice, and behavioral health practitioners.  Plenary and breakout sessions feature universal appeal to all criminal justice and behavioral health professionals, including both introductory level material as well as innovative new concepts.

     

    Continuing Education Credits

    We anticipate offering continuing education credits for social workers, attorneys, and judges, as we have in the past.  We will post additional information on credit availability as our applications are reviewed and approved by the respective boards.