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Efforts to carry out trauma-informed practices in juvenile court and justice systems have demonstrated significant benefits for the youth and families served. However, less attention has been paid to the need to protect those carrying out those practices from the potential risks of secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, moral injury, and empathy fatigue. The Center for Trauma Recovery and Juvenile Justice will be presenting a webinar that provides participants with an introduction to Resilience for Trauma-Informed Professionals (R-TIP; Kerig, 2019), an evidence-informed curriculum that has been developed to increase resilience to secondary traumatic stress reactions in the context of work that brings professionals into contact with trauma-related material or trauma-exposed individuals. Beyond individual "self-care," emphasis is placed on strategies that organizations and systems can utilize to prevent, monitor, and respond to STS and foster an STS-resilient workplace. In this brief presentation, participants will be introduced to one of the specific R-TIP skills to enhance recognition of STS reactions.

Collecting and accessing records is a vital part of mitigation investigations, enabling defense practitioners to construct a complete and accurate narrative of a client’s life history. However, gaining access to these records can present significant challenges. Practitioners can utilize public record laws, which grant access to records held by federal, state and local agencies. Presented by David Cuillier, director of the Joseph L Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida, this webinar will provide defense practitioners with an overview of freedom of information laws, practical strategies for securing access to records, and effective methods for overcoming barriers encountered during the request process. Advancing Real Change, Inc. is dedicated to providing specialized training and resources on mitigation for criminal defense practitioners. Please note that attendance for this webinar is limited exclusively to defense practitioners. Speaker Bio David Cuillier, Ph.D., is director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida, which conducts research and education in freedom of information. Before entering academia in 2006, he was a newspaper reporter and editor in the Pacific Northwest. He is co-author of “The Art of Access: Strategies for Acquiring Public Records,” a member of the National Archivist’s federal FOIA Advisory Committee, former president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, founder of national Sunshine Fest, and has trained more than 15,000 people in acquiring public records during the past two decades. He has testified before Congress three times regarding the Freedom of Information Act, and has published dozens of research studies on freedom of information.

Advancing Real Change presents: "Ask a Mitigation Specialist," a resource program that allows defenders to meet directly and privately with a mitigation specialist for specific technical assistance. Register at link for a 25-minute session with experienced mitigation professionals. The information discussed during each session is confidential. Complete the registration form to request an appointment. APPOINTMENTS FILL UP QUICKLY

Join Hughes Socol Piers Resnick DYM and Rights and Restoration Law Group for a lively and informative panel discussion about legislative strategies to end extreme sentencing in Illinois. The panel will be moderated by attorney Elizabeth Mazur, and it will highlight the experiences and work of panelists Wendell Robinson and James Swansey of Restore Justice. As youth, Wendell and James were each sentenced to mandatory life without parole. After the Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama declared those sentences unconstitutional, both became eligible for resentencing and eventually won their release. Now they are well-seasoned legislative advocates, leading the legal movement toward more humane sentencing laws. You will learn about their most important legislative wins in recent years, the latest developments in Springfield, and why electoral advocacy matters. Panelist attorney Nikki Donnelley will also explain why Illinois court decisions make legislative advocacy so crucial, and how attorneys can put these legislative wins to work for their clients.