Making the Shift: Training in the Digital Age

Courtney Winkler, DVS, Training & Outreach Coordinator

May 2020

The last few months have tested our resiliency, practices, and creativity as we navigate new challenges in our work.  DCADV remains committed to the development of Delaware's workforce, and continues to provide training to meet the needs of our community.  Whether through Zoom, GoTo Webinar, or one of the many other virtual learning platforms available, we will forge ahead to ensure relevant and engaging training opportunities are available.

Over the past two months, DCADV has collaborated with both the Division of Family Services and the Department of Justice to bring virtual training to their staff who have been working remotely.  These trainings have focused on the dynamics of domestic violence and explored how trauma can play a role in service engagement and provision.

DCADV is also working to bring more webinars and online learning opportunities to the advocacy community as a whole.  The cancellation of the Advocates' Retreat and Conference provided us with the opportunity to bring some of the workshops/presentations to a digital platform.

• The Joint Task Force Social Justice Subcommittee presented the three-part series "#WorkingOnIt," in which they explored how we can incorporate the foundations of social justice in our work by challenging concepts like privilege, bias, and inequity.  The Subcommittee also developed a toolkit for individuals/organizations to continue these conversations.  
• To expand on these conversations about social justice, Fiona Oliphant and Jessica Ayden Li of Healing Equity United brought their presentation "Owning Our Privilege" to Delaware's certified Domestic Violence Specialists and staff of DCADV's member organizations. 

Other workshops/webinars are still being scheduled, so be sure to check DCADV's event calendar to learn more or to register.

As part of DCADV's commitment to the prevention of gender-based violence, our Training and Prevention team has presented webinars exploring how we can stop violence before it starts.  These webinars provided a foundation for those who may not be familiar with primary prevention, the risk factors that may lead to someone perpetrating violence, and protective factors that can help us to avoid/minimize the effects of violence.  We also discussed how strategies like economic empowerment can be connected to violence prevention.  You can find recordings of these and other webinars at www.dcadv.org/webinars. 

DCADV has also provided resources and support to the domestic violence community through our COVID-19 Resource Page.  This page provides up-to-date information for community members and service providers as services and practices evolve through the public health crisis.

DCADV will continue to monitor and abide by the direction of public health officials as we plan for future in-person training events, like Domestic Violence 101.  In the meantime, we are committed to finding new and innovative ways to support our community through training and education.  If you have training requests or are looking for resources, please reach out to us at training@dcadv.org.