Social Work Training: CSEC & CSAM

The Plymouth County District Attorney's Children's Advocacy Center is hosting a training for social workers regarding Commerical Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) and Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). This training is scheduled for August 23, 2024, from 8:30 AM - 4 PM. This training will take place at the Middleboro Police Department (350 Wood Street, Middleboro, MA, 02346).

This training will focus on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in both Plymouth County and at the statewide level. Attendees will learn about the local and statewide response to Commerical Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC), understand how Commerical Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) impacts under-served populations, and comprehend the best practices for Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) Response.

NOTE, this training is for all Social Workers, not just those who are licensed

About the Presenters:

Dr. Rachel Niemiec

Dr. Niemiec is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner, currently in practice at UMass Medical School as the Coordinator of the Family NP Track as well as being part of the training team at My Life My Choice, in Boston. Prior to her work at UMass, she was a Pediatric Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner for the Massachusetts DPH, working within Children's Advocacy Centers as part of a multi-disciplinary response to child sexual abuse and exploitation. In addition to being part of the Massachusetts SANE Program for over 8 years, she has almost two decades of experience working with and advocating for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. As a survivor of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC), she is committed to using her lived and professional experience to help service providers respond compassionately to victims/survivors as they navigate our complex systems.

Learn more about Dr. Niemiec Here: Leadership (safeexitinitiative.org)

Steven Procopio, LSW

Steven Procopio is a licensed independent clinical social worker who is a trainer, consultant and therapist for males with complex trauma. His expertise is in the area of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. He is the founder of the first free standing program to serve commercially sexually exploited, boys, adolescent males and trans youth in the United States.

His present professional work is with boys, adolescent males and men with a history of trauma, with a focus on sexual victimization. Steven is a trainer and consultant for the Office of Victims of Crime Human Trafficking Center, and the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center. He is a member of the United Nations Global Human Trafficking Task Force representing the needs of male victims internationally. Steven has taught and presented on the issues of male victimization nationally and internationally, consulting with various groups on the effects of male childhood sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation. He also works with non-profit groups on program development.

Steven has recently worked with Unitas North America on a prevention and education curriculum of commercial sexual exploitation to be administered in the New York City public school system. Steven has also served on the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Task Force on Human Trafficking.

Steven has worked with executive directors of AIDS service organizations on the design, implementation and evaluation of case management system for DPH-funded programs in Massachusetts, developing coordinated services based on a continuum of care. Steven’s experiences in youth services included work as an adolescent therapist and as a director of a youth shelter for runaway/homeless youth.

Steven is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Social Work.

Steven Procopio, ACSW, LICSW – A voice for sexually exploited males – childhood sexual abuse to commercial sexual exploitation/human trafficking. (stevenlprocopio.com)

Elise Hopper

Elizabeth Hopper is a licensed clinical psychologist with a specialization in traumatic stress. She completed a Master of Science degree and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at St. Louis University, an internship at the Medical College of Virginia, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Trauma Center in Boston. Dr. Hopper is an administrator, supervisor, clinician, and member of the Training Faculty at the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute, a leading agency in the study and treatment of the psychological impact of exposure to trauma. She is the Project Director of the Metropolitan Boston Complex Trauma Treatment Initiative (MB-CTTI), a mobile service network delivering evidence-based trauma interventions to high-risk and underserved complex trauma-exposed children and youth ages 0-21 living in the Metropolitan Boston region. As part of her anti-trafficking work, she is the Director of Project REACH, a program that serves victims of human trafficking throughout the United States; Director of the New England Coalition Against Trafficking, a regional network of anti-trafficking professionals; and Co-Chair of the Mental Health Council for HEAL Trafficking, a national network of health and public health professionals.

Dr. Hopper is the co-author of two books that address body-oriented intervention, including Treating Adult Survivors of Childhood Emotional Abuse and Neglect: Component-Based Psychotherapy, which presents a complex trauma treatment framework for adults, and Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga: Reclaiming Your Body, a book that introduces yoga as a body-based intervention for trauma. She has written numerous scholarly articles and book chapters on complex trauma, trauma-informed care, homelessness, and human trafficking and is on the editorial review boards of several professional journals. She has a strong interest in integration across treatment models and in interventions that can be individually adapted. She has collaborated with numerous agencies and organizations in developing trauma-informed care systems

Dr. Elizabeth K. Hopper - Human Trafficking Academy

Host or Publisher Plymouth County District Attorney's Office