Jimmy Widdifield, Jr., MA, (he/him) is a Licensed Professional Counselor (Oklahoma) and training and technical assistance (TTA) provider in child maltreatment, trauma, and adversity. He is the Project Director for the TTA for Child Abuse Professionals program at the National Children’s Advocacy Center. This national grant provides multi- and interdisciplinary TTA on child maltreatment to optimize professional development in the field with an emphasis on the multidisciplinary team model and Children's Advocacy Centers approach.
Since 2002, Mr. Widdifield has provided evidence-based clinical assessment and treatment of children ages 3-12 with an emphasis on those with problematic sexual behavior (PSB) and adolescents with illegal sexual behaviors, recipient children, and their families. Throughout his career, Mr. Widdifield has provided training on the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents. He has co-authored group and family modality treatment manuals and, also, book chapters on clinical services for children with PSB.
Mr. Widdifield has extensive experience planning and providing TTA and presenting nationally and internationally on children and adolescents with PSB, child maltreatment, and sexual orientation and gender identity of youth. He was formerly the Training Director for the University of Oklahoma (OU) Problematic Sexual Behavior TTA Program and the National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth. In addition to providing clinical training, Mr. Widdifield assisted with initial assessment of training needs; participated in the design of training plans to facilitate implementation of evidence-based treatments for PSB including engagement of stakeholders. As a former Program Manager at the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, Mr. Widdifield provided TTA to over 35 Oklahoma freestanding multidisciplinary teams which are not affiliated with Children’s Advocacy Centers for accreditation purposes. Further, he implemented a Children’s Justice Act grant that sponsored local and statewide professional trainings on multi- and interdisciplinary issues in child maltreatment.
Mr. Widdifield is a member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, National Child Traumatic Stress Network, Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse, and the American Counseling Association. He is a graduate of the Interdisciplinary Training Program (ITP) in Child Abuse and Neglect at the OU Health Sciences Center. In 2022, Mr. Widdifield received the Barbara L. Bonner Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the ITP.