2025 Wednesday Schedule

The National Symposium on Sexual Behavior of Youth
"Be Curious, Not Judgmental."
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
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8:30a - 9:00a
Symposium Opening, Welcome, and
Distinguished Awards Ceremony
Jane F. Silovsky, PhD
9:00a - 10:00a
Opening Plenary
Omar Reda, MD
Be Curious, Not Judgmental: Provision of Cultural Congruent Care
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10:30a - 12:00p
Concurrent Sessions A

Concurrent Session A-1

Fostering Effective and Supportive Responses to Youth with Problematic Sexual Behavior and Their Families: Engaging Legal Communities in Collaboration
Stacie Schrieffer LeBlanc, JD, MEd and Tricia Gardner, JD

This workshop will provide tips on engaging attorneys, law enforcement and juvenile probation officers in conversation around working with youth and families that are affected by PSB.  The focus would be on changing the mindset from punitive to supportive services for these families.
  1. Develop strategies for establishing connections with legal communities to address youth with problematic sexual behavior effectively.
  2. Dispel myths and misconceptions surrounding youth with PSB, fostering informed and empathetic responses.
  3. Recognize the importance of community collaboration in identifying and responding to youth with PSB, and apply strategies to facilitate such collaboration in their own communities.

Concurrent Session A-2

Small Towns with Big Possibilities: Creative Solutions to Providing Treatment for Children with Problematic Sexual Behaviors in Rural and Frontier Communities
Andrew Monroe, MSW, Paula Condol, MS, and Mandi Fowler, MSW, PhD

During this presentation, participants will learn a brief overview of children and teens with problematic sexual behaviors (PSB) and issues facing rural and frontier communities in relation to mental health services and, specifically, PSB treatment. Information will be provided to develop possible solutions to these issues.  Resources for providing services to children and teens with PSB in smaller communities will be provided.
  1. Participants will learn the differences between typical, concerning and problematic sexual behavior.
  2. Participants will learn about at least two resources for professionals interested in working with children and teens with problematic sexual behaviors.
  3. Participants will learn about at least two of the unique challenges facing rural and frontier communities around mental health services and treatments, including those for PSB in children and teens.
  4. Participants will learn of at least two strategies for providing problematic sexual behavior treatment in rural and frontier settings. 

Concurrent Session A-3

Autism and Sex Education: Research and Recommendations
Jaye Capretto, PhD, MEd, Caitlin Bullard, MS, Jenny Sperling, PhD, MA, and Tabitha Fleming, PhD, MA

Autistic youth and the broader disability community have not received equitable opportunities to learn holistically about sexual health. Autistic youth also have unique learning needs and strengths that are unmet by traditional sexual health resources. This session will describe the needs, resource gaps, myths/facts, and recommended methods of sexual health education for autistic youth.

  1. Describe why sexual health education is needed as a tool to promote overall health and well-being in autistic youth.
  2. Identify common barriers to sexual health education experienced by autistic youth.
  3. Compare common education strategies for teaching sexual health education to autistic youth

Concurrent Session A-4
Let’s Talk! Addressing Sibling Sexual Harm in the Sibling Relationship
Linda Valenta, MSW

Our responses to sibling sexual abuse continue to emphasis and promote an approach of separation in order to achieve safety and healing. Consequently, therapeutic interventions with children prioritize individual therapy with the child who has engaged in the harmful behaviour and the sibling who has been harmed, and reparative interventions, if delivered at all, tend be introduced late in the treatment process and typically focus on an apology letter or a statement of responsibility. This workshop will introduce you to an innovative treatment approach that focuses on promoting accountability, communication, and reparation through a joint and family therapy process, which is introduced early in treatment and involves both the sibling who has engaged in the harmful behavior and the sibling victim. Three stages of therapeutic contact will be explored: (1) Naming the problem (acknowledgements) (2) Learning about the problem (clarification) and (3) Being healthy and safe (consolidation). Using the images, words and stories of children and families, you will be introduced to a range of therapeutic interventions to engage children and parents in a process of communication and change and to promote healing and recovery of sibling and family relationships.

  1. Assess the readiness of the children and parents for the commencement of joint sibling intervention
  2. Prepare for the commencement of therapeutic contact and plan an initial session
  3. Facilitate exploration of family and sibling relationships that are problematic and healthy.

Concurrent Session A-5

Pornography Addiction in Teens: Real or Not Real?

Ashley Galsky, PhD

Pornography use among adolescents is common; however, the current state of the literature is mixed with respect to potential negative consequences of pornography exposure, terminology used to describe what is thought to be problematic pornography consumption, and best methods for prevention and intervention. This session will review and clarify current terminology use as it pertains to use of pornography, discuss the current state of the literature examining pornography use in adolescents, outline what is known about effective prevention practices with adolescents, and facilitate discussion regarding current interventions utilized with adolescents. This concurrent session will be application focused and interactive in nature. Available resources for use and future directions within the field will also be discussed.

  1. Clarify clinical and research terminology used to describe problematic pornography use in adolescents.
  2. Identify existing prevention and intervention methods for work with adolescents and how these methods are distinguished from those used with adult populations.
  3. Identify available resources for use and discuss future directions within the field.

Concurrent Session A-6

The Help Wanted Prevention Intervention for Minor Attracted Individuals
Ryan Shields, PhD

The Help Wanted Prevention Project is an online course to provide help to adolescents and young adults attracted to younger children. The course is supported by the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and by RALIANCE. This work was developed by the faculty and staff at the Moore Center in collaboration with other national and international experts, people with sexual interest in children, and survivors of child sexual abuse.

  1. to explain the steps of the public health approach to child sexual abuse perpetration prevention.
  2. to identify the needs of young people who are sexually attracted to children.
  3. to describe an example of child sexual abuse prevention, using Help Wanted as a case study.
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12:15p - 1:15p
Mark J. Chaffin Lecture and Luncheon
(Registration and Fee required)
Simon Hackett, BA (Hons), MA (Econ, CQSW, PhD, FAcSS)
Don't Shoot Please, We are Still Your Children:
Have We Gone Too Far in Our Responses to Harmful Sexual Behaviour in Childhood? Or Not Far Enough?


In 1998 Mark Chaffin and Barbara Bonnner wrote an editorial suggestion for a special edition of the journal Child Maltreatment, entitled "Don't Shoot, We're Your Children". Following this profoundly shocking and provocative title, they outlined how public policy and practice responses to children and youth with sexual behavior problems had gone too far. Honoring the work of Chaffin and Bonner, it seems timely to consider the state of the field some 25 years on from this important contribution. I shall review the progress that has been made in the interim and extend Chaffin and Bonner's original question to consider the ways policies and practices relating to this group of children may have gone too far, but also how we might not have gone far enough in our responses. I shall discuss the importance of rights-based practices as well as how childhood is a neglected construct in our field.

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1:30p - 3:00p
Concurrent Sessions B

Concurrent Session B-1

Cost, Impact, Sustainability and Fiscal Mapping Process of Services for Problematic Sexual Behavior of Youth, Part I

Alex Dopp, PhD, Tricia Gardner, JD, and Renee Roman, MSW

This two-part workshop is designed to support service agency leadership and collaborative partners in their strategic planning efforts for sustainable financing of youth behavioral health programs. Long-term sustainment of evidence-based treatment (EBT) programs is essential to address behavioral health problems in youth. However, limited and fragmented funding available to service agencies make sustainment difficult. Dr. Dopp, researcher at RAND, has led the co-development (with service agencies) and pilot-testing of a strategic planning tool, the Fiscal Mapping Process, that will be introduced in the workshop. The Fiscal Mapping Process helps youth behavioral health service agencies identify funding needs and objectives for an EBT program and develop, implement, and sustain a plan for obtaining that funding. The Fiscal Mapping Process is applicable to a range of behavioral health programs for youth, including problematic sexual behavior – cognitive behavior therapy (PSB-CBT). Part I of this workshop will provide background information about the Fiscal Mapping Process, and walk through examples of the steps as applied to a PSB-CBT program.

  1. Understand the purpose and application of the Fiscal Mapping Process tool.
  2. Learn about resource needs and supports for implementation of PSB-CBT.
  3. Learn at least 3 financing strategies for evidence-based behavioral health services.

Concurrent Session B-2

Facilitating Support for Military-Connected Families: Enhancing Awareness of Military Culture and Identifying Opportunities to Engage and Partner with Installation Services
Kalin Goble, MS, Mary "Tib" Campise, MSW, Jason Jowers, MS, Sharise Eldredge, MSW, and Monette Green, MSW

Professionals working in family advocacy and related fields require continuous support to effectively address the needs of adolescents and their families. This proposal highlights the collaborative efforts between OneOp and the DoD Child and Youth Advocacy Program to enhance professional development in cases of children and youth displaying problematic behavior.
  1. Identify virtual programming focusing on prevention, protective factors, vulnerability identification, parent engagement and motivational interviewing, and trauma-informed intervention.
  2. Recognize field experts leading organization/research, and promising clinical practices key in developing comprehensive professional development programming.
  3. Foster a community of practice for professionals to exchange knowledge and experiences in managing cases involving child/youth problematic behavior.

Concurrent Session B-3

Support for the Healer
Omar Reda, MD

This session is focused on providing practical tips and hands-on interactive tools for caregivers to work through their own compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and burnout. The session tackles issues of trauma-informed care, paying attention to the family dynamics and the invisible wounds of caregivers. The four foundations for healing according to Healing Trauma Institute are re-establishing safety, strengthening human connection, pursuing justice, and the search for beauty.
  1. Trauma-informed care, cultural considerations
  2. Tools to strengthen family ties
  3. HTI as a new model of healing trauma

Concurrent Session B-4

Considering the Whole Child: Introducing the Massachusetts Child and Adolescent Assessment Protocol (M-CAAP)

Kevin Creeden, MA and Meg Bossong, MS

An assessment of risk is not based upon a single factor or even a group of factors. Instead, it is an effort to understand how certain factors and experiences influence a youth's engagement in problematic sexual behavior and in doing so identifies treatment areas that, if addressed, would promote positive development while diminishing future risk. The M-CAAP is designed to guide clinicians in their understanding of a youth's problematic sexual behaviors by considering that behavior in the context of their broader individual and social development. As a matter of policy, in MA when a child is removed from a home after problematic sexual behavior an M-CAAP assessment is required to inform treatment and/or placement decisions. However, even outside of that specific child welfare context, this whole-child assessment framework can prove useful in thinking broadly and creatively about youth with problem sexual behaviors. This session will explore the M-CAAP tool as an assessment protocol, opportunities to build connections between clinicians and systems, and a means to explore effective interventions in the whole ecosystem surrounding the young person.

  1. Describe the key components of the M-CAAP assessment protocol.
  2. Articulate the benefits of using a whole-child framework to move beyond risk assessment to formulate appropriate treatment and case management decisions.
  3. Identify opportunities to engage allied professionals, collateral caregivers, and organizational and agency partners in broader interventions.

Concurrent Session B-5

Prevention, Safety and Sexual Health
Benjamin Sigel, PhD and Amanda Mitten, MA

Sexual heath is a topic children and adults find uncomfortable and anxiety provoking. This presentation covers methods to engage adults on how to discuss sexual health in a thoughtful conversation with children and young adolescents congruent with cultural and community beliefs.
  1. Participants will be able Identify 3 common adult barriers to discussing sexual health with children and adolescents as well as methods to overcome those barriers
  2. Participants will be able Identify 3 potential risks for children and young adolescents who do not receive accurate sexual health information from trusted adults along with potential benefits
  3. Participants will be able to identify 5 resources for children and young adolescents on implementing content on sexual health in diverse communities.

Concurrent Session B-6
The Assessment of Sexual Behavior – Child Version: A New Tool for Assessing Sexual Behavior and PSB among Children
Brian Allen, PhD


The Assessment of Sexual Behavior-Child Version (ASB-C) is a recently developed and validated caregiver-report measure of sexual behavior and problematic sexual behavior for children between the ages of 3 and 12 years. A collaborative effort by researchers and clinicians from five different institutions, the ASB-C was designed for use with clinical populations and for research purposes. This presentation will review the extensive development of the measure and review the current psychometrics of the tool, as well as instructions for scoring and interpretation. An emphasis will be on highlighting how the ASB-C represents a significant advancement in the clinical care of children.
  1. Identify the shortcomings of previous measures of sexual behavior and how the ASB-C addresses these problems.
  2. Critique the psychometric properties of the ASB-C.
  3. Describe how to administer, score, and interpret the ASB-C
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3:30p - 5:00p
Concurrent Sessions C

Concurrent Session C-1

Cost, Impact, Sustainability and Fiscal Mapping Process of Services for Problematic Sexual Behavior of Youth, Part II
Alex Dopp, PhD, Tricia Gardner, JD, and Renee Roman, MSW

Part II will support application of the tool to teams’ own programs (PSB-CBT and/or other EBTs, as relevant).  To prepare for the session, participants are encouraged to review background information, including the overview video and Quick Start Guide, provided on the RAND website here: https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TLA2678-1.html Leadership teams (including representatives of clinical management, financial management, and senior leadership) are encouraged to attend both sessions together and collaborate in the application of the tool. We encourage teams to bring a laptop or tablet so they can download the tool and work on applying it to their program(s) during the workshop. After NSSBY, we will provide a follow-up interactive webinar for consultation and ongoing support with service agencies that have started applying the Fiscal Mapping Process to their own programs.

  1. Learn how to apply the Fiscal Mapping Process tool to an EBT program at their agency.
  2. Work collaboratively to identify resource needs, funding objectives, and potential financing strategies for their EBT program.
  3. Develop 2-3 action items for continue application of the Fiscal Mapping Process toward financial sustainment of their EBT program.

Concurrent Session C-2

Building Tribal Capacity to Address Native Youth with Problematic Sexual Behaviors
Dolores Subia BigFoot, PhD, Clifford Ah-hin-nist Sipes and Allyson Kelley, DrPH

Supporting tribal capacity building is important in promoting Tribal sovereignty for tribes to protect and provide for their youth and prevent harm.  Understanding and improving information for healthy development of children integrates emotional, behavioral, physical, social, and spiritual-related growth that lessen the potential for harmful behaviors.   Merged in this is understanding what is sexual development, which starts in young children, often evoked by curiosity on their part. However, some children show sexual behavior that is problematic and even harmful. Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB) is a set of behaviors that are developmentally inappropriate, potentially harmful to self or others, and could be illegal depending on a variety of factors. Understanding problematic sexual behavior is the first step in the prevention of problematic sexual behavior of youth, promotion of healthy sexual development, and helping the healing of those impacted. The Restoring the Sacred Circle toolkit is a comprehensive, culturally based resource that presents Indigenous principles that balance mind, body, spirit, of mind, body, spirit, and emotional/relational aspects of life, which is a valued concept for some Tribes. Further, there are several examples of Tribal protective factors that may prevent PSB in youth.
  1. Participants will gain an understanding of the differences between typical vs. problematic sexual development.
  2. Participants will gain specific information from the Sacred Circle Toolkit about Tribal protective factors that may prevent problematic sexual behaviors.
  3. Participants will increase their capacity to address problematic sexual behavior of children and youth.

Concurrent Session C-3

Using Inclusive Language: Engaging in Humanistic Practice
Apryl Alexander, PhD

The movement toward person-first language has gained momentum for the last two decades. In 2023, the American Psychological Association (APA) released updated guidelines for incorporating inclusive and person-/identity-first language. In providing culturally responsive practice, clinicians need to be aware of labels that further harm historically marginalized and excluded groups. Further, practitioners and scholars working with individuals in correctional or forensic settings have discussed how labels, such as "offender" or "sex offender," may evoke shame and contribute to social isolation. Moreover, some argue that using these labels is inconsistent with professional ethics of beneficence and respecting human dignity. This presentation will discuss the importance of routinely incorporating humanistic and inclusive language into practice.
  1. Participants will be able to describe the important shift to inclusive and person-first language.
  2. Participants will be able to discuss the value of adopting a humanistic approach to sex offense practice.
  3. Participants will be able to understand at least two ways to incorporate inclusive language into their practice.

Concurrent Session C-4

Healing the Healers: Sexual Self-Care
Jane Fleishman, PhD

For those of us who have been in the field of child sexual abuse, sexual violence prevention, or education around sexual harm, we may have had colleagues or supervisors who have stressed self-care. Self-care can alleviate many of the effects of vicarious traumatization, burnout, or stress. However, the impacts on our own sexuality may have far-reaching implications that have not yet been addressed, especially for those who identify as women of people of color. This thoughtful and caring session will offer a new concept of healing justice and allow participants to delve into the often taboo areas of sexual health. The facilitator, an expert in human sexuality education, will offer tips, activities, and resources for you and your team.

  1. Describe three (3) challenges to sexual health that may be impacted by working in this field,
  2. Discuss three (3) discoveries from the research on sexual health of those working in this field.
  3. Apply at least one (1) aspect of this session to your own sexual health.

Concurrent Session C-5

Supporting Child Sexual Development: Empowering Parents with Sexual Health through Approachable Prevention and Education (SHAPE)
Amy Fustino, MSS and Julie Betz-Cabrera, MA

Many adults face challenges in understanding and supporting children's sexual development leaving parents/caregivers unsure how to differentiate between normative and concerning behaviors. This uncertainty makes it difficult to effectively address or redirect child sexual behavior. Empowering families with the necessary skills to navigate this complex issue amid their individual challenges is essential. Sexual Health through Approachable Prevention and Education (SHAPE), a parenting curriculum developed by the United States Navy, is a parenting curriculum designed to promote positive parenting strategies and equip parents with tools to navigate their child's sexual development towards a healthy trajectory. Recognizing the pivotal role parents play in shaping their child's development, SHAPE offers invaluable guidance in fostering positive outcomes.

  1. analyze the potential benefits and drawbacks of standardized sexual health parenting curriculum as it has been applied to military families, considering factors such as consistency of support, resource availability, and geographic flexibility across deployments,
  2. apply the core principles and strategies emphasized in this military-initiated parenting curriculum to real-world scenarios with military and civilian families
  3. synthesize the potential impacts of a standardized parenting curriculum developed by the military on the broader well-being of military communities

Concurrent Session C-6

Assessing Youth with Illegal Sexual Behaviors: Should I Do a Clinician Assessment, a Risk Assessment, or a Needs Assessment?
Sue Righthand, PhD

High quality assessments guide effective interventions, but what kind of an assessment is needed? For example, there are forensic assessments conducted for courts and juvenile legal systems, schools, and child welfare agencies; there are also treatment assessments designed for treatment planning. This interactive session will discuss the key components of high quality holistic assessments; contemplate how to manage dual and conflicting roles; question and consider the risk assessment process as well as assessment tools that focus on risks, protective factors, strengths, and intervention needs; and highlight the importance of case formulations.

  1. Participants be better able to identify the components of high quality holistic assessments of youths who have engaged in illegal sexual behaviors
  2. They will be able to identify the differences and similarities between clinical assessments and forensic (e.g., court ordered) assessments, and how such roles can conflict.
  3. They will be better able to recognize and distinguish between the process of risk assessment and risk assessment tools, and the importance of case formulations.
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5:00p - 7:00p
Welcome Reception, Poster Session, and Silent Art Auction