Episode 37 - Racial Healing Response Team

NRCAC Team Talk

EPISODE SUMMARY:

Child Advocacy Centers and Multidisciplinary teams are not immune from the race, power, and privilege that shapes the way we each experience the world. At Safe Horizon, the organization that operates the five CACs throughout New York City, the Racial Healing Response Team (RHRT) program has been implemented to address the racial harm that staff members may experience in the workplace. With the goal of offering staff support and healing, the RHRT responds in a variety of ways that center on respect, relationships, and community care.

In this episode, Tony speaks with Dr. Lisa O’Connor and Dorcas Miller with Safe Horizon. They walk us through the planning and implementation of its Racial Healing Response Team – an intentional response to situations between staff that have caused racial harm and the facilitation of healing.

GUESTS:

Dr. Lisa A. O’Connor was promoted to the roles of Deputy CEO and Chief Program Officer as of March 2021. Lisa joined Safe Horizon in 2013 as the Deputy Chief Program Officer and was later promoted to Chief Program Officer. She is a psychologist by training and has spent most of her career in service to children and families impacted by violence. During her time at Safe Horizon, Lisa has led efforts to address the needs of young men of color who have been harmed by violence; implemented client-centered, trauma-informed practices that recognize the impact of racism in the lives of survivors; and led the successful fulfillment of a five-year strategic plan. Lisa is also the Co-Chair of the Racial Healing Response Team and a member of the Anti-Racism Steering Committee at Safe Horizon.

Prior to Safe Horizon, Lisa spent almost a decade in child welfare developing and implementing new program models and policies, first as an Assistant Commission at the Administration for Children’s Services and later as Vice President for Children and Family Services at the New York Foundling. In these roles, she designed innovative programs that brought evidence-based models to preventive services and for children in foster care and residential placement. She also developed policy and specialized foster care programming to help reduce child welfare’s use of residential placements for young people approaching adulthood.

Lisa has devoted most of her career to working on behalf of vulnerable populations. She has provided direct service to families in crisis: those experiencing family violence, impacted by poverty, and involved in systems. She received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University and a BA in Psychology from Smith College.

Dorcas Miller is the Senior Learning Specialist with Safe Horizon who develops and implements training to individual contributors and supervisory staff at Safe Horizon. Dorcas is also the Co-Chair of the Racial Healing Response Team and a member of the Anti-Racism Steering Committee at Safe Horizon.

Dorcas’ education includes a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York, Clinical Pastor Education at Cornell Medical Center, and a BA in Business Administration from Pace University.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

• Safe Horizon: https://www.safehorizon.org
• Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center: https://www.nrcac.org
• Regional Children’s Advocacy Centers: https://www.regionalcacs.org

Have an idea for a future Team Talk guest or topic? We want to hear from you! Email your suggestions to Tony DeVincenzo at [e-mail].

Disclaimer: This project was sponsored by NRCAC from Grant Award Number 15PJDP-22-GK-03061-JJVO awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, OJJDP or NRCAC.