2026 Child Protection & Justice Conference
Join professionals from across Pennsylvania and the tri-state area for two days of advanced training, collaboration, and connection focused on strengthening the multidisciplinary response to child abuse and exploitation.
November 16–17, 2026 | Mt. Airy Casino Resort
About the Conference
The inaugural Child Protection & Justice Conference will bring together professionals across disciplines to learn, collaborate, and strengthen the systems that protect children and support victims.
We are anticipating 400+ registered professionals from across Pennsylvania and neighboring states, representing government agencies, hospitals, law firms, nonprofits, and academic institutions.
Featured Keynote Speaker
Irish S. Burch
Keynote Speaker | Author | Founder of ISA.61
Irish S. Burch pours into the people behind the mission and equips leaders to lead well under pressure. Drawing on more than 30 years of frontline and executive leadership, including serving as President and CEO of one of the nation’s largest and most recognized children’s advocacy organizations, Irish understands both the privilege and the pressure of leadership.
Through compelling stories, practical wisdom, and authentic connection, she helps audiences reconnect with their purpose and strengthen their leadership without losing themselves in the process. Known for creating experiences rather than simply delivering presentations, Irish leaves audiences feeling seen, encouraged, and equipped to return to their work with renewed hope and tools they can use immediately.
Day Two Keynote · Tuesday, November 17
Dr. Graham Hill
Criminologist | Former Senior Detective & SIO | Founding Head of Behavioural Analysis, UK CEOP
Dr Graham Hill is an internationally recognised British criminologist and former Senior Detective, with considerable experience leading major crime and homicide investigations. As the founder and inaugural Head of Behavioural Analysis at the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), Dr Hill played a pioneering role in the development of behavioural analysis within child protection. His expertise focuses on adults who sexually abuse children and men who abduct and murder children, informed by a distinguished policing career, specialist investigative appointments, and academic research. Dr Hill lectures internationally on these and related subjects and is a respected media contributor, serving as a commentator, presenter, and executive producer.
Conference Agenda
Two days of high-level training, collaboration, and practical strategies for professionals working to protect children, investigate crimes, pursue justice, and support healing.
- Corroborating Evidence in Child Sexual Assault Cases
- Minimizing Miscommunication in Child Forensic Interviews
- Identifying Problematic Sexual Behavior: A Community Response
- Missing Youth: La’Niyah Clark Case Study
- Evidence Based Policing: How It Can Influence Investigation and Child Protection Strategies
- Missed Homicides: Child Death Investigations
- Silent Beginnings: The Impact of Domestic Violence from Pregnancy to Age Three
- Countertransference
- Beyond the Obvious: Identifying Child Exploitation
- Caught After 25 Years: A Real-Life ‘Dazed and Confused’ Predator
- Crisis Response
- From a Survivor’s Perspective: Understanding Familial Child Sex Trafficking
- What the Defense Team Doesn’t Want You to Know
- The Importance of Caregiver Involvement within Trauma Focused Therapeutic Modalities
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as Upstream Determinants of Adult Cardiometabolic Disease: A Life-Course Epidemiological Perspective
- Champions by Design: Building Resilience for Those Who Serve Children
- From Commitment to Implementation: Building a Sustainable CAC Model & MDT Response
- Multi-Stepfamily Predator Brought to Justice
- Drug Endangered Children Training
- The Gray Area: When a Victim Looks Like an Offender
- Connections Between Cybertips and Hands-On Sexual Offenders
- The Dark Underworld of Human Trafficking
- From Gaps to Action: Building Collaborative Solutions That Strengthen Children and Families
- Belonging Is a Protective Factor: What Youth in Out-of-Home Care Need That We Are Not Measuring
- Getting the Most From Your Medical Provider
- What I Wish I’d Known About MDITs and CACs When I Was a LEO
- Lessons Learned from Building What Didn’t Exist
- Before the Interview: Planning for Corroboration in Child Abuse Investigations
- Seen, but Not Fully Seen: Trauma, Culture, Bias, and Intersectional Invisibility in Child Protection Decision-Making
- Mental Health for First Responders
- Abusive Head Trauma
- Interviewing Child Sexual Abusers: What Works and What Doesn’t
- The Survivor Doesn’t Fit the Story: When Trauma Is Mistaken for Deception, Resistance, or Noncompliance
- NVE Part 1
- Forensic Interviewer Forum: Case Discussion and Problem Solving
- AI-Generated CSAM: Detection, Investigation & the Road Ahead
- NVE Part 2
- When the Guardian Isn’t Guarding: Recognizing Compromised Guardianship in Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking
- After Survival: The Healing No One Talks About
- Know Your Strike Zone: Advocacy, Accountability & Collaboration Protecting Children
Breakout titles shown are illustrative offerings. Schedule and session offerings are subject to change. Final presenters and room assignments will follow.
Get Involved
There are several ways to take part in the inaugural conference — as a presenter, exhibitor, sponsor, volunteer, or scholarship recipient.
Event Information
Questions? Contact us at events@cacnepa.org.
