Skip to main content
 This program is not active.
Live Event

Documenting Persecution and Trauma Workshops: Training on Forensic Evaluations and Country Reports for Asylum Claims


Credit Available - See Credits tab below.

Duration:
8 Hours 30 Minutes
Expiration:
Not Applicable
Location:
University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice - Chicago, Illinois

Dates


Description

Documenting Persecution and Trauma Workshops: Training on Forensic Evaluations and Country Reports for Asylum Claims

 Friday, April 12, 2024
8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
In person only; Free and open to the public

Join us for a day of trainings and workshops on the updated Istanbul Protocol and its application to work with asylum-seeking individuals.

This full-day event will consist of talks and workshops that inform, educate, and train practitioners to deliver pro-bono asylum support services that adhere to the best-practice standards of the updated Istanbul Protocol. Topics covered will include mental health and medical forensic assessments, country reports, and asylee representation and advocacy. 

Continuing education credits are available for a fee. The medical and psychological forensic assessment training is a Physicians for Human Rights-certified training.

These talks and workshops are designed for:

  • Clinicians and physicians wishing to conduct independent impartial clinical evaluations of alleged torture
  • Individuals who want to learn more about using the updated Istanbul Protocol to investigate and document alleged torture and ill-treatment among asylum seekers.
  • Persons wanting to use their knowledge of country political and social conditions to advance asylum claims
  • Anyone interested in stronger collaboration between health and legal professionals.

Credits


Cultural Competence

This workshop satisfies 5.5 hours toward the State of Illinois cultural competency requirement for social workers.


Continuing Education Credit for Social Workers

This program satisfies the requirements to receive 5.5 hours of Continuing Education credit for social workers.

The Professional Development Program is a licensed State of Illinois provider of Continuing Education for social workers, clinical psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and professional counselors. License #s 159.000140, 168.000115, and 268.000004.

Most states have reciprocity with Illinois. It is recommended that professionals outside of Illinois review rules for their licensing board prior to participating to ensure that the content meets their renewal, and/or reciprocity, requirements.


Continuing Education Credit for Clinical Psychologists

This program satisfies the requirements to receive 5.5 hours of Continuing Education credit for clinical psychologists.

The Professional Development Program is a licensed State of Illinois provider of Continuing Education for social workers, clinical psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and professional counselors. License #s 159.000140, 168.000115, and 268.000004.

Most states have reciprocity with Illinois. It is recommended that professionals outside of Illinois review rules for their licensing board prior to participating to ensure that the content meets their renewal, and/or reciprocity, requirements.


Continuing Education Credit for Professional Counselors

This program satisfies the requirements to receive 5.5 hours of Continuing Education credit for professional counselors.

The Professional Development Program is a licensed State of Illinois provider of Continuing Education for social workers, clinical psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and professional counselors. License #s 159.000140, 168.000115, and 268.000004.

Most states have reciprocity with Illinois. It is recommended that professionals outside of Illinois review rules for their licensing board prior to participating to ensure that the content meets their renewal, and/or reciprocity, requirements.


Continuing Education Credit for Marriage and Family Therapists

This program satisfies the requirements to receive 5.5 hours of Continuing Education credit for marriage and family therapists.

The Professional Development Program is a licensed State of Illinois provider of Continuing Education for social workers, clinical psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and professional counselors. License #s 159.000140, 168.000115, and 268.000004.

Most states have reciprocity with Illinois. It is recommended that professionals outside of Illinois review rules for their licensing board prior to participating to ensure that the content meets their renewal, and/or reciprocity, requirements.



Handouts

Program Speakers

To View Speaker Biographies, Please Visit The Program Website

Rebecca Ford-Paz, PhD – Forensic Assessment for Immigration Relief (FAIR) Clinic, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

The Honorable James Fujimoto, JD (retired) – DePaul University College of Law Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic

Lindsay Gifford, PhD – Pozen Family Center for Human Rights

Minal Giri, MD – Midwest Human Rights Consortium 

Rohini Haar, MD, MPH – University of California, Berkeley and Physicians for Human Rights

Aimee Hilado, PhD, LCSW – Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice and Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health

Nicole Hallett, JD– Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, UChicago Law School

Ida Salusky, PhD, MPH– Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Location

University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice

7StlacmBzEK8wWL_jG67hg.jpg
969 E. 60th St., Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States

Agenda

Schedule

8:00 - 8:30 a.m.
Registration/breakfast

8:30 - 9:00 a.m.
Welcome, acknowledgments, and introduction to the   Midwest Human Rights Consortium

Morning Session: Asylum Overview 

9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Asylum Law and Politics: The Critical Role of Health Professionals (Nicole Hallett)

10:00 - 11:00 a.m
Introduction to the Medical Asylum Evaluation, (Rohini Haar)

11:00 - 11:15 a.m.
Break

11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Psychological Evaluations of Asylum Seekers (Aimee Hilado)

12:15 - 1:15 p.m.
Lunch

Afternoon Session: Strengthening Forensic Evaluations 

1:15 - 2:15 p.m.
What Makes a Strong Asylum Claim? (The Honorable Judge James Fujimoto)

2:15 - 2:30 p.m.
Break

2:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Breakout sessions:

Nuts and Bolts of the Physical Evaluation and Medical Documentation (Rohini Haar and Minal Giri), Room E-IV

This workshop will review the purpose of medical asylum evaluations and help attendees identify common modalities of torture and corresponding injuries and scars. Attendees will learn how to describe scars and injuries, consider mechanisms of injury, and use Istanbul Protocol guidelines to document scars.

Psychological Evaluations with Adults (Ida Salusky), Room: Library

Dr. Salusky will engage participants in an interactive session on setting up, conducting, and writing reports for mental health forensic assessments of asylum seekers. Participants will explore ethical distinctions between forensic and therapeutic roles, cultural factors impacting the selection and use of assessment instruments, the critical elements of a forensic mental health assessment, and options and formats for developing and presenting written reports.

Psychological Evaluations with Minors (Rebecca Ford-Paz)
Room: E-1

This breakout will provide an overview of developmentally appropriate forensic psychological assessment procedures for young people seeking immigration relief. The session will cover interview considerations, recommended tools, guidance for collecting collateral information, affidavit writing tips, and a review of case examples.

Country Condition Reports (Lindsay Gifford, Nicole Hallett)
Room: W-1

Professor Nicole Hallett, Director of the Immigrants' Rights Clinic will share guidance for serving as an expert witness in asylum cases. Professor Lindsay Gifford, a refugee studies expert, will explain how to draft a country conditions report in support of an asylum claim. Participants will leave with a draft outline of their own country conditions template to support future asylum casework collaborations.

4 - 4:30 p.m.

Next steps / Concluding remarks