MCASA’s Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Fundamentals Training (September 2026)

Join us for MCASA's September 2026 Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Fundamentals Training Series! 

This is a free online training series which includes two weeks of live training sessions and online self-paced learning courses that are designed for advocates who work directly with sexual assault survivors in Maryland. The training covers foundational topics and best practices for advocates providing services to survivors of sexual assault. This training prepares new advocates for their work with survivors of sexual violence, including child sexual abuse, intimate partner sexual violence, human trafficking, and more. 

Live training sessions will be on weekdays from September 14 - September 25, 2026. There will be one training session each morning and a couple of afternoon skills-building labs where participants will engage with their fellow learners and practice different skills. MCASA and SALI staff and guest speakers will facilitate these training workshops.

Live Training Schedule

Week 1:

September 14th

• Morning Training Session: Crisis Intervention & Advocacy (10am - 12pm)

September 15th

• Morning Training Session: Maryland’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative: Victim Notification Protocol (10 - 11:45am)

September 16th

• Morning Training Session: The Neurobiology of Trauma (10 - 11:45am)

September 17th

• Morning Training Session: Confidentiality, Ethics, & Legal Options for Survivors of Sexual Assault (10 - 11:30am)
• Afternoon Skills-Building Lab: Empowering Survivors: What Advocates Need to Know (2 - 3:15pm)

September 18th

• Morning Training Session: The Roles of a Sexual Assault Response Team (10am - 12pm)

Week 2:

September 21st

• Morning Training Session: Money Matters: Financial Empowerment for Survivors of Sexual Assault (10 - 11:30am)

September 22nd

• Morning Training Session: The Intersection Between Human Trafficking & Sexual Assault (10 - 11:45am)
• Afternoon Skills-Building Lab: Safety Planning (2 - 3pm)

September 23rd

• Morning Training Session: The Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence & Sexual Assault (10 - 11:30am)

September 24th

• Morning Training Session: Serving Sexual Assault Survivors from Underserved Populations (10am - 12pm)

September 25th

• Morning Training Session: Professional Ethics, Vicarious Trauma, & Self-Care for Advocates (10 -11:30am)

Registration & Training Information

• Each of the training times listed above are in Eastern Standard Time. 
• Registration for this training is free and open to all advocates and service providers. 
  • You only need to register once to attend all or as many sessions as you would like. 
  • Upon registering, you will receive the Zoom login for the Morning Training Sessions. You will use the same login each morning.
  • All registrants will receive an email with the Zoom login for the Afternoon Labs prior to the labs. The afternoon Zoom login is different from the morning sessions. 
• The Morning Training Sessions will be recorded and made available to registrants. 
• The Afternoon Skills-Building Labs will not be recorded. Participation is strongly encouraged. We suggest having your camera on and communicating with your fellow learners. 

Certificates of Attendance & CEUs

• Certificates of Attendance which include Social Work CEUs, Licensed Professional Counselor CEUs, and Maryland Victim Advocate CEUs may be requested until Friday, October 23, 2026, at 10:00 am (EST). 
  • To request certificates of attendance, please fill out the corresponding Certificate Request Forms which will be provided after each training. 
  • CEU hours are subject to change based on the length of each training. 
  • After October 23rd, we will not be accepting anymore requests for CEUs or Certificates of Attendance for this training series. 
  • You may continue watching the training sessions after October 23rd. 
• You can expect to receive your certificates, via email, within 4-6 weeks of submitting the certificate request forms.