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Welcome to MCASA's Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Fundamentals Training Series!

MCASA's Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Fundamentals Training Series is an online training for advocates who work directly with sexual assault survivors in Maryland. This training covers foundational topics and best practices for advocates providing services to survivors of sexual assault. This training is designed to prepare 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 are facilitated by MCASA and SALI staff and guest speakers. 

This training series also includes self-paced learning modules which cover a variety of foundational topics.

June 2025
Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Training (SAVAT) Series
Piecing Together Your Learning Journey

Illustration of a puzzle with 6 pieces showing the individual parts of this training series. From left to right, clockwise around the puzzle, text on the pieces reads: Welcome video, SAVAT webpage and resource library, week 1 morning sessions, self-paced learning modules, afternoon skills-building labs, week 2 morning sessions

Training Schedule 

Week 1
  June 2 June 3 June 4 June 5 June 6
Morning
Training Sessions		 Crisis Intervention & Advocacy
10:00am-11:45am		 Confidentiality, Ethics,
& Legal Options for Survivors of Sexual Assault
10:00am-11:30am		 The Intersection Between Intimate Partner Violence
& Sexual Assault
10:00am-12:00pm		 The Neurobiology of Trauma
10:00am-12:00pm		 Roles of a Sexual Assault Response Team
10:00am-11:45am
Afternoon
Skills-Building Labs		       Crisis Intervention & Advocacy
2:30pm-3:30pm		  

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
Week 2
  June 9 June 10 June 11 June 12 June 13
Morning Training Sessions The Intersection Between Human Trafficking & Sexual Assault
10:00am-11:30am		 Maryland's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative: Victim Notification Protocol
10:00am-11:30am		 Money Matters:
Financial Empowerment for Survivors of Sexual Assault
10:00am-11:45am		 Serving Sexual Assault Survivors from Underserved Populations
10:00am-11:15am		 Professional Ethics, Vicarious Trauma, & Self-Care for Advocates
10:00am-11:45am
Afternoon Skills-Building Labs       Safety Planning
2:30pm-3:30pm		  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Training Schedule Notes:

  • The Morning Training Sessions will be recorded and made available to registrants after each training session. 
  • The Afternoon Skills-Building Labs won't be recorded. Participation is strongly encouraged; we suggest having your camera on and communicating with your fellow learners.
  • All training session times are in Eastern Standard Time. 

Certificates of Attendance & CEUs:

  • Certificates of Attendance & Social Work CEU hours may be requested until July 11, 2025, via the Certificate Request Form that will be shared after each training session. 
    • CEU hours are subject to change based on the length of each training.
    • After July 11, 2025, we won't be accepting anymore requests for Certificates of Attendance or CEUs for this training series.
    • You may continue watching the training recordings after July 11th. 

Self-Paced Learning Modules

MCASA has a variety of self-paced learning modules that will be available to complete throughout the rest of the month. Please see the below schedule for recommended completion times, as some modules correspond with a live webinar. Please be sure to fill out the evaluation AND CEU form (when applicable) to receive credit for these learning modules. *Note: An asterisk indicates required foundational information. *

*Recognizing and Preventing Child Sexual Abuse (60 mins)*

*Sexual Assault and its Impact on Survivors (30 mins)*

Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention for Advocates and Hotline Counselors (60 mins) Passcode: MCASA

Prevention Fundamentals and Theory (30 mins)

Prevention in Action: In-Person and Online (30 mins)

The Role of SARTs & SAFEs (30 mins) Passcode: MCASA

Sexual Assault and Substance Use (60 mins) Passcode: MCASA

Recorded Training

Supplemental Learning

MCASA created an Online Training Library, featuring over 80 free online trainings and webinars for sexual assault service providers. These resources serve as professional development opportunities readily available at any time for you to access. These trainings are optional. For the Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Fundamentals Training, we have chosen to highlight the following trainings to contribute to a well-rounded month of education. 

Webinars:

Interactive Self-Paced Training Courses:

Short Videos:

SAVAT Resource Library

Articles:

MCASA's Brochures:

Books:

Videos:

Articles:

Resources and Guides:

Resources and Guides:

MCASA's Legal Brochures:

Videos:

Articles:

Resources and Guides:

Safety Planning Resources and Guides:

MCASA's Brochures:

Resources and Guides:

MCASA's SAKI Brochures and Flyers:

*Note: Updated versions of the SAKI brochures (English and Spanish) are in development. *

Videos:

Podcasts:

Articles:

Books:

MCASA's USP Brochures:

Resources and Guides:

Self-Paced Prevention Learning Courses:

Training:

Resources and Guides:

MCASA's SV Prevention Brochures:

Videos:

Articles:

Resources and Guides:

Books:

Videos:

Articles:

Videos:

Articles:

Books:

While registration for this training is entirely free, we would greatly appreciate a donation to support MCASA's work for them. Our goal of ending sexual violence and responding to survivors continues. We are grateful for whatever you can give to support Maryland survivors of sexual violence. Simply choose the level that works best for you, and follow the link below to donate now.