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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.

September 14 - 25, 2026
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
  Sept. 14 Sept. 15 Sept. 16 Sept. 17 Sept. 18
Morning
Training Sessions		 Crisis Intervention & Advocacy
10:00am-12:00pm		 Maryland’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative: Victim Notification Protocol
10:00am-11:45am		 The Neurobiology of Trauma
10:00am-11:45am		 Confidentiality, Ethics, & Legal Options for Survivors of Sexual Assault
10:00am-11:30am		 The Roles of a Sexual Assault Response Team
10:00am-12:00pm
Afternoon
Skills-Building Labs		       Empowering Survivors: What Advocates Need to Know
2:00pm-3:15pm		  

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
Week 2
  Sept. 21 Sept. 22 Sept. 23 Sept. 24 Sept. 25
Morning Training Sessions Money Matters: Financial Empowerment for Survivors of Sexual Assault
10:00am-11:30am		 The Intersection Between Human Trafficking & Sexual Assault
10:00am-11:45am		 The Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence & Sexual Assault
10:00am-11:30am		 Serving Sexual Assault Survivors from Underserved Populations
10:00am-12pm		 Professional Ethics, Vicarious Trauma, & Self-Care
10:00am-11:30am
Afternoon Skills-Building Labs   Safety Planning
2:00pm-3:00pm		      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Training Information:

  • All training sessions and labs will be 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 of the sessions as you would like. 
    • Upon registering, you will receive the Zoom login information for the Morning Training Sessions. You will use the same login each morning. 
    • All registrants will receive an email with the Zoom login information for the Afternoon Skills-Building 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 October 23rd, 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 accept anymore requests for Certificates of Attendance or CEUs for this training series.
    • You may continue watching the training recordings after October 23rd.
  • You can expect to receive your certificates, via email, within 4-6 weeks of submitting the certificate request forms. 

Self-Paced Learning Modules

MCASA has a variety of self-paced learning modules that are available to complete throughout the rest of the month. Please see below for the approximate completion times for each module. 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.*

Recorded Training

  • Crisis Intervention and Advocacy 
  • Confidentiality, Ethics, & Legal Options for Survivors of Sexual Assault
  • The Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence & Sexual Assault
  • The Neurobiology of Trauma
  • The Roles of a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART)
  • The Intersection Between Human Trafficking & Sexual Assault
  • Maryland's SAKI: Victim Notification Protocol 
  • Money Matters: Economic Empowerment for Survivors of Sexual Assault
  • Serving Sexual Assault Survivors from Underserved Populations
  • Professional Ethics, Vicarious Trauma and Self Care for Advocates

Supplemental Learning

MCASA maintains 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:

Books, Resources, & 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.