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Early registration rates extended to April 3, 2015

Advancing The Narrative: Inspiring The Future!

2015 International Conference

Dates: April 15^th, 16^th and 17^th, 2015

Location: Crowne Plaza in Grand Rapids, Michigan

In conjunction with the 20^th Anniversary of BISC-MI 

BREAKING NEWS: BISC-MI is pleased to share the following information / guidance provided by the Department of Justice – Office on Violence Against Women regarding attendance approval for this Conference

The OVW programs listed below have conditionally approved their grantees to attend this conference: Grantees are required to contact their OVW program specialist to get approval specific to their award and to ensure that a Grant Adjustment Notice (GAN) is issued. A GAN must be completed before grantees commit or expend any funds related to attending this conference.

• Arrest
• Consolidated Youth
• Culturally and Linguistically Specific Services for Victims Program (CLSSP)
• Justice for Families
• Rural Grant Program
• Safe Havens: Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Grant Program
• State Coalition

Grantees from the STOP program may be invited to attend this conference and do not have to contact OVW for prior approval. STOP subgrantees need approval from their STOP State Administrator. Grantees who are not required to get prior approval to attend this conference should be advised to place a “memo to the file” in their grant records indicating the conference approval reference number.

The reference number for this conference is OVW-2015-MU-007. This number must be used by grantees when requesting approval via a GAN or in their “memo to the file”. This approval and assigned reference number is for this conference only.

Conference Description: The role of intervention in addressing intimate partner violence has become distorted due to a combination of gender neutral advocates, flawed and misrepresented research and the increasing emphasis on evidence based practice. The result is that legislators and communities are withdrawing support from intervention programs and the resurgence of strategies that put victims at risk are being promoted. Programs are increasingly finding themselves under attack and having to respond to questions that that they are not prepared to answer.

BISC-MI has taken the lead in the last 20 years of bringing together some of the best faculty from around the world to address controversial issues and provide unequaled networking opportunities. This year is no exception. This conference is an unprecedented opportunity to hear and mingle with some of the leading experts from around the world. A variety of thought provoking plenary sessions will address topics of research, culture, women’s use of force and how the field can move forward. Additionally, there will be an assortment of workshops which will offer a smaller group experience to explore topics in depth. This conference is bringing together many of the leaders in the field to discuss how to reclaim the narrative and define the future of intervention programming with an emphasis on cultural sensitivity and victim safety focus.  Come with your questions and challenges; leave energized, well informed and with new connections from around the country, This is a not to be missed opportunity and there are space limitations so sign up early to secure your place.

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