Sharing Expertise to Better Serve Children: DCAC Presents at National Child Abuse Symposium
At Denver Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC), our commitment to children extends beyond the families we serve every day. We are also dedicated to advancing the field by sharing knowledge, collaborating with professionals nationwide, and helping strengthen the response to child abuse wherever it occurs.
This spring, Hollie Reinhart, Director of DCAC’s Rapid Response Team, and Angel Gudeman, Bilingual Forensic Interview Manager, alongside Chris Curtis from the Denver District Attorney’s Office, were invited to present at the 3rd Annual Joint Symposium on Child Abuse & Neglect in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The annual symposium brings together professionals from Children’s Advocacy Centers, law enforcement, child protection agencies, medical providers, mental health professionals, prosecutors, and other multidisciplinary team members to strengthen collaboration and improve outcomes for children impacted by abuse.
The DCAC team delivered two presentations focused on one of the most important and often misunderstood aspects of child abuse investigations: how trauma affects the way children remember and share their experiences.
Understanding Trauma’s Impact on Children’s Stories
Their first presentation, Broken Stories or Broken Systems: Narrative Fragmentation and Implications for Child Credibility, explored how trauma can affect a child’s memory, language, and ability to tell a story in a clear chronological order.
Children who have experienced trauma often recall events in fragments rather than as a linear narrative. Details may emerge out of sequence, sensory memories may feel disconnected from timelines, and children may shift abruptly between topics. While these patterns are common responses to trauma, they can sometimes be misunderstood as inconsistencies or signs that a child is not credible.
Drawing on current neuroscience research and real forensic interview examples, the presentation helped professionals better understand why these fragmented narratives occur and how to gather information in a way that is both trauma-informed and developmentally appropriate.
Strengthening Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Their second session, When the Story Isn’t Linear: Trauma-Informed Strategies for Prosecutors and Investigators, focused on helping investigators and prosecutors recognize how trauma impacts children’s disclosures throughout the investigative and legal process.
The presentation emphasized strategies for distinguishing trauma-related memory fragmentation from indicators of coaching or fabrication while strengthening collaboration between forensic interviewers, investigators, prosecutors, and other multidisciplinary team partners.
By promoting a shared understanding of how trauma affects memory and communication, the session helps professionals make more informed decisions and better support children throughout the justice process.
National Recognition of DCAC’s Leadership
Being selected to present at a national conference reflects the expertise of DCAC’s staff and the collaborative work happening every day alongside our community partners.
That expertise continues to gain recognition. Hollie and Angel have also been selected to present Broken Stories or Broken Systems at the prestigious Chadwick Conference on Family Maltreatment in January 2027 – one of the nation’s leading conferences focused on child abuse prevention, intervention, and treatment.
We are incredibly proud of Hollie, Angel, and our multidisciplinary partners for sharing their knowledge with professionals across the country. Every opportunity to strengthen the field ultimately helps create more informed, compassionate responses for children and families when they need them most.
Congratulations to Hollie and Angel on this well-deserved recognition. We look forward to seeing the continued impact of their work both here in Colorado and beyond.
