4th Annual Law Enforcement and
Social Services Conference
October 17, 2019
Best Western Plus Kelly Inn 100 4th Avenue South St. Cloud MN, 56301
Sponsorships & Exhibitions • Panels & Discussion
Presentations & Workshops • Networking & Partnership Building
Greetings Law Enforcement, Social Services Professionals, and Honored Guests!
A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR PLANNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS
(OTHERS TO RECOGNIZE?)
Sergeant Lucas G. Dingmann, St. Cloud Police Department
Dr. Sylvester Amara Lamin, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Dr. Kristy K. Modrow, School of Public Affairs, St. Cloud State University
Dr. Gail M. Ruhland, Center for Continuing Studies, St. Cloud State University
Mr. David J. Schnettler, Associate Director, Public Safety, St. Cloud State University
Dr. Consoler Teboh, Social Work Department, St. Cloud State University
Mr. Kevin C. Whitlock, Director, Public Safety, St. Cloud State University
Dr. Shawn L. Williams, Criminal Justice Studies Department, St. Cloud State University
CONFERENCE AGENDA
| TIMES | EVENT | COMMENTS |
| 7:00 – 8:00 am | Registration, Breakfast, Networking | Exhibit Hall Open … be sure to visit the Exhibitors / Sponsors! |
| 8:00 – 8:25 am | Welcome to LESSC | Dr. Sylvester Amara Lamin
Conference Director and Co-Founder Wm. Blair Anderson: Police Chief, St. Cloud Police Department Jerry Relph: Minnesota State Senator, Senate District 14 Shonda Craft: Dean School of Health and Human Services, St. Cloud State University King Banaian: Dean School of Public Affairs, St. Cloud State University |
| 8:30 – 9:20 am | Morning Keynote | An Overview of Corrections, Management and Operational Strategies in the State of Minnesota
Paul Schnell: Commissioner of Minnesota Department of Corrections
Introduction by Dr. Consoler Teboh: St. Cloud State University Social Work, Conference Co-Founder |
| 9:30 – 10:50 am | Keynote Panel One: Collaborative Strategies by Law Enforcement and Public Safety Departments. | Invited Public Safety Personnel from area
Wm. Blair Anderson: Police Chief, St. Cloud Police Department Mike Tusken: Chief of Police Duluth Police Department Steven Soyka: Sheriff Stearns County Matthew Clark: Chief of Police University of Minnesota Police Department Kevin Whitlock: Public Safety Director, St. cloud State university Eric Blumke: Chief St. Cloud Veteran Affairs Medical Center
Moderator: Dr. Shawn Williams: St. Cloud State University Department of Criminal Justice
+zenge |
| 11:00 – 12:10 pm | Keynote Panel Two: Strengthening Community Trust and Collaboration with Law Enforcement and Public Safety Departments | Invited Social Services and Mental Health Professionals
Melissa Huberty Stearns County Human Services Administrator Shannah Mulvihill Executive Director Mental Health Minnesota Eleana Lukes: Survivor Advocate & Employment Readiness Coordinator Terebinth Refuge Waite Park, MN. John M. Eggers, PhD: Director of Counseling and Psychological Services, St. Cloud State University Julie Abfalter BSN, RN-BC: Central Care Inpatient Mental Health Laura A. Kunstleben: Suicide Prevention Educator-Outreach St. Cloud Veteran Affairs Medical Center Moderator: Suzanne Shatila: Social Works Program, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Moderator: Professor Sara Devos |
| 12:20 – 1:25 pm | Luncheon Keynote | Building Communities through collaboration and service provision. The Services CentraCare Health Provides in the Areas of Mental Health and Collaborative Efforts with Law Enforcement and Corrections
Katy Kirchner: Director of Coordinated Care and Correctional Care, CentraCare Health |
| 1:25 – 1:30 pm | Prizes | Award, Prize drawings
Gail Ruhland: Director, Center for Continuing Studies, St. Cloud State University |
| 1:40 – 2:40 pm | Breakout Session One | Session One: Mental Illness & Mental Health Crisis Intervention – Frank Weber
Moderator: Shelly Statz: Social Works Program, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Session Two: A Model Training for Social Services / Law Enforcement Partnerships – Dr. Jeff Golden Moderator: Dr. Consoler Teboh: Social Work Department, St. Cloud State University Session Three: Invisible Children- Mike Tikkanen Moderator: Hellen Achiro Lotara: School of Education St. Cloud Cloud State University
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| 2:50 – 3:50 pm | Breakout Session Two | Session Four: The Duluth Response: A Collaborative approach between the Duluth Police Department and St. Louis County Social Services – Angela Robertson, Chad Guenther, Patty Whelan and Kelly Greenwalt
Moderator: Department of Criminal Justice St. Cloud State University
Session Five: Vitals™ Aware Services – Christopher Kokal Moderator: Dr. Patience Togo-Malm, Social Work Department, St. Cloud State University
Session Six: Working in a Mental Health Team – Todd Sauvageau and Jeff Seidl Moderator: |
| 4:00 – 5:00 pm | Closing remarks, the way forward and date of next event | General Session:
Strengthening Communities through Collaboration with Law Enforcement Dr. Sylvester Amara Lamin and Dr. Consoler Teboh Conference Co-Founders |
MORNING KEYNOTE:
Paul Schnell became commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) on Jan. 7, 2019. He was appointed commissioner by Governor Tim Walz. Commissioner Schnell brings more than 30 years of public safety and corrections experience to his new position with the DOC. His wealth of knowledge in these fields is a great asset to the DOC. While completing his Bachelor of Social Work degree at the University of St. Thomas, Schnell began an internship supervising adult male offenders in a St. Paul halfway house. This internship led to a 10-year stretch of work in a variety of community-based correctional programs in the Twin Cities. In 1993, Schnell moved from his position working with youth offenders at Carver County Court Services to deputy sheriff for the Carver County Sheriff’s Office. In 1999, Schnell joined the Saint Paul Police Department where he served in a variety of assignments, including four years as the department’s spokesman. Over the past eight years, Schnell has served as Chief of Police for the cities of Hastings and Maplewood and was the Chief of Police for the City of Inver Grove Heights at the time of his appointment to the commissioner of the DOC. Long interested in effective intervention and prevention practices, Schnell became an adjunct faculty member at the University of Saint Thomas and Metropolitan State University, teaching courses in criminal justice diversity, criminal justice ethics, restorative justice, and victimology. In addition to a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of St. Thomas, Schnell holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from St. Catherine University in St. Paul.
LUNCHEON KEYNOTE:
Katy Kirchner works at CentraCare Health as the Director of Coordinated Care and Correctional Care. She previously was the Director of Public Health for Morrison County and served on the executive team for the MN Local Public Health Association. As a servant leader, Katy enjoys convening widely diverse sectors to promote strategies for improving the health of the community. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Health with an executive healthcare emphasis as well as a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Biology and Psychology. Katy is a part of the Population Health Leadership Team and is the lead for the Community Health Needs Assessment at CentraCare. She is pursuing her Doctor of Public Health from the University of Illinois, Chicago School of Public Health.
Invited Public Safety Professionals BIOGRAPHIES
Chief Wm. Blair Anderson has been a licensed peace officer for over 20 years. He commands 108 sworn officers and 45 civilians with an operating budget of approximately $17.5 million dollars. Prior to coming to St. Cloud, Chief Anderson was the Chief Deputy Sheriff of the Carver County Sheriff’s Office. In that capacity, he managed a $16 million dollar budget, and oversaw the day to day operations of the sheriff’s office including 160 licensed and civilian personnel, Jail Administration and Sheriff’s Office Operations. Chief Anderson is credentialed to teach by MinnState (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities) and serves as an Adjunct Professor at St. Cloud State University.
Chief Mike Tusken served the citizens of Duluth since 1992 as a patrol officer, juvenile investigator, patrol sergeant, financial crimes investigative sergeant, lieutenant/area commander, patrol deputy chief and interim police chief before being promoted to police chief in May of 2016 by Mayor Emily Larson. During his tenure, the chief is responsible for implementing the COMPSTAT Program, building an assessment tool (JDAI) to reduce juvenile incarceration rates of children of color, created a performance measurement system and developed innovative approaches for engaging his staff in community policing. These strategies are responsible for building strong relationships within the community and reducing crime. He holds an Associate of Applied Science in Law Enforcement from Hibbing Community College, a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Herzing University and attended Northwestern University Center for Public Safety, completing the 260th Session of the School of Staff and Command.
Sherriff Steven Soyka
Chief Matthew Clark serves as the Chief of Police with the University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD) and leads the 50 member UMPD on the Twin Cities campus and the University’s system-wide Public Safety Emergency Communications Center. Clark previously served as Assistant Chief of Police in Minneapolis, a post he held from 2012 until he assumed his position with the UMPD in 2015. He has served on the Minneapolis Police Department since 1993. His career includes time as an Investigator, Academy Supervisor, Emergency Services Unit Commander, and in leadership positions in two Minneapolis police precincts. Clark earned a Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement and Public Administration from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a Master of Arts in Public Administration / Human Services from Concordia University in St. Paul. He is also a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership Institute, the Senior Management Institute for Police, and the FBI National Academy.
Director Kevin C Whitlock has served as the Director of Public Safety for St. Cloud State University since 2014. Managing a staff of both part-time and full time employees. Primary objective is to provide a safe and secure campus for all students, faculty and staff. For approximately 22 years, Whitlock worked for Three Rivers Park District Police. As a patrol sergeant, Whitlock managed the departments Field training Officer program, Mounted Patrol and department squads and equipment. Prior to his work with Three Rivers, Whitlock worked as a Community Service Officer with the Metropolitan Airports Commission Airport Police. Whitlock’s work with Airport PD included participation on a number of hiring oral boards and serving on the MAC’s Affirmative Action Sub-Committee, later becoming the committee’s chair. For 10 years, Whitlock volunteered his time as a mentor and coach in the Minneapolis Parks System, working with kids at Martin Luther King and Powderhorn Parks. Whitlock Graduated from Minneapolis Central High School, Minneapolis Community and Technical College and St. Mary’s University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Police Science.
Chief Eric Blumke
Invited Social Services and Mental Health Professionals BIOGRAPHIES
Melissa Huberty has served as Stearns County Human Services Administrator starting in 2017. Huberty had previously served as Director of Adult Services in the Ramsey County Social Services Department. She also worked as the Human Services Manager for Ramsey County Community Human Services, Supervisor for the Social Work Unit for Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department, and was the Senior Psychiatric Social Worker for the Hennepin County Mental Health Center.
Shannah Mulvihill serves as the Executive Director and CEO of Mental Health Minnesota, a position she has held since 2015. Shannah has worked in the non-profit and public sectors for 20 years in the areas of communications, development, public policy and organizational leadership. Shannah holds a Master’s degree in counseling psychology from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and has served as a volunteer counselor for the Walk-In Counseling Clinic and Crisis Connection. She is a former board chair of Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless and former disaster services volunteer and advisory committee member of the Twin Cities American Red Cross. She is also a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).
Eleana Lukes
John M. Eggers completed his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Texas A&M University in 1992. Before coming to St. Cloud State University in 2006, he worked 16 years at the Central Minnesota Mental Health Center in St. Cloud, as a Psychologist and Clinical Supervisor of mental health and addictions programs. John describes himself a generalist, having worked with a wide variety of clientele over the course of his career to date.
Julie Abfalter BSN, RN-BC, graduated from SCSU in 2007 and began working on the Inpatient Mental Health Unit. I have been Educator for this department since September 2016. The inpatient unit is a 20-bed adult and an eight-bed adolescent unit. We are proud to have an interdisciplinary team providing care to our patients as well as having collaboration with Hospital Safety and Security on the inpatient units and local law enforcement in the Emergency Department. We strive to provide a safe environment for our patients and staff, changes are made when safety concerns arise. I became certified as a Psychiatric Nurse through the ANCC in 2017. I hold memberships in ANA, APNA, MOLN, and APDN. I have worked on Bedside Reporting, Transforming Care at the Bedside, and a Mentor program within the unit as well as numerous hospital wide committees. I assist with new employee simulation trainings and New Graduate Nurses education for the Hospital. My vision is to break the stigma of mental illness by educating all staff that Mental Illness is everywhere within the hospital and our community, not just on the inpatient unit.
Laura A. Kunstleben, BSN, MS has been a Registered Nurse since 1985, where she graduated from the St. Cloud Hospital School of Nursing. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Chamberlin College of Nursing in 2010 and a Master of Science Degree in Gerontology from St. Cloud State in 2016. Ms. Kunstleben is currently certified as a Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse. She is certified in Advanced Care Planning and working on becoming certified in Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) training. She has worked in many different fields in the health care field as an RN, including small rural hospital, local community nursing home, homecare and hospice in the Albany area for over 17 years. She has been at the St. Cloud Veterans Affair Medical Center since 2007. She has worked as a homecare nurse and Nurse Manager. Ms. Kunstleben currently works as the Suicide Prevention Educator for Outreach at the St. Cloud VAMC.
SESSION DESCRIPTIONS / PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES:
SESSION ONE:
Mental Illness & Mental Health Crisis Intervention
Being arrested is the most common way people access mental health services today. In every city that has an inpatient mental health unit, there are more mentally ill people in that city’s jail, than in the mental health unit. This training will examine the difficulties mental illness presents to law enforcement and offer effective strategies for addressing the most common forms of mental illness officers face. There will be a particular focus on assessment of a situation and intervention strategies. We will also examine how addressing these situations effects officers.
Presented by: Frank Weber
Frank Weber is a forensic psychologist who has completed assessments for homicide, sexual assault, and physical assault cases. He has received the President’s award from the Minnesota Correctional Association for his forensic work. Frank has presented at state and national psychological conventions and teaches college courses in psychology and social problems. Raised in the small rural community of Pierz, Minnesota, Frank is one of ten children (yes, Catholic), named in alphabetical order. Despite the hand-me-downs, hard work, and excessive consumption of potatoes (because they were cheap), there was always music and humor. Frank has been blessed to share his life with his wife, Brenda, since they were teenagers.
SESSION TWO:
A Model Training for Social Services / Law Enforcement Partnerships
The increase in social service workers partnering with law enforcement officers to accomplish a myriad of goals presents opportunities to 1) improve everyone’s safety while 2) increasing effectiveness and efficiency of services and 3) decreasing costs of use of law enforcement/corrections as a mental health service. Critical to the effectiveness of these partnerships is training that enhances understanding and trust between the professions and teaches partners to work together safely, quickly and effectively.
Training these historically diverse professions, sometimes with a history of mistrust, requires identification of common goals and objectives and realistic outcomes while assuaging concerns and even fears. In-person and online training allows both professions to gain knowledge about how to work effectively together as well as experience working through actual incidents with video and in-person scenarios.
The Criminal Justice and Social Work departments at Saint Leo University in Florida have designed and taught a combined law enforcement officer and social worker training that bridges the knowledge, perception and experience gaps between the two professions. The training lets participants experience as partners how to 1) safely rely on each other’s strengths to address and even resolve mutual client issues, 2) jointly de-escalate anger and 3) secure needed services.
Presented by: Dr. Jeff Golden
Dr. Jeff Golden develops and teaches graduate and undergraduate criminal justice classes at Saint Leo University in Florida. His work focuses on anger and aggression, juvenile delinquency and law. Dr. Golden, with Dr. Lisa Rapp-McCall, a professor of social work, developed a multidisciplinary course bringing master’s degree candidates in CJ and SW together to understand how they can work smarter and more effectively together. They expanded the course into a two-day workshop for practitioners in both fields seeking to work together to enhance effectiveness and provide services and solutions quickly and more efficiently. Development of an online version is underway.
SESSION THREE:
Invisible Children
United Nation’s speaker, author of the book INVISIBLE CHILDREN, CASA volunteer Hennepin County guardian ad-Litem, founding board member of CASAMN, CASA CARES), and Kids At Risk Action.
Mike advocates for abused and neglected children as Executive Director of Kids At Risk Action.
KARA, Kids At Risk Action and the INVISIBLE CHILDREN Campus program builds awareness and a volunteer force to address the public health problem of generational child abuse and childhood trauma. The program demonstrates how schools, public health, public safety, quality of life and millions of children are paying a very high price for the poor public perception & consequent lack of support for the people, programs and policies that will heal children and stop the abuse.
Presented by: Mike Tikkanen
Mike Tikkanen speaks about how those of us working with at risk children will be better advocates for children and the adults they become once we are tuned in to the issues. Until then, the lack of institutional transparency, awareness and accountability are compounding serious failures in our child protection systems that directly impact our institutions and each one of us every day.
By generating conversation around the issue and exposing facts that have for too long been left unspoken, Tikkanen brings attention to ACES/Adverse Childhood Experiences and the solutions that reverse the trends and impact of child abuse & trauma to make our communities healthier, safer and happier.
Mike lives with his wife Cathy in Minnetonka, MN.
SESSION FOUR:
The Duluth Response: A Collaborative approach between the Duluth Police Department and St. Louis County Social Services
Since 2010, the Duluth Police Department (DPD) has evolved into what is now a Mental Health Unit (MHU) consisting of two dedicated police officers, two embedded social workers and support staff. The MHU is co-located full-time at a downtown Duluth police substation and is part of the community policing program. The MHU overarching goal is to decriminalize mental illness; outcomes include decreasing 911 calls related to mental illness and substance use, decreasing criminal charges, decreasing jail admissions, reducing emergency room admissions and assisting with stabilizing housing situations and decreasing homelessness. The MHU partners with the existing Community Intervention Group (CIG) in Duluth to accomplish these program outcomes.
Presented by: Officer Angela Robertson, Officer Chad Guenther, Patty Whelan (LICSW), and Sergeant Kelly Greenwalt
Officer Angela Robertson has been with Duluth Police Department 10 years and was involved early on with an award-winning innovation grant that embedded the first Social Worker in Minnesota with the Duluth Police Department. Officer Robertson will describe the evolution of the Mental Health Unit and share what the police department has learned along the way to shape their current program. She will give details on the MHU referral process, in-progress calls, and the results of a recent survey of Duluth patrol officers related to the MHU. She will also explore the most important common factor to success – “the relationship”.
Officer Chad Guenther has been with the Duluth Police Department for 8 Y, years. As a key member of the Community Intervention Group (CIG), Officer Guenther will explain the purpose of the group and law enforcement’s role will this collaborative of over 20 Duluth agencies. He will share one of the fundamental aspects of the success of the group -the CIG Release of Information. Officer Guenther will describe the interagency and intra-agency communication systems that have been developed to promote the MHU’s objectives. Finally, Officer Guenther will share the 2018 MHU data that reveals a 30% decrease in 911 calls-for-service for identified chronic consumers.
Patty Whelan (LICSW) is employed by St. Louis County Social Services and has been embedded with the Duluth Police Department for over two years. She will show the multiple best practices and programs In Duluth using the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM). Ms. Whelan will discuss the process the MHU uses to triage and prioritize referrals from patrol officers, administration and community members. Ms. Whelan will highlight the use of harm reduction, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral strategies and housing first as a model of practice. Ms. Whelan will also discuss what she has learned to successfully integrate into the Duluth Police Department and build “buy-in” from patrol officers.
Sergeant Kelly Greenwalt has been a member of the Duluth Police Department for 22 years. In January of 2018, he began supervising the Community Policing Program, which encompasses the Mental Health Unit. He began his career as a patrol officer in the western side of our city, then citywide as a K9 officer. After a short time in community policing he was promoted to Sergeant in 2013, supervising nightshift and K9. Sergeant Greenwalt received a BA in Sociology from the University of MN Duluth.
SESSION FIVE:
Vitals™ Aware Services
Vitals™ Aware Services is a company developing technology to serve first responders and those with disabilities, mental health challenges and other conditions that may make communication challenging. The Vitals™ App enables safer community interactions by allowing individuals with visible and invisible conditions and disabilities to voluntarily create and share a personalized digital profile with authorized first responders via a secure, mobile app – improving real-time communication, reducing the risk of misunderstandings and promoting greater independence. In addition, Vitals™ Network allows for school personnel, health care staff and direct service persons to get real-time updates and information of the people that they serve, when they are serving them. Vitals™ is currently in use with 70 departments and select providers in Minnesota and nine schools in North Carolina.
Presented by: Christopher Kokal
Christopher Kokal serves as the Vice President of Enterprise for Vitals™ Aware Services. He is responsible for ensuring that Vitals™ technology and services meet the needs of the consumers. Prior to joining Vitals™ Christopher worked as a therapist and executive for various disability service organizations. Christopher lives outside of Minneapolis with his wife and two children.
SESSION SIX:
The Significance of Working in Mental Health Team
Recently law enforcement has been led to focus on their response to calls for service involving citizens with mental health challenges. This fact has led law enforcement to partner with other community agencies, enhancing understanding, communication, and collaboration in attending to these challenges. What happens when those in law enforcement are experiencing their mental health challenges? This course will explore the personal and occupational difficulties officers face and the resources available to them.
Presented by: Todd Sauvageau and Jeff Seidl
Todd Sauvageau is a 23-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department, currently supervising the daily administrative operations for the department’s Health and Wellness Unit. His experience within the MPD is derived from a variety of assignments he’s had the honor of serving under over the years. Some of those assignments include 911 Responder, Crime Prevention Specialist, Use of Force Trainer-Coordinator, Fitness Trainer, Patrol Supervisor, Undercover Unit Supervisor, Union Director, Criminal Investigator, Internal Affairs Investigator and most recently as the Commander of the MPD Training Division.
The experience gained through serving others under such different circumstances has giving him a uniquely well-rounded perspective on understanding the challenges this career can place on the individual, at many different levels, both professionally and personally. It is with this perspective that he strives to find ways to help his agency, and the profession, discover solutions to getting help and education to those who need it the most.
Officer Jeff Seidl is a 29-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department. Currently, he serves as the coordinator for the department’s Health and Wellness Unit. He was trained as a CIT officer in 2003 and remains active teaching recruits and officers CIT skills. He also volunteers as a member of the Metro CISM Team and as an advocate/staff for Safe Call Now, a national first-responder crisis hotline. Finally, he is attending Bethel University as a LADC (Licensed Alcohol/Drug Counselor) student, where he is presently engaged in the internship portion of his studies.
General Session
Strengthening Communities through Collaboration with Law Enforcement
Law enforcement agencies cannot combat all crimes, so a number of them have called on community-oriented policing. Before community-oriented policing was developed, citizens were the recipients of policing services, rather than participants in preventing and controlling crimes. The traditional policing model placed value on increasing the number of police officers, arrests and trials. However, law enforcement agencies came to realize that they can’t effectively control and combat crime without the support of the citizens they serve (Randol & Gaffney, 2014). Strategies for building relationships with communities have taken different shapes and format. Police departments provide services and programs such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), Coffee with a Cop, Police Activities League (PAL), which allows youth and officers a space to spend time together in an informal setting. In St Cloud Minnesota the St Cloud Police Department organizes activities in collaboration with the Southside Boys and Girls Club of Minnesota. Police officer perform Safety Checks on Elderly People, School Response Officers, Quick responses or first responders to emergency calls. Community policing encourages the use of non-law enforcement agency such as volunteerism, which involves active citizen participation with their law enforcement agency (Docobo, 2005, p. 9). Through Volunteers in Police Services, non-sworn officers help to free up officers time to spend more time on critical functions.
Presented by: Dr. Sylvester Amara Lamin and Dr. Consoler Teboh
Sylvester Amara Lamin, Ph.D. and EdD (Doctor of Education) Candidate (ABD), is a graduate from The Ohio State University College of Social Work, in Columbus Ohio, where he earned his Ph.D., MSW and a Certificate in AIDS Education. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone; Bachelor of Social Sciences with Honours and a Master of Social Sciences with Honours from the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Gerontology from St. Cloud State University. He is currently a doctoral candidate in the Higher Education Administration Program at St. Cloud State University and a Licensed Independent Social Worker (L.I.S.W.) in the State of Minnesota. He is an Associate Professor at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, a Core Faculty, and Subject Matter Expert and Developer in the Master of Social Work Program. Dr. Lamin has reviewed many social work textbooks and serves as reviewer for many peer-reviewed journals.
Consoler Teboh Consoler Teboh, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Social Work at Saint Cloud State University, Minnesota Both his master’s and the doctoral studies were pursued at the University of Texas at Arlington in the field of Social Work earning him an M.S.S.W.in 2008 and a Ph.D. in 2011 respectively. He holds a B.Sc. in Political Science (1997) with a minor in Sociology from Bayero University Kano, Nigeria). His professional background includes hospital social work, aging and community outreach. Prior to Saint Cloud State University, he was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington for two years, while also working as a social work outreach practitioner with a long-term healthcare facility in Arlington Texas.
His research interests are women’s reproductive health, community development, immigration issues, and marginalized and disadvantaged persons. Dr. Teboh has published scholarly articles in peer-refereed Journals on women’s reproductive health issues, and mental health crisis, the latest being, Violence and Victimization of People with Mental Disabilities in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. Book chapter in Gendering African Social Spaces: Women, Power, and Cultural Expressions (2016) (ed.), by Carolina Academic Press, Durham, NC. Dr. Teboh continues to present papers at local, national as well as international conferences. Among his teaching load are two very interesting courses: Mental Health in Social Work Practice, and Advanced Generalist Social Work Practice with Marginalized Populations. Dr. Teboh also does independent consulting on community and institutional diversity.
2019 LAW ENFORCEMENT AND SOCIAL SERVICES CONFERENCE SPONSOR