Tips to Interact Effectively With Law Enforcement

February 7, 2017

Speakers Leigh Ann Davis and Jessica Oppenheim will explore skills needed to engage effectively with law enforcement officers, the criminal justice system, and other authority figures as a witness, victim, or offender. This webinar will provide practical tips for people with IDD, families, and professionals on how to support people with IDD to advocate for themselves and engage with authority figures effectively.

Watch “Tips to Interact Effectively With Law Enforcement” on YouTube

Speakers Bios

Leigh Ann Davis, M.S.S.W., M.P.A.

Leigh Ann Davis, M.S.S.W., M.P.A., is Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives and in that role oversees The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability®. She has worked in the area of disability and justice issues since 1994 when hired by The Arc of the United States to direct a Department of Justice project of national significance educating criminal justice professionals about ADA accommodations. Since that time, she has authored numerous publications (curricula, guidebooks, fact sheets, scholarly articles) during her almost 20 years with The Arc covering topics related to criminal justice/victimization issues, FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder), and the ethics of genetic research. She has presented both nationally and internationally regarding criminal justice and disability issues and provided congressional testimony on the delivery of law enforcement services to people with developmental disabilities under Title II of the ADA. Ms. Davis served on SAMHSA’s (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) FASD Center for Excellence Expert Panel and currently serves as consultant for the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center (OVC TTAC), Vera Institute of Justice, and The Disability and Abuse Project. As a sexual abuse survivor who was shocked to discover the high rate of violence people with IDD experience, she is passionate about ensuring victims with disabilities obtain justice and healing, and that criminal justice professionals are provided effective, on-going training to adequately serve people with disabilities – whether victim, suspect or offender.

Jessica S. Oppenheim, Esq.

Jessica S. Oppenheim, Esq. is the Director of the Criminal Justice Advocacy Program of The Arc of NJ, a statewide program which provides advocacy for people with developmental disabilities who become involved in the criminal justice system. Prior to joining The Arc of NJ in 2010, she was an Assistant Prosecutor in the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and a Deputy Attorney General in the Division of Criminal Justice, Dept. of Law and Public Safety, from 1985 until 2010. In that capacity, she was Bureau Chief of the Prosecutor’s Supervision and Coordination Bureau, the unit which oversaw the 21 County Prosecutor’s Offices and 600 law enforcement agencies on behalf of the Attorney General. She also drafted and implemented the Attorney General’s Megan’s Law Guidelines, prosecuted Megan’s Law and domestic violence cases and provided training and policies and protocols for law enforcement agencies and prosecutors throughout the State on domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse, internal affairs policies, Megan’s Law and dealing with diverse populations. She has taught as an adjunct professor for the Paralegal Studies Program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. In addition to her Board membership for Women Aware, she is a board member for the NJ Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers.