Prevention and Children’s Home Child Advocacy Center Director Tifanie Petro was recently nominated for the 2022 Innovative Changemaker Award from the National Children’s Alliance.

The category description states that the winner will have “demonstrated innovation, creativity, and resourcefulness in the development and implementation of programs, practices, or public awareness campaigns in a Children’s Advocacy Center…The nominee has utilized groundbreaking strategies to improve mental health programs, public awareness, management practices, or child advocacy, thereby empowering others to better serve children and communities.”

Grant Specialist Angela Smith and Community Based Services Director Chelsie Ogaard nominated Tifanie:

I am honored to nominate Tifanie Petro, MS, for the NCA Innovative Changemaker Award. Since 2018, Tifanie has served as the Director of Children’s Home Child Advocacy Center (CHCAC) and was a forensic interviewer prior to accepting her leadership role. CHCAC serves all of western South Dakota and parts of Wyoming, with a service area of over 20,000 square miles.

Tifanie’s innovative leadership has profoundly impacted CHCAC programming. Her innate ability to connect with people and organizations has enhanced statewide partnerships, developing unique aspects to CHCAC. Through these partnerships, CHCAC provides oversight to a statewide prevention program, including Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Enough Abuse. The reach within the prevention program allows Tifanie and her team to empower self-healing and successful communities while providing excellent resources and collaborative efforts to promote sustainability.

Tifanie believes wholeheartedly in the parent-to-professional approach, which is demonstrated in the work done through CHCAC. Tifanie and her team work diligently to advocate for and educate families and communities to create shared language and understanding across disciplines in communities throughout South Dakota. CHCAC simultaneously works to prevent child abuse and neglect, while providing empathetic and exceptional service to the children, youth, and families that require their expertise.

Tifanie uses her platform with CHCAC to promote lasting change. As part of the Center for Prevention of Child Maltreatment (CPCM) Child and Adult Advocacy Studies Training (CAASt) Tifanie Petro completed a graduate level project to propose a change to the existing legislative language to allow for more protections for child victims of alleged crimes when they are required to testify in a court of law. Additionally, Tifanie has been instrumental in the research and development of the Community Justice Center discussions occurring in the Rapid City, SD, community. Her leadership, innovative mindset, and insight have furthered discussions and led to actionable items. CHCAC is piloting a co-location with key stakeholders within the child response team in Pennington County, which would not have been possible without Tifanie’s innovative and resourceful ideas. She has also brought forward proposals for a multitrack Regional Training Institute that would include comprehensive multidisciplinary training to system professionals and collaborative training to service providers in the community.

Tifanie has worked in the field for over a decade and as such understands resourcefulness better than most. Tifanie is tenacious in her attempt to empower others to serve children and communities as evidenced by her ongoing attempts to collaboratively educate and ensure understanding of trauma-informed practices, prevention strategies and resources. Her ability to make hard topics accessible to everyone empowers parents, co-workers, colleagues and professionals to commit to raising awareness and ending abuse.

Tifanie’s innovation and commitment to others reaches beyond CHCAC. She serves on boards, committees and multidisciplinary teams with other dedicated community partners, all who work towards the collective goal of building up each person they meet. Tifanie is also helping shape the workforce of tomorrow through teaching Human Services courses at Black Hills State University.

Director of the CPCM Carrie Sanderson and Sergeant Paul Stevens of the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office both wrote letters of support, as well.

Part of Carrie’s letter read:

Ms. Petro is instrumental in implementing the statewide plan for ending child maltreatment and, through her leadership, CPCM has made strides in educating and uniting child response multidisciplinary teams across the state. Her ability to work with a complex dynamic of stakeholders has allowed programs in South Dakota to thrive. I have witnessed Ms. Petro negotiate with legislators, medical directors, and victims of crime – all with positive outcomes. What is most impressive is her ability to stand up for what is right while appropriately addressing the issue at hand. In the past year, Ms. Petro has begun negotiations for creating a medical model of CACs in western SD, drafted and then testified on behalf of legislation strengthening courtroom protections for children, and pioneered ACEs and Resiliency training for American Indian audiences that will be able to impact the entire nation. She has encouraged school districts to engage in sexual violence prevention education – an extremely difficult task in our conservative state – and created curriculum to address vicarious trauma for the workforce. Tifanie is a true visionary for creating healthier environments for children and families, and she is paving the way for great change in South Dakota.

Sergeant Stevens’ letter of support included:

As a supervisor in law enforcement, specifically focused on the investigation of sex crimes and child abuse, I could not wish for a better partner than Tifanie…[she] currently teaches all new law enforcement officers at the PCSO and Rapid City Police Department (RCPD) about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). In addition to this, she speaks at all new officer/deputy training courses about their response to child abuse and sex crime.

At no point does Tifanie accept we cannot do more and be better in providing services to children and their families in our area. This is embodied in her pursuit of developing a Community Justice Center in Rapid City. Tifanie approached me about piloting a co-location at CHCAC and as a result we have assigned investigators and detectives to be on site. This has now recently expanded to also having deputy states attorneys at CHCAC also.

On a daily basis my team assess new case reports of child abuse and sex crime with the assistance of Tifanie and CHCAC. They are never short of ideas on the best way to assist children and their families, while always staying trauma informed about the needed approach.

The award will be presented in June at the National Children’s Alliance’s 2022 Leadership Conference. Whether Tifanie receives the award or not, she’s clearly a winner—and so is CHS with her on board.