NORFOLK, Neb. -- "I think the better prepared we are to deal with situations after they arise, the better we are to provide those services to the community," said Columbus Police Chief Charles Sherer.

The second annual Northeast Nebraska Family Violence Summit kicked off in Norfolk on Wednesday, welcoming all human service professionals to receive education and training about child welfare.

The two-day event was a collaboration between the Faith Regional Child Advocacy Center, Northeast Community College's Department of Criminal Justice, and Bright Horizons.

The manager of the Child Advocacy Center, Kelli Wacker, said that the summit planning committee plans for the event all year long, seeking presenters and finding topics of interest to help provide the best training for a strenuous job.

"Working in this field is difficult and challenging, and so the more skills and education you can gain helps you to do the profession better, helps you to work with victims and families," Wacker said. "And, so we just want to provide as much training and help as we can."

The summit picks timely topics such as problematic sexual behavior in juveniles to athletes experiencing abuse. Data released at the conference indicated that an estimated 40 to 50 percent of youth will experience some type of abuse in their athletic career.

Professionals can also utilize the summit to serve as training hours for those who need bi-statute-required continuing education hours.

Although, Matt McCarthy, who is the Director of the Criminal Justice Program at Northeast, said the summit is also a great opportunity for students to get a realistic expectation of what's coming after graduation in this field.

"So, they are working and they're receiving the same training that working professionals are in the field now," said McCarthy. "In addition, they're getting to rub elbows with those people. So our students are in there sitting next to probation officers, parole officers, police officers, child protective service workers, and a whole variety of other human service professionals who are doing the job today that they want to do when they graduate from Northeast."

During the summit, the investigations unit with the Columbus Police Department was awarded the S.T.A.R.S. Award, which is given out each year by the Child Advocacy Center to show recognition to those who go above and beyond in the field.

Investigator Heath Hayes said the award came as a surprise, but he was grateful for the honor.

"I have to admit that it felt really good to get up and receive this award," Hayes said. "We have a great division, and we have a great command staff that supports us, gives us the tools that we need, and pretty much lets us do what we need to do. They don't hold us back at all."

Sherer said that the work the unit does with educating mandatory reporters about dealing with child abuse, crimes involving children, and community involvement puts them second to none.

"Our officers are second to none when it comes to recognizing what their jobs are; to investigate those crimes, and then to mitigate the circumstances that got us there, and to deal with the aftermath, whether it be education and services to the family or dealing with maybe the incarceration of the perpetrators who are responsible for the acts," Sherer said.

Organizers said this year's summit welcomed almost double the number of attendees compared to last April to educate professionals and students as this month represents Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The Northeast Nebraska Family Violence Summit is already in the works for next year and will be held on April 17 and 18 of 2024.