Journal Club: Measuring and Managing Mental Health Responses to Police Exposure - Advances in Assessment and Clinical Application
August 26, 2026
12:00 – 1:00 pm via Zoom
1.0 Category II CEUs
Presenter:
Jennifer Taylor, DSW, LCSW-C, RPT-S
Senior Manager, Institute for Professional Development & Grant Funded Clinical Programs
Jewish Community Services
Workshop Description
This journal discussion is grounded in newly published 2026 research validating measurement-based care scales designed to assess racism-based police violence exposure and its relationship to mental health outcomes. These tools represent an important development in efforts to more precisely measure the psychological impact of cumulative police encounters and related stressors.
As a clinical foundation, we will also review recent 2024 research specific to Baltimore City, Maryland, which examines associations between cumulative police exposure, racism-related stress, and depressive symptoms among Black youth and LGBTQ youth. Together, these studies offer a dual perspective: one focused on the validation of measurement tools at a national level, and the other focused on community-specific mental health outcomes in a local context.
The discussion will center on how measurement-based care can be strengthened through the integration of validated, context-specific assessment tools, and how clinicians can use this research to more accurately interpret screening data and support culturally responsive case conceptualization in community mental health services.
Learning Objectives
As a result of this training, participants will be able to:
Describe findings from research on the relationship between police exposure and mental health outcomes in at least two different populations.
Apply newly validated measurement-based care tools assessing racism-based police violence exposure in clinical practice.
Evaluate how research findings may help clinicians improve clinical services through the integration of assessment scales and psychotherapy that explores police exposure as a community-based Adverse Childhood Experience.
Jennifer Taylor, DSW, LCSW-C, RPT-S, earned her Doctor of Social Work (DSW) from the University of Kentucky, Master of Social Work from Florida State University, and Bachelor of Social Work from the University of West Florida. Dr. Taylor’s professional qualifications include being a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Maryland and Florida. She is a Registered Play Therapist–Supervisor and an EMDR Approved Consultant.
Dr. Taylor serves as Senior Manager of the Institute for Professional Development and Grant-Funded Clinical Programs at Jewish Community Services, where she provides clinical leadership, program development, and oversight of large-scale, grant-funded behavioral health initiatives serving children and families. Dr. Taylor’s clinical focus is on helping children and their caregivers have meaningful and joyful relationships while supporting the wellness and development of the professionals that serve those families.
Dr. Taylor has presented nationally and internationally and has published multiple book chapters on play therapy, supervision, and nature-based interventions. She has also served as an adjunct professor in social work at the University of Memphis and the University of West Florida.
Workshop Fees
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General Professional Community: $25.00
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Jewish Day School Educators, JCS Retirees, NJHSA Members: $20.00
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Current JCS Staff, Board, Advisory Council & Staff of Agencies Funded by The Associated*: Free with Code.
*To request your code and see a list of eligible agencies funded by The Associated, click here.
Jewish Community Services is authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners in Maryland to sponsor social work continuing education learning activities and maintains full responsibility for this program. This training qualifies for Category II continuing education units.
The Rosa J. Kolker Professional Development series is made possible with funding from Kolker-Saxon-Hallock Family Foundation, Inc.,
a supporting foundation of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore.