Resources for Resolving Violence was created to provide staff development and training for treatment providers faced with the difficult challenge of working with children and families where violence and/or sexual abuse have become endemic. It was founded in 1992, in response to requests by private and public agencies in the United States, Canada and Great Britain, who recognized the juvenile sexual offender training institute to be the leading training program at the time in the field of adolescent sexual offender treatment. Since that time it continues to be recognized as the most comprehensive training institute among a variety of university based and independent efforts to provide an academic foundation for responding to youthful violence and sexual aggression.

Executive Director

The founder, Joann Schladale, has created specialized curriculum to meet the needs of personnel mandated to provide treatment services for youth and families where adolescent violence and abuse have occurred. This required intensive study of the breadth of services that address both victimization and perpetration. The primary curriculum from which all staff development and training evolved has been written about in the official publication of the National Adolescent Perpetrator Network and has been presented at numerous state, regional, national and international conferences. Each curriculum meets standards set forth by the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA), the National Adolescent Perpetrator Network Task Force Reports and integrates empirically driven research and professional literature.

Chief Operating Officer

John Zink is a licensed attorney in Maine, Kentucky and Virginia. He has been practicing since 1978, and his work focuses on legal representation for under-served populations; Guardian Ad Litem services; administration for social justice; and consumer protection. He has also been involved with state legislation and policy development. John has worked with local, state and federal entities to enhance service provision and protection through collaboration within multiple systems of care.