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Katherine Yoder smiling, wearing black glasses.

Katherine Yoder

Katherine Yoder is a person with disabilities herself, and she has worked with people with disabilities in various capacities throughout her career, from direct care to investigating crimes against people with disabilities across the state of Ohio. This work revealed the glaring gaps in the different systems when a crime is committed against a person with a disability. After co-authoring the Advanced Forensic Interviewing Individuals with Disabilities (Project FIND) protocol, Katherine founded the Adult Advocacy Centers to serve crime victims with disabilities in March 2019. She also co-authored the Project FIND Adapted protocol for individuals who do not speak. She is a certified forensic interviewer and has been an advocate for people with disabilities for 20 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in social psychology from Park University and a Master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati. Katherine has previously served on the Mortality Review Committee for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. She is a Nonviolence 365 Ambassador with the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change. In 2018, Katherine received the Equality in Advocacy Award from Ohio Victim Witness Association, and in 2021, the Social Justice Award from the Ohio Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission.

Connect with Katherine Yoder

Katherine Yoder on M4G Advocacy Media

Authenticity
Accountability
Journeys: Season 3, Episode 11 – Katherine Yoder

Resources from Katherine Yoder

National Disability Collaborative Justice Coalition

The National Disability Collaborative Justice Coalition is a group of Executive Directors with disabilities
who have come together to advocate for equitable justice for people with disabilities everywhere.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), disabled people are almost four times more
likely than nondisabled people to be victimized by a violent crime. The disproportionate crime
rates against people with disabilities, including psychosocial disabilities, includes all levels and
severities of crime.

This group on Facebook is working together to make justice more accessible, equitable and accommodating for victims and survivors of crime with disabilities.

Adult Advocacy Centers

The Adult Advocacy Centers (AACs) work within the disability, victim services, and criminal justice systems to improve access and equity for adult crime victims with disabilities and to educate and train professionals within these systems on the unique needs of survivors with disabilities.

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