MidSOUTH at UALR hosts Child Abuse and Neglect Conference
This week, national, regional, and local professionals will meet in Little Rock to discuss the best ways to prevent child abuse.
The 2015 Arkansas Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect — led by MidSOUTH, the community service unit of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock — will be held Tuesday, Sept. 1, through Thursday, Sept. 3, at the Embassy Suites of Little Rock.
Activities for each of the three days begin with registration starting at 7 a.m., and continue with sessions through 4;45 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 11:45 a.m. Thursday. For a full schedule, visit http://ualr.at/ConferenceBrochure. (Update: Planned speaker Melissa Snow had to cancel her appearance at the conference.)
A multidisciplinary learning opportunity, the conference is designed to provide the most current information in the areas of prevention, investigation, casework, intervention, and support related to working with children and families affected by abuse and neglect. This year’s theme is, “Connecting the dots: Partnerships for children.”
More than 35 workshop sessions are scheduled, and participants can earn up to 15 hours of continuing education credit hours. Between 450 and 500 participants are expected to attend this year.
Law enforcement and people employed in the healthcare and legal fields as well as in education and social work are especially encouraged to attend.
Featured speaker, Dr. Jim Henry, co-founder and project director of the Children’s Trauma Assessment Center, will be the presenter during four sessions. His professional experience includes more than 17 years as a child welfare and protective services worker. He has published more than 220 articles in professional journals and speaks at national and international conferences on the traumatic impact of child maltreatment. He has trained more than 70,000 professionals, caregivers, and community members.
The Arkansas Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect is a self-sustaining conference with additional contributing partners – the Arkansas Commission on Child Abuse, Rape, and Domestic Violence; Arkansas Children’s Hospital; and the Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Children and Family Services.
To register, visit http://www.midsouth.ualr.edu.
People who suspect a child is being abused or neglected are asked to call the Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-482-5964.