RELEASE: October 19, 2002

Previous Screen

Sixteen years before this summer’s national spotlighting on missing and abused children, the New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect had been bringing professionals together to combat the problem.

On Friday, September 20, 2002, New Jersey Department of Human Services Commissioner Gwendolyn L. Harris kicked off the 8^th Biennial Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, at the Brunswick Hilton & Towers in East Brunswick.

Over 850 professionals gathered to learn and exchange ideas from the 28 workshops that tackled such topics as "Good People from Bad Families," "Sexual Abuse of the Developmentally Disabled," "No More Bullies, No More Victims," and "Entrapment, Con-games and Terror: Inside the Minds of Sex Offenders."

"These conferences help us collaborate with professionals from all the disciplines that work to safe-guard our children. It is our mission to find new and better tools for keeping children out of harm’s way," Commissioner Harris told the audience.

"Voices for Children" was the conference theme, as it focused on current issues in child maltreatment, medicine, law enforcement, social work, domestic violence, juvenile offenders, and prevention… across a broad range of research-based knowledge and practice issues in the prevention, intervention and treatment of child abuse and neglect.

Given the national mood surrounding child abductions, sexual predators, and even the problem of bullying in schools, the keynote speaker, Tom Lyon, JD, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Law at the University of Southern California Law School, advised the clinicians and professionals in attendance on proper, non-threatening techniques for interviewing child victims of abuse or trauma. He also facilitated a workshop, "Defending the Sexually Abused Child in Court." A film crew taped him in action at the Conference, for a special on 48 Hours with Dan Rather.

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Program Schedule:

8:00am Registration & Continental Breakfast

9:00am Welcome

9:15am Opening Remarks:

Gwendolyn L. Harris, Commissioner, NJ Department of Human Services

9:30 – 10:30am Keynote Address:

Keynote Speaker: Tom Lyon, JD, and Ph.D.…. Associate Professor of Law at University of Southern California Law School. He received his JD from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Stanford University. He worked as an attorney for the Children’s Services Division of the Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office representing the Department of Children’s Services in dependency proceedings alleging child abuse and neglect. In 1995 the American Psychological Association named his dissertation the outstanding Dissertation in Developmental Psychology. He is currently associate editor of the APSAC Advisor, and is a member of the APSAC’s board of Directors. His work has appeared in Child Development, Cornell Law Review, Pacific Law Journal, Harvard Women’s Law Journal, Psychology, Public Policy & Law, Contemporary Psychology and the APSAC Advisor.

10:30 – 10:45am Break

10:45am – 12:15pm Workshop I

12:15 – 1:15pm Lunch

1:15 – 2:15pm Luncheon Address

Luncheon Speaker -- Shane Salter… Raised in foster care, Salter brings his personal experience to his professional commitment to children and families. As the former director of the Freddie Mac Foundation giving Program, a family service agency executive, and hospital administrator, Salter weaves his personal and professional experiences into the extraordinary tale of his life as a foster child. His passion and commitment to the issue of foster care and adoption has moved audiences throughout the country.

2:15 – 2:30pm Break

2:30 – 4:00pm Workshop II

Conference Sponsors:

• NJ Task Force on Child Abuse and neglect
• NJ Dept. of Human Services, Div. Of Youth and Family Services
• NJ Juvenile Justice commission, JJD Prevention Unit
• NJ Children’s Trust Fund
• NJ Child Sexual Abuse Training Institute
• NJ Office of the Public Defender, Office of Law Guardian
• NJ child Assault Prevention
• Prevent Child Abuse – New Jersey
• American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children – NJ Chapter
• Dorothy B. Hersh Regional Child Protection Center, St. Peter’s Univ. Hospital
• Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Regional Child Abuse Diagnostic and Treatment Center
• Audrey Hepburn Children’s House, Hackensack Univ. Medical Center
• UMDNJ – School of Osteopathic Medicine, Center for Children’s Support
• County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey
• Parents Anonymous of New Jersey, Inc.

 

Morning workshops:

1. Defending the Sexually Abused Child in Court – Tom Lyon, JD, Ph.D., Assoc. Professor of Law, University of Southern California Law School
2. Parents Anonymous "POSSE" – Dondago Bellamy, Parents Anonymous of NJ
3. Effect of Homelessness on Children – Conner Mercer, Exec. Director, Homefront; Kerrie Ocasio, Association for Children NJ Advocacy Director; Glenda Kirkland, Ph.D., Exec. Director, Isaiah House
4. The Use of Home Visitation with At-Risk Populations – Diane Dellanno, Prevent Child Abuse NJ
5. NJ Children’s Trust Fund: Celebrating 15 years of Innovative Approachees to child Abuse Prevention – Juanita Milon Hamilton, MSW, NJ Children’s Trust Fund
6. Sexual Abuse of the Developmentally Disabled: Medical issues and Prevention Strategies – Jennifer Canter M.D., M.P.H., Westchester County Medical Center
7. Effective Investigative Strategies in Cases of Newborn Abandonment and Neonaticide – Christopher J. Penna, Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office
8. NJ domestic Violence Fatality Review Board – Andrea Fleish, MPH, and Grace Hamilton, MSW, NJ Division on Women; Sue Rovi, Ph.D., UMDNJ – NJ Medical School
9. Juvenile Sexual Offending Understandings from Research and Practice – Joan Jaye badin, Ph.D., Bergen County Dept. of Human Services, Division of Family Guidance
10. Treatment of Children and Families At-Risk for Child Physical Abuse – Melissa K. Runyon, Ph.D. and Felicia Neubauer, LCSW, UMDNJ Center for Children’s Support
11. Transforming Trauma: The use of EMDR in Treating Victims and Survivors of Abuse – marsha heiman, Ph.D., Private Practice
12. Good People from Bad Families – Pat Stanislaski, NJ Child Assault Prevention (CAP) ) Project
13. Failure to Thrive – Marita E. Lind, M.D., UMDNJ Center for Children’s Support
14. Making Safe Decisions in Child Protection – Frederick Lowe, Jr. LCSW and Gloria Chack, BSW, Division of Youth & Family Services (DYFS)

Afternoon workshops:

15. Standards for Effective Prevention Programs – Sharon J.B. Copeland, LSW; Isabel wolock, Ph.D.
16. Community collaborations for CARINS – Rev. Dr. Stephen T. Giordano
17. No More Bullies, No More Victims – Cheryl A. Mojta and Jeannette Collins, NJ Child Assault Prevention (CAP)
18. Maximizing Local Resources in Prevention Planning – John K. Kriger, MSM, CADC, CPS, Kriger Consulting Inc.
19. Entrapment, Con-games and Terror: Inside the Minds of Sex Offenders – Patricia Sermabeikian, LCSW, Hackensack University Medical Center’s Audrey Hepburn Children’s House; Douglas Martinez, Ph.D., Saint Clare’s Hospital, Child Abuse Treatment Program
20. After the Interview – Susan Curcio, Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office
21. Explaining the Unexplainable: Medical Testimony in the Absence of Physical findings and other novel Applications of Expert Testimony in the Child Sexual Abuse Trial – Joseph A. Del Russo, Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office and APSAC
22. Educating Physicians in the Community (EPIC) – Steven Kairys, MD, MPH, Pediatric council on Research and Education Chairman of Pediatrics, Jersey Shore Medical Center
23. Beyond the Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome: Causes and Intervention with Recantation in Adolescents – Susan C. Esquilin, Ph.D., ABPP, UMDNJ Division of child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Elena Jeffries, Ph.D. and Maria Farraye, LCSW, UMDNJ University Behavioral Health Care; Lillian McMaster, Ph.D., Jessica Pesantez, Psy.D., Alyssa Cooper, LSW, Kattya Koenigsberg, MA, UMDNJ Child and Adolescent Outpatient Unit; Linda Santana, LCSW, UMDNJ Children of Violence Project
24. Psychopathologies and the Ability to Parent – Chester E. Sigafoos, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist in Private Practice
25. Treating Children Who Have Been Sexually Abused and Their Non-offending Parents: Processing Abuse-Related Thoughts and Emotions – Esther Deblinger, Ph.D., Reena Thakkar, Ph.D., Erika Ryan, MA, Center for UMDNJ Center for Children’s Support
26. The Arts: An Innovative Lifeline for Child Victims of Domestic Violence – Alexandra Block, MA, ATR-BC, and Sarah Kleinhenz, M.S., DTR, Providence House – Catholic Charities
27. Conducting a Comprehensive Juvenile Sex Offender Evaluation – Janet DiGiorgio-Miller, Ph.D., Family Enrichment Program
28. Helping Children of Incarcerated Parents, "Do the Time, Too" – Anne L. Hunt, MA, Reconciliation Ministries, Inc.

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