RELEASE: March 11, 2005

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Symposium targets child sexual abuse
National experts share newest protocols as part of child welfare reform plan

STRATFORD – Law enforcement officials, child advocates and health professionals from throughout the state gathered at the University of Medicine and Denistry of New Jersey here today to learn the latest in advances in the detection and treatment of child sexual abuse.

National experts shared information about child sexual abuse with more than 300 professionals, including 100 workers from the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services.

Commissioner James M. Davy told the participants that today's symposium is the first of many “best practices” forums that will be conducted by the NJCares(Child Abuse Research Education and Service) Institute as part of the states historic Child Welfare Reform Plan.

The Department recently gave $1.5 million to the institute, which the department formed in partnership with the Center for Children's Support at UMDNJ.

The daylong series of workshops covered such topics as forensic interviewing skills, court testimony, the facts and myths of DNA evidence and helping children and families overcome the trauma of sexual abuse.

“The fact that all of us have come together today to talk about how we can best identify, treat and heal sexual abuse in children is real victory, not just for our reform effort but for the children of New Jersey ,” Commissioner Davy said in opening remarks for the symposium. “This important symposium underscores our commitment to making sure that all professionals working in the child welfare system have access to the most current information available on best practices from across the country.”

“It has been estimated in this country that about 10 percent of all boys and as many as 25 percent of all girls have been sexually abused,” Commissioner Davy said. “If those numbers are correct, in New Jersey we could be talking about as many as one million children under the age of 18 who have been sexually abused in some manner.”

"This program helps those working in New Jersey 's child protection system to better understand how medical and mental health diagnostic and treatment expertise can be integrated into the fabric of decision making in the earliest aspects of case investigations, resulting in better case management and improved outcomes," said Martin A. Finkel, D.O., medical director of the NJ CARES Institute. "Our ability to meet the medical and mental health needs of maltreated children depends on collaborative relationships like this to assist the state in validating allegations of abuse, protect children from further harm and to provide the treatment they need and deserve."

Among the speakers and workshop presenters were John E.B. Myers, an attorney and one of the nation's leading authorities on child abuse litigation, and by Dr. Barbara Bonner, the director of the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

The 16 scheduled workshops throughout the day include a panel discussion of “Balancing Child Protection and Criminal Prosecution Interests in Child Sexual Abuse Cases” featuring DHS Assistant Commissioner Edward Cotton, N.J. Assistant Attorney General Lauren Carlton and N.J. Deputy Attorney General Jessica Oppenheim. Other workshop topics include the diagnosis of child sexual abuse, mental health treatment programs that involve non-offending caregivers and the keys to conducting psychological evaluations of children.

For more information on this symposium or for a full workshop schedule, contact Jerry Carey, UMDNJ News Service, at (856) 566-6171 or at (973) 972-5000.

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