Friday’s 20th Annual Forum on Child Abuse and Neglect at IU Northwest Can Be Viewed Live Online

iunlogoMorning, afternoon sessions of popular program may be viewed for free via the Internet 

On Friday, April 30, in observance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Indiana University Northwest School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA), the Division of Social Work, and the School of Nursing will host the 20th Annual Forum on Child Abuse and Neglect, beginning at 9 a.m. in the Savannah Auditorium. The theme for this year’s event is “Focusing on Quality in Prevention and Treatment.”

Continuing-education credits will be available to foster parents and licensed social workers who participate on site. For those who are unable to attend the forum in person, the morning and afternoon sessions, as well as one of the five breakout sessions during lunch, will be broadcast via the Web. Continuing-education credits will not be available to individuals who view the program off site, however.

Morning and afternoon sessions will be broadcast in their entirety. Also, the 11:30 a.m. breakout session “Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect: Issues for Professionals,” presented by Jane Bisbee, regional manager for Indiana DCS, will be broadcast online. 

To access live streaming video of the event, visit the Web at http://www.indiana.edu/~video/stream/liveflash.html?filename=child_abuse_forum

To test your computer and connection prior to Friday’s event, visit the Web at 
http://www.indiana.edu/~video/stream/launchflash.html?folder=video&filename=iun_flash_test.f4v <http://www.indiana.edu/~video/stream/launchflash.html?folder=video&amp;filename=iun_flash_test.f4v>

Or, simply visit the Web at www.iun.edu and follow the linked Forum image on the home page to access the above links. There will be an approximate 40-second image delay for Web participants.

Special guest speakers for this year’s Forum include: James Payne, director of the Indiana DCS; James Hmurovich, president and CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America; and Lake County Magistrate Jeffrey Miller. Other guest presenters include: Lisa Rich, Indiana DCS deputy director of programs and services; Jane Bisbee, Indiana DCS regional manager; Sharon Pierce, president and CEO of The Villages; Mimi Gardner-Suggs, vice president for family services, Geminus Community Partners; and Wendy Kaplan, vice president for PCALC.

As of Tuesday, April 27, approximately 300 participants had signed up for this year’s forum. Walk-ins are welcome on the day of the event, but they may be directed to an overflow viewing area featuring a simulcast. Also, some breakout sessions have filled to capacity, so participants who did not register in advance may not have their choice of breakout session. Boxed lunches will not be available to participants who have not registered, but the RedHawk Café in the Moraine Student Center, adjacent to Savannah, will be open on Friday.

Forum check-in will begin at 8:15 a.m. Those who pre-registered will be seated first until 8:45. Walk-ins will be seated after 8:45 on a first-come, first-served basis, along with pre-registrants who arrive after 8:45. An overflow area will accommodate those who are unable to be seated in the auditorium.

Formal presentations begin at 9 a.m. with “Indiana’s Perspective on Prevention and Treatment,” featuring comments by Payne, Pierce and Rich. There will also be a brief question-and-answer session following this opening session. Online participants may contribute questions via email at iunforum@gmail.com.  

At 10:15, the program turns to “Prevention and Treatment: Overview of 2009/Plans for 2010,” with remarks by Miller, Bisbee, Gardner-Suggs, and Kaplan. At 11:30, lunches will be distributed in advance of the breakout sessions. At 1 p.m., Hmurovich will conclude the day’s activities with his presentation “Engaging Communities in Our Prevention Movement.”

For participants who are not able to remain for the entire program, CEU certificates will be distributed after each session. Those who do participate in all events may pick up their certificates at day’s end.

Other breakout sessions are scheduled for Friday include: “Training the Emotional Issues of Children in Foster Care,” presented by Denise Travis, Ph.D., IU Northwest assistant professor of social work; “Ethics and Child Welfare Practice,” presented by Chris Cotton, Ph.D., IU Northwest assistant professor of social work; “Relationships: The Key to Family Connections,” presented by Bonnie Thompson-Ford, counselor for Wisdom Intervention Plus; “Domestic Violence and Child Abuse: The Effects on Children,” presented by Joy Heminger of St. Jude House; and “Quality in Child Welfare Services,” presented by Daniel Lowery, Ph.D. vice president for academic affairs at Calumet College of St. Joseph. These breakout sessions will not be broadcast online. 

Parking for this event is available in the main IU Northwest parking lot on 33rd Avenue just west of Broadway and just north of the Savannah Center. Campus police will suspend enforcement of the usual rules requiring stickers for this event. Visitors are asked to avoid parking in spots marked as reserved.  
For more information on the 20th Annual Forum on Child Abuse and Neglect, visit the Web at http://www.iun.edu/~speanw/child_forum/. Or, contact The Villages at (219) 762-3465.

This year’s Forum is co-sponsored by: Prevent Child Abuse Lake County (PCALC); Mental Health America; The Villages; Lake Area United Way; Parents as Teachers of Lake County; AHEC; the Purdue University Calumet School of Nursing; Sigma Theta Tau; Geminus Community Partners; Indiana Department of Child Services; St. Monica Home; and the Northwest Indiana Chapter – American Society for Public Administration. Special thanks goes also to Van Til’s Supermarket in Hammond for providing boxed lunches.