CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: TWELFTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

["Patrick T. Collins" <ptc1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

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(http://www.ndacan.cornell.edu).  You will find it listed under Hot Items.

TWELFTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

General Information

The Twelfth National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect will be held
November 16th through 21st, 1998, in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The National Center
on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) and the Conference National Co-Sponsors
are pleased to announce the Call for Abstracts for the Conference. For more
information about the conference contact Lorre Taylor, MSW, Assistant
Conference Coordinator, 12th National Conference on Child Abuse and
Neglect, 8484 Georgia Ave, Suite 1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910, (301)
589-8242, LTaylor@RAM-Inc.com.

Engaging America's Communities: Joining Together for Safe Children and
Strong Families, the theme of the 1998 Conference, embraces the growing
recognition that protecting children and strengthening families involve
collaborative efforts by entire communities.  It also embodies our pledge
to work collectively, across all disciplines and cultures, to develop
innovative solutions for preventing and treating child abuse and neglect
well into the 21st century.

The Twelfth National Conference is designed for child advocates, social
workers, psychologists, educators, health care professionals, law
enforcement and other justice system professionals, parents, physicians,
policy makers, researchers, clergy members, corporate leaders, volunteers,
and anyone else helping in communities to safeguard children.  The
Conference is organized to include plenary and key issues sessions,
workshops, skill seminars, round tables, and think tanks.

NCCAN and the National Co-Sponsors are committed to featuring the best
speakers the field has to offer, and to having current topics and issues
addressed throughout the Conference.  Abstracts are requested for a
1.5-hour workshop presentation by panel or single presenters, on issues
that relate to one of the Conference Tracks (See Topics for Tracks).
Workshops are intensive sessions that will emphasize knowledge sharing and
audience participation.  The goals of the workshops are to increase
understanding, convey information, provide practical application, and/or
change attitudes about an issue or topic.

Submission Information

Submissions in acceptable formats will be evaluated by individuals with
expertise in the field of child abuse and neglect.  Abstracts will be rated
on their incorporation of the principles outlined in the Conference Theme,
their presentation of cutting-edge information, their inclusion of model
programs and innovative techniques that hold promise for mobilizing
communities on behalf of children, and their adherence to the information
in the identified Conference Track.  Please review the description of the
Conference Tracks and the topics under each one carefully to ensure your
abstract's eligibility.

The Tracks in the Call for Abstracts offer interested presenters a variety
of categories under which proposals for workshops are invited.  The Tracks
were designed to include a broad range of programs, services and
strategies, which can be utilized in communities to build or enhance
networks that can strengthen families, and prevent child abuse and neglect.
 Interested workshop presenters should review the description and suggested
topics for each Track, then select the Track that offers the best fit for
the proposed presentation.  The suggested topics under each Track are not
designed to limit submissions, but to provide ideas for appropriate subjects.

Incomplete submissions are ineligible and will be returned.  Communication
will be directed to the author designated on the Abstract Cover Page.
Presenters are expected to register for the Conference and pay the
appropriate registration fee.  The Conference will be unable to underwrite
or reimburse any travel or hotel expense incurred by presenters.  Abstracts
must be postmarked no later than February 2, 1998.  Notification of whether
or not your abstract has been selected will be mailed no later than May 1,
1998.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION AND CONTENT OF ABSTRACTS

¯ Complete the Abstract Cover Page. A cover page must accompany each
submission.

¯ Prepare a one-page abstract (approximately 500 words) which describes
your presentation.  Include authors' names and affiliations, addresses,
telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.  Materials developed under an NCCAN
grant or contract must be so identified in the abstract.  Include the date
funded and stated purpose of the priority area as described in the Federal
Register announcement under which the project was funded.

¯ Submit an original and four copies of your abstract.  Do not include the
name of the author(s), their affiliation, or other identifying information
on these copies.  (Authors' names should appear only on the Abstract Cover
Page and the original abstract.)

¯ Provide a fifty-word biographical statement on the presenter(s)
identified in the abstract.

¯ Enclose two self-addressed, stamped, legal--sized envelopes-one for
notification of receipt of the proposal, and one for notification of the
decision by the Conference Program Committee.  PLEASE DO NOT FAX ABSTRACTS.
 Abstracts sent by Fax will not be considered.

¯ Include a one-page outline detailing the presentation format, including
time frame, use of audio-visuals, and handout materials.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF WORKSHOPS:

All submissions will be rated by three professionals in the child abuse and
neglect field, and acceptance for presentation will be based on the extent
to which proposals meet the following criteria.  Proposed workshop
presentations should:

á Reflect the most current thinking in the field, particularly referencing
the most significant empirical basis of the workshop's content 
á Include prevention issues, strategies, or implications
á Present cultural and racial diversity implications, including strategies
for increasing the cultural proficiency of service delivery professionals
á Include specific example, models, or sites in which the workshop content
is being demonstrated
á Identify goals and intended outcomes, cite any concrete confirmation of
the effectiveness of the strategy or program being presented, and  identify
policy implications
á Include implications for engaging families and community members in the
strategy 
á Include implications for staff and volunteer training and development
á Reflect the implications for the multiple professional disciplines which
will be represented among the conference participants
á Be of particular interest and relevance to the conference theme and to
the intended audience groups(s)

Abstracts submitted should identify as clearly as possible how the proposed
workshop would incorporate these expectations.  Cumulatively, the workshops
selected will represent the range of programs and strategies from primary
prevention to treatment of abuse or neglected children, so proposals for
workshops throughout this range are encouraged.  Workshops presenting
international comparisons or implications are welcomed.

Mail abstracts and accompanying materials to Twelfth National Conference,
c/o Research Assessment Management, Inc., 8484 Georgia Avenue, Suite 1000,
Silver Spring, MD 20910, Attention: Ms. Thaia Grace.  If you have any
questions call (301) 589-8242, ext. 338. Abstracts must be postmarked no
later than February 2, 1998.

TOPICS FOR TRACKS

1. Systems Reform
Many system reform initiatives which directly or indirectly impact child
abuse and neglect are underway in communities today, each attempting to
engage community attention and commitment.  The cumulative impact of all of
these reform initiatives should be innovative child abuse programs
operating in a social environment very dissimilar from today's.  Workshops
in this track will address the opportunities and challenges which these
reforms present, and will anticipate how child abuse and neglect programs
can most effectively prepare to become a major component of the emerging
social fabric.

Workshops which might appear within this track would include:

á Finding opportunities within welfare reform 
á Effective advocacy and CPS reform initiatives
á Judicial leadership and improving court practices
á Devolution and the privatization of governmental operations 
á Community collaborations and innovative governance approaches
á Adaptation of corporate system reengineering to human service practice
á Increasing reliance on technology
á Fundraising and creative financing methods
á Application of principles of managed care to CPS

2. Family Centered Practice
Social policy and research about effective programming both emphasize the
importance of family-centered services, supports, and strategies.  Family
centered practice assumes that families (thought of broadly and
non-traditionally) must play a major role in supporting the healthy
development of children and in preventing child abuse and neglect.
Workshops in this track will discuss how family centered programming can
best be incorporated in child abuse strategies and will present emerging
program models.

Workshops which might appear within this track would include:

á Strength-based programming and service delivery
á Changing treatment modalities
á Family preservation and its role in assuring child safety and permanence
á Kinship care
á Concurrent planning
á Mediation programs and Family Group Conferencing
á Parenting education and the preventive roles mothers and fathers can play
á Roles of informal helpers (extended family, neighbors, volunteers, civic
organizations, etc.)
á Adoption initiatives, open adoptions, guardianship models

3. Trends in Medical and Health Services
Research findings in the medical field, particularly in brain development
and early childhood development, are revolutionizing the potential for
effective prevention strategies.  Since these research findings have only
recently been widely publicized, major challenges and opportunities exist
for incorporating the implications of these findings in child abuse
prevention, intervention, and treatment programs.  In addition, managed
health care is dramatically revising the context within which families
affected by child abuse receive medical care and treatment.  Workshops in
this track will present the implications of these research findings and
system changes for the child abuse field.

Workshops which might appear within this track would include:

á Brain research and neurological development findings
á Medical diagnostic and treatment advances
á Early childhood development factors
á Abuse of children with disabilities
á The implications of managed care 
á Mental health issues of parents and of abused children
á Identification of and response to child abuse fatalities, shaken baby
syndrome, sudden infant death syndrome, etc.

4. Factors Co-existing with Child Abuse and Neglect
Increasingly, research on the family contexts in which abuse and neglect
occur is identifying the factors that often co-exist with abuse and
neglect, a co-existence that has implications both for prevention and for
collaborative intervention and treatment.  Additionally, findings from the
recently reported third national incidence study and additional analyses of
child protection caseloads indicate correlations which are not well
understood.  Workshops in this track will discuss the co-existence of
demographic factors and of other social problems with child abuse and
neglect, and will present potential policy and program design implications,
which build on current understandings.

Workshops which might appear within this track would include:


á The relationship of family income and/or family structure to child abuse
and neglect
á Domestic violence and child abuse
á Substance abuse and child abuse 
á Societal violence and child abuse
á Identification and implications of the differential referral and
intervention strategies of families and children of color in the child
protection system
á The incidence of child abuse and its analysis

5. Effective Partnerships, Collaborations and Networks
Most community engagement and reform initiatives rely extensively on
collaborations among service providers and on networking within the
community.  The engagement of partners not traditionally involved in the
prevention, intervention, and treatment of child abuse and neglect is the
goal and philosophy of many innovative programs.  Additionally,
professionals in the child abuse field are increasingly convinced that
effective child abuse prevention requires significant community development
to support families.  Workshops in this track will explore how the
potential of community engagement and of service delivery networks is being
realized throughout the country.
	
	Workshops which might appear within this track would include:

á Neighborhood development strategies as a response to child abuse and neglect
á Initiatives to mobilize communities to protect children from abuse
á Effective models of collaboration and community governance
á Effective roles of volunteers, advocates, and parents in preventing and
responding to child abuse and neglect
á Innovative funding strategies to support collaboration

6. Preparing Communities to Respond More Effectively to Child Abuse and
Neglect in the 21st Century

During this conference, significant emphasis will be placed on anticipating
long-term strategies rather than on "band-aid" solutions for the short
term.  These long-term strategies will have to be empirically based,
incorporate change as an ongoing condition, build on emerging technology,
and prepare staff and other community partners to implement new methods.
Workshops in this track will incorporate both long range concepts and the
implications for today's programs.
	Workshops which might appear within this track would include:

á Documenting and disseminating information on effective strategies
á Viable research and evaluation methodologies
á Using research in the design and implementation of programs and strategies
á Staff and volunteer recruitment, development, recognition, and retention 
á Cross-system training strategies and curricula
á Shaping agency culture at a time of transition
á Introducing child abuse as an agenda for community initiatives
á Engaging formal and informal community leadership in child abuse
prevention and response strategies

 Twelfth National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect

November 16-21, 1998

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION COVER PAGE

Please complete and return this form with your abstract.  Abstracts must be
postmarked no later than February 2, 1998.

Title of Presentation:										
													

*Presenter(s) Name(s):										
													
													
													

Contact Author's Affiliation:									

Contact Author's Address: 										
													

Phone:	   Office: (	) 				Fax: (___) 				
		   Home: (	) 			

E-Mail Address:					

*   Only the contact author will be notified directly by conference
organizers.  Please list co-presenters' affiliations and addresses on a
separate sheet.

Conference Tracks

Please identify the Track which best categorizes your abstract.

___	Track 1:		Systems Reform

___	Track 2:		Family Centered Practice

___	Track 3:		Trends in Medical and Health Services

___	Track 4:		Factors Co-existing with Child Abuse and Neglect

___	Track 5:		Effective Partnerships, Collaborations, and Networks

___	Track 6:		Preparing Communities to Respond More Effectively to 
Child Abuse and Neglect in the 21st Century

Please indicate the audience experience level with child abuse and neglect
issues that participants should have to gain the most from your presentation:

(Conference staff reserves the right to amend your selection.)

___	Basic or Introductory (For those with less than five years experience
in the field.)


___	Intermediate (For those with five to ten years experience in the field.)


___	Advanced (For those with more than ten years experience in the field.)