Dr. Stacey Patton will discuss the myths associated with race and corporal punishment and cover themes related to punishing children by shaming them on social media (digi-punishment). She will also focus on the uptick in fatalities in Black communities and, using a holistic, cross-disciplinary approach, review the role of religion, intergenerational trauma, and other factors in these developments. Dr. Patton will use a variety of media to explore these issues and equip her audience with background information and language to engage in further fruitful discussion about these important matters.
Presenter:
- Dr. Stacey Patton, Research Associate Professor, Institute for Urban Research, Morgan State University
Dr. Stacey Patton, an adoptee, child abuse survivor, and former foster child is an award-winning journalist, researcher, author, speaker, and college professor. She is a nationally recognized child advocate whose work focuses on the intersection of race and childhood. She is the author of That Mean Old Yesterday – A Memoir (Simon and Schuster), Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won’t Save Black America (Beacon Press), and the forthcoming book, Strung Up: The Lynching of Black Children and Teenagers in America, 1880-1968 (Beacon Press). Dr. Patton’s speaking and training engagements focus on combatting racial disparities in child welfare services and corporal punishment in schools, diversion, and restorative justice programs. Her reporting on issues of child welfare, race relations, and higher education has appeared in multiple outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC News, Al Jazeera, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Dr. Patton was the keynote speaker at the 2012 IUN Forum on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Using her recently developed three-dimensional animated public health app, “When You Hit Me”, Dr. Patton reviews what science says about what happens to the brain and the rest of the body when we are struck by someone. Inspired in part by her recent research on the lynching of Black children and teenagers in America, Dr. Patton describes the consequences of corporal punishment on developing brains and discusses policies and practices that safeguard brain health and development in children and young adults.
Presenter:
- Dr. Stacey Patton, Research Associate Professor, Institute for Urban Research, Morgan State University
This session provides an opportunity to meet with, and ask questions of the Director of the Lake County office of the Department of Child Services and two senior judges of the Juvenile Division of the Lake County Superior Court. Ms. Stokes, Magistrate Vann, and Judge Stefaniak will review recent issues and trends in child welfare problems, services, policies and practices in Lake County. Discussion topics include parental involvement in child welfare decision-making, the relative roles and effectiveness of foster parenting, kinship care and residential care, and recent developments in the provision of prevention, post-intervention, and other services.
Presenters:
- Twan Stokes, Region I (Lake County) Director, Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS)
- Thomas P. Stefaniak, Jr., Senior Judge, Lake Superior Court, Juvenile Division
- Robert G. Vann, Magistrate, Lake Superior Court, Juvenile Division
This session features two experienced legal and social services providers and advocates. Topics for 2023 include the legal issues facing immigrants and their possible solutions; changes in laws, policies, and practices that affect documented and undocumented immigrants; the services needed by immigrants; and the resources available to help them.
Presenters:
- Sophia Arshad, Attorney / Managing Partner, Arshad, Pangere and Warring LLP
- Tony Burrell, Founder and Director, The Welcome Network
Natalie Lukich returns this year to lead a panel discussing a variety of issues related to sexual/gender identity. Topics include common problems faced by families, best practices for working with families, updated language on these matters, and safe places to ask questions about sexual/gender identity.
Presenter:
- Natalie Lukich, LGBTQ Coordinator and Counselor, Crown Counseling
This session provides an overview of the Lake County Framework Project, an effort to review and plan for child abuse and neglect prevention in Lake County. Following guidelines for the statewide effort and with a significant community engagement process, the Lake County Framework Project will use a collective impact approach to create a community action plan to prevent child abuse and neglect in the county. The project is scheduled to begin this summer.
Presenters:
- Wendy Hensley, Board Member, Prevent Child Abuse Lake County (PCALC) and Senior Director of Programs and Partnerships, Mental Health America of Northwest Indiana, Inc.
- Jeff Wittman, Director, Prevent Child Abuse Indiana (PCAIN)
