Los Angeles, CA –  During these hard economic times, when many are facing unemployment and housing foreclosures, children may be more vulnerable to mistreatment, abuse or neglect.

Presenting detailed reports that “The Healthcare System Can Stop Child Abuse,” Cal State L.A. will host a forum on “Forensics of Child Abuse Detection: Recognition, Reporting and Risks” on Friday, Oct. 10, at the Golden Eagle Ballroom.  Presented by the University’s California Forensic Science Institute and Child Abuse and Family Violence Institute, the forum includes a luncheon at noon, followed by a discussion with experts and L.A. policymakers from 1-3 p.m.

According to Colleen Friend, director of CSULA’s Child Abuse and Family Violence Institute, “By bringing together professionals from law enforcement, the legal system and healthcare services, the forum seeks to help develop collaborative strategies to prevent abuse, recognize abuse earlier when it happens, and to provide more effective healthcare services for children who are victimized by it.  The impacts of maltreatment can last a lifetime; and any delay in recognition or care may lead to further injuries, illnesses, or other medical conditions. Because our community’s economic condition is bound to reflect what is happening nationally, we need to expand what we have been doing and consider opening our systems up to what these experts have to say.”

Experts participating in the forum include Diana Faugno, forensic nurse consultant, board director of EVAW (End Violence Against Women) International; Michael Weinraub, Children’s Court pediatrician, L.A. County Department of Mental Health; Denise Bertone, coroner investigator, County of L.A. Department of Coroner; Beatrice Yorker, dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Cal State L.A.; and numerous policy- and decision-makers.

The program is sponsored by The Gilbert W. Lindsay Endowed Public Policy Forum in Forensic Science. For details, call Professor Friend in the CSULA Communication Disorders department at (323) 343-4696.  

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WHAT:  The California Forensic Science Institute and Child Abuse and Family Violence Institute at Cal State L.A. to present a forum, entitled “The Healthcare System Can Stop Child Abuse.“

WHEN:  Friday, Oct. 10, buffet luncheon at 12 noon; program at 1-3 p.m.

WHERE:  Golden Eagle Ballroom, on the Cal State L.A. campus.  Public permit dispenser parking available at the upper level of Parking Structure C. Campus map or directions:  www.calstatela.edu/univ/maps/cslamap.htm

WHO:  Law enforcement personnel, service providers, healthcare workers, policy- and decision-makers, and Cal State L.A. faculty will be in attendance.

Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 205,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu

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