News Release| Center on Child Welfare; Cal State L.A.

September 9, 2013

Media Advisory: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 12 

Cal State L.A., Juvenile Court to present conference focusing

on issues concerning children and families in L.A. County

15th New Beginnings conference features

plenary speaker Shawn C. Marsh, bench dedication, more

Los Angeles, CA – Hundreds of judges, lawyers, child welfare workers and others associated with the dependency and delinquency court systems will converge at California State University, Los Angeles on Thursday, Sept. 12, to attend the Annual New Beginnings Partnership Conference for Children and Families in Los Angeles County.

The conference, hosted by the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court and Cal State L.A., will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will focus on presenting the latest research and practices in juvenile justice and child welfare.

Welcoming remarks will be given by the Honorable Michael Nash, the presiding judge of the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court. Judge Nash will also present a special acknowledgement to former CSULA President James M. Rosser and the late CSULA Professor Hershel Swinger who both were major supporters of the New Beginnings partnership conference from 1996 to 2009.

The morning plenary speaker will be Shawn C. Marsh, chief program officer of the juvenile and family law department of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in Reno, NV.  Marsh’s research and teaching interests include adolescent development, delinquency, and resiliency.

In addition to a poster session featuring research by professors and students from around the greater Los Angeles area, the conference will include workshops led by experts and practitioners covering such topics as:

  • “Child Witnesses: Update on Research and Practice”
  • “Serving Pregnant and Parenting Teens in Foster Care: Best Practices”
  • “Addressing Gang Violence: An Overview of the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development”
  • “New Issues and Pending Legislation in Child Dependency Law”
  • “Engaging the Offender: Effective Strategies in Working with Perpetrators of Child Abuse”
  • “Working with Juveniles with Developmental Disabilities in the Criminal Courts”
  • “Advocating for Child Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation”
  • “The Multidisciplinary Assessment of Children Entering Foster Care”

Special Program

During the afternoon, media representatives and designated guests will be invited to the “Children’s Memorial Bench” ribbon-cutting ceremony at the courtyard in front of the Communication Disorders office (King Hall B119) on the Cal State L.A. campus.  The bronze bench, sculpted with a boy and girl seated reading a book, was donated by students of Cal State L.A.’s Child Maltreatment and Family Violence Certificate Program as a memorial to children who have suffered neglect or abuse. 

For more information or a complete schedule, call the Cal State L.A. Center on Child Welfare at (323) 343-6680 or go to http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e82f9nbm121f748a&llr=n9wthdoab.  

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Conference schedule

What:  California State University, Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court to present the 15th Annual New Beginnings Partnership Conference for Children and Families in Los Angeles County.

When:  8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 12; welcome begins at 8:30 a.m. with workshops to follow. (By-invitation only: Bench memorial dedication set for the afternoon in front courtyard of King Hall B119.)

Where:  Cal State L.A.’s Golden Eagle Ballroom, University-Student Union and La Kretz Hall.  For parking or directions, call Cal State L.A.’s Center on Child Welfare at (323) 343-6680.

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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 220,000 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 the Honors College for high-achieving students. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH-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