Journalists! Mark your calendars for CCF's 15th Annual Conference on Assuring Child Well Being: Public and Private Roles on April 27-28

CHICAGO, Jan. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- How has the recession affected children? According to U.S. Census statistics, the official poverty rate is up nearly three percentage points (15.1% in 2010) since the year before the recession (12.5% in 2007), with one-in-five children now living in poverty.  There is growing concern about the vulnerability of children like these, whose families are struggling in the current economic climate. Family poverty is worsened by the dwindling ability of states to offer a safety net. What looks like "neglect" at the family level increasingly is about poverty on the societal level. But what do we do about it?

The Council on Contemporary Families 15^th annual conference puts these issues under the microscope in a two-day event, Crossing Boundaries: Public and Private Roles in Assuring Child Well-Being, on Friday April 27 and Saturday April 28, 2012 in Chicago at the Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro Hotel. Visit CCF's website for a detailed program. Topics include:

• Poverty not neglect. Panelists will report on how poverty leads families to come to the attention of child protective services and how states addressing families' underlying needs, rather than opening investigations for neglect. 
• Child abuse varies by race and ethnicity, and so should responses. Another panel will examine racial-ethnic disparities in reports of child abuse and neglect, strategies for addressing these disparities
• Public attitudes towards children differ from public perceptions of social responsibility for child well-being.  Speakers review public perceptions of child well-being and assess sources of the disconnect of these perceptions from reality.
• Children above the poverty line—and those in middle class families—are seeing their resources and opportunities dwindle. Participants will examine the impact of economic inequality on these groups as well.

The CCF 2012 conference is co-sponsored with the University-Based Child and Family Policy Consortium.

Unique CCF conference format. Each year, the CCF conference successfully creates an environment of dialogue and participation. Presenters limit their prepared remarks to ten minutes; this means that presenters and conference participants convene for focused, lively deliberation on provocative questions. The conference is geared towards addressing key policy and public issues of the moment, moving beyond simple party-line solutions. Informal meeting times extend the discussion and give reporters ample opportunity to find new contacts and new stories to enhance another year of stories.

Press and media awards. Other features of the program include the CCF media awards: award recipients from national media will speak about their experiences covering family issues--and working with family experts. The media awards are part of the Friday, April 27, 5-7 p.m. reception at the Jane Addams Hull House museum that will feature a keynote address by Dorothy Roberts of Northwestern University on "The Politics of Racial Disparities in Child Welfare."

CCF and how CCF assists journalists: The Council on Contemporary Families is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of family researchers, mental health and social practitioners, and clinicians dedicated to providing the press and public with the latest research and best practice findings about American families. It was founded in 1996 and is based at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

For more information, or to receive future fact sheets and briefing papers from the Council, contact Stephanie Coontz, Co-Chair and Director of Research and Public Education of CCF and Professor of History and Family Studies at The Evergreen State College. [email protected]; 360-352-8117.

The University-Based Child and Family Policy Consortium is comprised of twenty of the leading child and family policy centers and programs across the country.   The Consortium fosters both research and engagement by sharing strategies for conducting policy-relevant research, facilitating scientific collaboration around child and family policy, and fostering effective translation between research, practice, and policy.

SOURCE Council on Contemporary Families