Tickets Available for Inaugural Forum on Family

SAN FRANCISCO, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Edgewood Center for Children and Families will host the Forum on Family April 30, 2010 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at UCSF Mission Bay.  This one-day conference is an important forum for community stakeholders to learn about the latest research affecting childhood development, exchange ideas and strategies, mobilize resources and encourage collaboration.

The event will feature Keynote Speaker, Dr. Bruce Perry of The ChildTrauma Academy in Houston.  Dr. Perry, an internationally-recognized authority on children in crisis, has been consulted on many high-profile incidents involving traumatized children, including the Columbine, Colorado school shootings, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Branch Davidian siege.  He has presented about child maltreatment, children's mental health, neurodevelopment and youth violence in a variety of venues including policy-making bodies such as the White House Summit on Violence, the California Assembly and U.S. House Committee on Education.  His work has been featured in documentaries produced by Dateline NBC, 20/20, the BBC, Nightline, CBC and PBS.  Many print media have highlighted the clinical and research activities of Dr. Perry including a Pulitzer-prize winning series in the Chicago Tribune.

Edgewood's CEO, Nancy Rubin, is encouraged by the outpouring of interest in the Forum.  "Recent budget cuts made to both academic and social services by federal and state governments provided the impetus to establish this forum.  Practitioners aren't letting a lack of funds hurt their work.  Collaboration is an effective way to continue growth in the industry.  I am hopeful that Forum on Family can set the stage for both worlds to come together and continue to make breakthroughs in childhood mental health services.  We know this is possible because of the success our own partnering with UCSF's Langley Porter has been," she says.

For additional information about the Forum on Family, contact Stacy Dorter at 415.682.3201 or [email protected].

About Edgewood

Edgewood Center for Children and Families (Edgewood) helps children and families take back their future by working with them to overcome severe challenges like abuse, neglect, mental illness and crisis. The oldest children's charity in the western U.S., Edgewood has evolved to meet the community's changing needs. What began as a refuge for Gold Rush orphanage more than 150 years ago is now a nationally recognized, multifaceted agency. Edgewood serves more than 5,000 children and families in the Bay Area each year through community and residential programs.

SOURCE Edgewood Center for Children and Families