Abstract
In July 2015, APSAC’s membership gathered in Boston for our 23rd Annual Colloquium. More than 400 professionals from across the spectrum of disciplines involved in preventing and responding to child maltreatment met to learn from cutting edge research and from each other’s practices. Selecting from nearly 100 research and practice presentations, we left the three-day gathering with a wealth of information and a renewed sense of energy and commitment to the our work. This is good. There is much work to be done.
Just two examples: Shortly before we arrived in Boston, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Commonwealth v Dorvil that a parent has a right to use “reasonable force” in disciplining his or her child. That is, a parent may hit (or, in this case, kick) a child for disciplinary reasons, an act that would be a crime if inflicted on any person except the parent’s child. While the use of corporeal punishment is widely accepted, a growing body of research suggests this practice is harmful to children and contributes to poor developmental outcomes. As we met in Boston, the newspapers were reporting on a case in which a 7-year-old boy was assaulted by his father and starved to the point that he fell into a coma. The father was criminally charged with abusing and maltreating the boy. Sadly, Children’s Protective Services had been to the home shortly before this incident came to light.
Each of these areas of concern was addressed by presentations at the Colloquium. Attendees heard presentations about the impact of corporeal punishment on children’s development and about techniques for investigating child maltreatment. These are but two of many possible examples of how APSAC is educating professionals at the cutting edge of research and best practice. But our work does not end with the translation of research into practice. We are also actively engaged in policy advocacy aimed and prevention of maltreatment, and for adequate responses for children and families when it occurs. We also advocate for sensible policies applicable to professionals in the field.
Under the leadership of Jon Conte, PhD, and Bart Kilka, PhD, work has begun on revising the APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment. We are working diligently to re-energize the APSAC Advisor. And under the direction of Kathleen Coulbourn Faller, PhD, we are finalizing the APSAC Positon Paper on Allegations of Child Maltreatment and Intimate Partner Violence in Divorce and Relationship Dissolution.
In our work, we need your help. If you are a member of APSAC, we hope that you will get actively involved in a committee. There are several to choose from: prevention, publications, membership development and services, and public relations. If you are interested, please contact: Frank E. Vandervort at:
If you are not an APSAC member, we hope you will join. In addition to our other membership benefits, we are proud to announce that members will now receive free access to the on-line journal Trauma, Violence and Abuse which is published by Sage. For more information or to join, log on to www.apsac.org and proceed to the “Contact APSAC” page. We look forward to hearing from you!
In Memoriam