Researcher of Child Abuse Prevention to deliver 10th Annual Makofsky Lecture at University of Maryland
Deborah Daro, PhD, research fellow at Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, will deliver the 10th Louise Ranier Makofksy Lecture in Child Welfare, and Myra Hettleman, LCSW-C, BCD, of Jewish Family Services of Baltimore, will be honored with the 10th Annual Louise Ranier Makofsky Award in Child Welfare on April 14, 9:30 a.m. in the School of Social Work Auditorium, 525 W. Redwood St.
"I am excited that Dr. Daro will serve as a keynote speaker for this prestigious event. We are all eager to hear her comments about child welfare," says Jesse Harris, PhD, dean of the School of Social Work. "Her remarks are sure to be timely and thought provoking," he says. In "Child Abuse Prevention: Conquering the 'Zone of Wishful Thinking,'" Daro will discuss the changing nature of child abuse prevention services and the importance of including a range of opportunities to support parents at the time their child is born.
"We have learned that effectively preventing child abuse requires a change in how we view offers of support," says Daro, former director of the National Center of Child Abuse Prevention Research, a program of the Prevent Child Abuse America. "All parents needs help, some more than others," she says. "At the time a baby is born, assessments can be made, and families who need more support can be genuinely offered it."
According to Daro, public child welfare efforts are limited to a "reactive response," but should embrace a more proactive form of abuse and neglect prevention.
One of the most promising preventive strategies being promoted, according to Daro, is home visitation services at the time a child is born.
Daro, who earned a PhD in Social Welfare and a master's degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley, also will discuss other measures that take a proactive stance on child abuse prevention.
Myra Hettleman, an 1976 alumna of the School of Social Work is a senior supervisor of adoption, foster care and children's services at Jewish Family Services of Baltimore. She is being honored for her caring and compassionate advocacy on behalf of children and her tireless commitment to child welfare, specifically in the areas of adoption, foster care and her work with parents of disabled children.
Established in 1990, the lecture series and award honors Makofsky, who dedicated her life to child welfare and social justice. She held department of social work positions in Alabama and Maryland, and she and her husband, Dr. Abraham Makofsky, studied child welfare and social justice issues in other countries.
"I am delighted that the committee agreed unanimously to bestow the Louise Ranier Makofsky Award in Child Welfare to Myra Hettleman who has dedicated her entire professional career to the welfare of children," says Harris.
The lecture is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Call 410-706-7870.
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The Baltimore campus of the University of Maryland is home to the dental school, graduate school, and schools of law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and social work. It is the founding campus of the University System of Maryland.
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