WHAT: “Confronting Family and Community Violence: The Intersection of Law and Psychology,” a national conference co-sponsored by the American Psychological Association and American Bar Association, will explore the impact of violence on children, families and communities and its prevalence and prevention in the home, community and society. The 38 presentations and panels will cover topics including gun violence, hate crimes, racial profiling and stand- your-ground laws, elder abuse, violent sex offenders, human trafficking, juvenile justice reform, intimate partner violence, school violence and bullying.
WHEN:Thursday, May 1, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.Friday, May 2, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 3, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
WHERE:Washington Marriott Wardman Park2660 Woodley Rd., N.W. Washington, DC 20008
WHO:More than 80 presenters and panelists will participate. They include:
Robert L. Listenbee Jr., JD, administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, will highlight recent national efforts to address effects of violence on children, youth and families, including the U.S. attorney general's Defending Childhood initiative. Listenbee served as co-chair of the National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence. Keynote luncheon, Friday, May 2, 12-1:30 p.m.
Robert D. Macy, PhD, founder and president of the International Trauma Center, Boston, plenary keynote speaker, will present “How the Intersection of Law and Psychology Can Significantly Reduce the Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma and Reduce Children’s Exposure to Violence Across the Nation.” Macy is a founding member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Keynote plenary address, Friday, May 2, 8:30 - 10 a.m.
James Garbarino, PhD, Center for the Human Rights of Children, Loyola University, will lead a discussion about how violence affects children, including how risk and protective factors influence physical, neurological, social, emotional and cognitive development. The discussion will include how to bolster children’s resilience and reduce their risk of exposure to violence. Friday, May 2, 3:30 – 5 p.m.
Michael Lieberman, JD, Washington counsel, Anti-Defamation League, and Edward W. Dunbar, PhD, private practitioner, Los Angeles, will explore interventions with victims and perpetrators of hate crimes and review psychological issues of perpetrators’ motives and risk of recidivism. Also to be discussed are how hate crime laws and police practices play an essential but limited role in preventing and responding to these crimes, and implications of gaps in data from FBI and state law enforcement authorities, especially relating to juvenile hate crime offenders. Friday, May 2, 3:30 – 5 p.m.
Marisa R. Randazzo, PhD, Sigma Threat Management Associates, and Keith R. Cruise, PhD, Fordham University, will discuss how to determine whether a person is a threat to public safety and when to intervene. They will describe different approaches for preventing violence, risk assessment and behavioral threat assessment, with a perspective on preventing targeted attacks. Findings from two major studies of targeted violence, one on assassinations and the other on school shootings, will be included. Thursday, May 1, 3:30- 5 p.m.
Erick B. Elbogen, PhD, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Durham VA Medical Center, and Renato L. Izquieta, JD, staff attorney, Legal Aid Society of Orange County, will discuss violence and aggression in military veterans. As more men and women return home from military service, there is a growing demand for clinicians’ assessment and management of veterans’ risk of violence. Likewise, over the past decade, more veterans have become involved in the criminal justice system, which has led to a growing need to determine how legal professionals should respond. Friday, May 2, 10:30 a.m. – noon.
Judge Jay D. Blitzman, first justice, Middlesex, Mass., Juvenile Court, will lead a panel on “Disrupting the ‘Cradle to Prison Pipeline’ – Alternatives to School Suspension and Exclusion,” examining complexities of educational disparities across race and class and the rapid channeling of students of color into the criminal justice system.Thursday, May 1, 10:30 a.m. – noon.
Jonathan E. Lowy, JD, Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and Joel Dvoskin, PhD, University of Arizona will participate in a plenary panel discussion about gun violence prediction, prevention and policy and the need for community, public health and legal collaboration. Thursday, May 1, 8:30 – 10 a.m.
Dewey Cornell, PhD, and Angela A. Ciolfi, JD, University of Virginia, will discuss rates and patterns of school violence in the United States and describe why threat assessment is the appropriate alternative to zero tolerance and profiling for violence prevention. The presentation will include recommendations for implementing threat assessments that protect student rights and improve school safety. Thursday, May 1, 3:30 – 5 p.m.
Judith Becker, PhD, University of Arizona, will participate in a discussion about applying psychology to legal issues involving sex offenders based on empirical intervention and prevention efforts. The talk will cover assessment and treatment and issues such as juvenile sex offending, causal theories of sex offending, psychopathy and intervention for aggressive sexual behavior. Friday, May 2, 3:30 – 5 p.m.
Marsha B. Liss, PhD, JD, DOJ attorney advisor, and Samantha Healy Vardaman, JD, Shared Hope International, will give an overview of policies and practices to prevent human trafficking, protect victims and assist victims with recovery from trafficking related trauma. The U.S. State Department estimates that 12.3 million adults and children are currently forced into labor and prostitution, 56 percent of whom are women and girls. This session will describe trends in human trafficking and Internet victimization. Saturday, May 3, 10:30 a.m. - noon.
Speakers’ contact information is available from APA Public Affairs at (202) 336-5700.
BACKGROUND: APA’s Office of General Counsel has collaborated with ABA since 1995, addressing issues such as family psychology and law, psychological expertise in criminal justice, the application of the death penalty to people with mental disabilities, the assessment of the capacity of older adults, child custody, teen dating violence and the use of scientific evidence in courts. This event will be the sixth joint APA-ABA conference.________________________________________The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes nearly 130,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.________________________________________
If you do not want to receive APA news releases, please let us know at [email protected] or 202-336-5700.