​​Child Welfare Conference Addresses Sexual Assault

News Date
flyer child welfare

By Hazel Scott/ASU
 
Alabama State University’s Department of Social  Work, in partnership with the Alabama Higher Education Consortium on Child Welfare, is sponsoring a two-day Child Welfare & Community Conference on “Creating Safe Communities for Vulnerable Populations.” The event will be held April 13-14 (Thursday-Friday) starting at 8 a.m. each day at ASU’s Ralph David Abernathy Hall Auditorium. 
 
Event participants include ASU students, faculty and staff, and social work practitioners from various practice settings in the tri-county area, including the Department of Human Resources.
 
“The overarching topic of the conference is sexual assault. We will focus on sexual assault among adolescents and college students,” said Dr. Shanae L. Shaw, assistant professor of the Department of Social Work. “It​ is imperative that as a community we work together to support those that are personally affected by sexual violence and educate each other about ways to prevent it from occurring.”
Shaw noted that during the two-day conference there will be several panel discussions relating to child welfare centered on sexual assault, Title IX,  self-care for advocates, trauma-informed victim services and more.  
 
“We hope participants, particularly boys, girls and young women, gain a better understanding of sexual assault and gain more confidence in their ability to seek resources that may benefit themselves or their peers,” Shaw explained. “By introducing students to different topics and means of engaging others, we aim to change the conversation about sexual assault.”  
 
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
 
Thursday, April 13
 
Registration and continental breakfast from 8 – 8:45 a.m.
The first day’s session ends at 5 p.m.
 
Friday, April 14
 
Registration and continental breakfast from 8 – 8:45 a.m.
The second day’s session ends at 1:30 p.m.
 
For more information, call 334-604-9204 or email sshaw@alasu.edu
 
TO REGISTER
 
To register, visit www.alasu.edu/social work.
 
To learn more about ASU's Department of Social Work and the degrees and programs it offers, click on this link: https://www.alasu.edu/clas/social-work/department-social-work