Greetings, members! I hope to see many of you at APA in Chicago next week. The section is proud to announce our annual award winners. Elizabeth Handley, PhD, (Mt. Hope Family Center) is the winner of the Karen Saywitz Early Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research in the Field of Child Maltreatment. Much of her work has focused on why maltreated children are at-risk for negative outcomes including substance use and disorder, internalizing symptoms and suicide risk. We congratulate Handley on her impressive record and significant contributions to the field. Justin Harty (University of Chicago) is the winner of the Dissertation Award for his dissertation, “Experiences of Fatherhood Among Young Black Fathers Under the Care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.” His work focuses on the transition of young black fathers in foster care who are transitioning out of the child welfare system and into emerging adulthood and fatherhood, and we look forward to learning more about his findings in the coming years.
For those of you attending the conference please stop by the Children, Youth, and Families Joint Social Hour for Divs. 37, 7, 16 and CYF. This event will be held Thursday evening, 6- 7:50 p.m. at the Marriott Marquis Chicago Hotel in Water Tower Room B. There is an Early Career Professionals Social Hour preceding this event from 4-6 also at the Marriott at Woven and Bound. The Div. 37 program this year highlights talks and papers relevant to child maltreatment including a symposium chaired by the division past-president Sharon Portwood, PhD, entitled, “Ensuring the Successful Translation of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) – From Science to Practice.” I am also looking forward to division’s Hobbs Awardee talk by Elizabeth Gershoff, PhD. Her talk, titled “How to be an Advocate for Children in an Era of Distrust of Science” is Saturday morning and should not be missed! During these crucial times to advocate for children in their families, it is important to understand how we can best use our research knowledge to support the application of science to policy.
For those of you not attending APA this year, we hope to catch up with you at a future conference. We have started to plan and organize events for our members at other national and international conferences to facilitate networking and camaraderie among child maltreatment researchers. Last March, member-at-large Kristin Valentino, alongside Div. 37 member-at- large Christina Rodriguez organized a successful Social Hour at the Biennial Society for Research in Child and Family Development conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Please email us if you would like to be involved in planning an event at a relevant conference in your hometown.
Please see Angelique Day’s article for an update on policy. A special thanks to our membership chair, Kelly McWilliams, who continues her successful efforts in our ongoing membership drive. Please feel free to contact me to introduce yourself and/or if you have any questions about the section. As a group and as individuals, we are devoted to children’s well-being and welfare and we would love to find a way to involve you in our important efforts.