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Internet Crimes Against Children a Topic for Child Abuse Conference
- Updated: October 9, 2015
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND – Internet crimes against children – as well as child abuse prevention, intervention and investigation in the Valley – will be addressed during the Rio Grande Valley Seminar in Forensic Sciences, which will be held Wednesday, Nov. 4 through Friday, Nov. 6 at the Isla Grand Beach Resort, 500 Padre Boulevard on South Padre Island.
Continuing education credits for the seminar will be available for nurses, social workers, physicians, law enforcement officers, attorneys, judges, psychologists, licensed professional counselors, and licensed marriage and family therapists.
During the final day of the conference, on Friday, Nov. 6, at 8:15 a.m., Kimberly Bustos of the Child Exploitation, Human Trafficking, and Digital Forensics Units of the Texas Attorney General’s office will speak on “Internet Crimes against Children.”
Sonja Eddleman, RN, Certified Forensic Nurse and Clinical Manager for the Child to Adult Abuse Response Team Program at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen, demonstrates use of the colposcope, which is used to help gather evidence in suspected cases of sexual assault.
Tragedies against children of another type will be addressed during talks on “Postpartum Psychosis, Child Abuse, and the Law,” on the opening morning of the conference, Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 9:15 a.m. (part 1) and at 10:30 a.m. (part 2). This issue has been highlighted in several high-profile cases of mothers suffering from post-partum depression, including a case in Houston where a mother, Andrea Yates, drowned her five children in a bathtub. The presenter for this topic will be Diana Barnes, Psy.D, LMFT, with the Center for Postpartum Health in Los Angeles.
Preventing tragedies against children will be the topic for a talk on “DFPS Child Death Prevention Initiatives” by Sasha Rasco, Director of Prevention and Early Intervention for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. She will speak on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 11:30 a.m.
Among several other talks will be one on “Understanding and Overcoming the Cycle of Adverse Childhood Experiences” on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 3:45 p.m. The presenter, Dave Lockridge of “ACE Overcomers” of California, will also speak at a separate but related event on Friday, Nov. 6, from 3 to 5 p.m., also at the Isla Grande hotel at South Padre Island (during a free presentation for church youth directors, pastors, Girl Scout and Boy Scout leaders, and other interested people in faith-based communities or the general public). To register for his talk, please contact the “Blue Sunday” child abuse prevention program at (956) 454-4531.
Those interested in the entire three-day forensic conference – or in attending one or two days of the conference, or a case review – can get information on registration, fees, and scholarships by calling Stephanie Hamby at (956) 389-1721, or visiting www.RegOnline.com/caep_1753597.
