JUVENILE AND FAMILY JUSTICE ISSUES THE FOCUS OF PITTSBURGH CONFERENCE

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges will convene at Pittsburgh’s Omni William Penn Hotel July 17-20, 2005 for its 68th Annual Conference, to focus on the vital issues facing the nation’s children and families, and the courts and judges who serve them. The conference theme of “Sustaining the Gains” will be highlighted throughout the four-day program.

 Nearly 600 juvenile and family court judges, related professionals, their families, and NCJFCJ staff are scheduled to join in the annual conference proceedings. The work of the NCJFCJ’s Pittsburgh-based research division, the National Center for Juvenile Justice, will be highlighted during the program.
 
Opening ceremonies on Monday, July 18 will feature remarks from 2004-05 NCJFCJ President Judge Sharon P. McCully of Salt Lake City, Utah, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ralph Cappy, and Host Judge Maurice Cohill, Jr., of the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh. Other local dignitaries in attendance will include U.S. Representative Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), psychologist and author of several books, including The Angry Child, who will speak at Monday’s luncheon.

 Other Conference highlights:
• Monday’s keynote speech, “Swimming Upstream: Local and National Strategies for Succeeding in Tough Times,” will be delivered by Mr. Shay Bilchik, President and CEO of the Child Welfare League of America.
• Wade Horn, Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Administration for Children and Families and Justice Maura Corrigan of the Michigan Supreme Court will speak on “The Promise of the Healthy Marriage Initiative for the Family Court System” at Tuesday’s plenary session.
• The recent publication of the NCJFCJ’s JUVENILE DELINQUENCY GUIDELINES: Improving Court Practice in Juvenile Delinquency Cases will be formally announced by Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Administrator J. Robert Flores at Wednesday’s luncheon.
More than 30 workshops will be presented on issues such as high conflict child custody, fathering after violence, mentally ill juveniles, disproportional representation of minority children in dependency cases, same-sex couples, juvenile sex offenders, children exposed to violence, programs for delinquent girls and their babies, truancy courts, and other topics intrinsic to juvenile and family courts.