Cramer, Maddox to Speak at Child Maltreatment Conference on UA Campus

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.  — Child maltreatment cost the state of Alabama $2.3 billion in 2013, and experts, including some at The University of Alabama, believe prevention efforts could reduce the need for much of what we spend on the child welfare system, juvenile delinquency and mental health care.

The figures released in the recent Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention report show a strong correlation between the nearly 9,000 children in the state who become victims of abuse or neglect and the services needed to serve and support them, and though it isn’t typical to consider child abuse and neglect and economic issue, it should be, according to Dr. Debra Nelson-Gardell, associate professor of social work at The University of Alabama.

Nelson-Gardell is an organizer of “A Blue Ribbon Event: Leading the Way in Protecting our Children – An Alabama Legacy of Innovation and Leadership,” a mini-conference to be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon April 20 at the Child Development Research Center on the UA campus.

“Child abuse and neglect is a major health issue, and that means it’s a major economic issue,” Nelson-Gardell said. “When people aren’t healthy, they can’t work. They drain resources from others around them.

“The event is meant to influence knowledge, attitudes and policy by focusing on economic implications of child abuse, the need to prevent it and the economic benefits that could accrue from that prevention,” Nelson-Gardell said.

The event is free to the public.

Robert E. “Bud” Cramer, former state congressman and founder of the National Children’s Advocacy Center in Huntsville, will serve as the keynote speaker.

The UA alumnus and former assistant district attorney in Madison County has helped the NCAC become a global influence. Since its creation in 1985, the NCAC has served as a model for the 800+ CACs now operating in the United States and in 22 countries throughout the world.

“I came to UA because of the NCAC being in this state,” Nelson-Gardell said. “Over the course of my career, I’ve been working to try and build a partnership between the two institutions.”

The conference is co-hosted by The University of Alabama School of Social Work, the College of Human Environmental Sciences, National Children’s Advocacy Center, and the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, who has led a citywide initiative to provide quality pre-k education for academically at-risk, 4-year-old children, will participate in a panel discussion.

Other panelists include: Neal Wade, director of UA’s Economic Development Academy; Chris Newlin, executive director of the NCAC; and Gail Piggott, executive director of Smart Start Alabama Partnership for Children.

Panelists will field questions from audience members following the discussion.