Hope of South Texas, Inc., a non-profit child advocacy center in 足交视频, has announced the date for its day-long conference 鈥淗ope for Children: A Day of Action Against Child Abuse.鈥
The March 6 event, scheduled for the Emerging Technology Building at 7403 Lone Tree Rd, in 足交视频, is designed to educate community members on how to identify and report child abuse.
The event is sponsored by H-E-B Helping Here and will feature presentations by experts, advocates and community members.
The conference will feature three presentations on a variety of topics. Ada McCloud and Carri Wright, human trafficking and child exploitation prevention practitioners, will present on familial facilitated sex trafficking and understanding the complex aspects and patterns within familial networks. Constance Filley-Johnson, 足交视频 County district attorney, will present a case study analysis on intervention strategies and outcomes.
Jenna Quinn is scheduled as the conference鈥檚 keynote speaker. She is a child abuse survivor, prevention advocate and author of the first child sexual abuse prevention education mandate in the United States. She will make a presentation on recognizing the signs of grooming and preventing the process in various settings.
Quinn saw the need for Texas schools to implement age-appropriate curriculum requiring students and teachers to learn about child abuse prevention. She reached out to Texas legislators about this need in 2007 and Texas legislator Tan Parker championed the initiative and asked to honor Quinn鈥檚 name in what is now known as 鈥淛enna鈥檚 Law.鈥
The state senate unanimously passed the law in May of 2009, making it the first child sexual abuse prevention requirement in the United States named after a survivor mandating sexual abuse prevention training for K-12 students, school staff and caregivers, Quinn鈥檚 website reads.
Independent school districts may choose their training implementation method and are required to maintain records of all training participants. The law has been amended and expanded to include other forms of abuse and require childcare centers, foster care centers and child-placing agencies to implement training.
Legislators amended 鈥淛enna鈥檚 Law鈥 in 2017 was to include sex trafficking prevention for students and teachers in schools. United States Senators John Cornyn and Maggie Hassan filed The Jenna Quinn Law federally in 2019.
鈥淪ince 鈥楯enna鈥檚 Law鈥 passed in 2009, she has worked with more than 26 states to implement prevention education policies,鈥 Quinn鈥檚 website reads. 鈥淥ver half the country has followed suit, adopting legislation reflecting the principals of Jenna鈥檚 Law.鈥
Since the passing of 鈥淛enna鈥檚 Law鈥 in 2009, educators reported abuse at a rate almost four times greater than in their career prior to the mandatory training, according to a Darkness to Light study referenced by Quinn鈥檚 website.
Community members are encourage to attend the 鈥淗ope for Children: A Day of Action Against Child Abuse鈥 conference if they are educators, counselors or school administrators. Those working in law enforcement, child protective services, the medical and mental health fields are encouraged to attend as well.
An invitation has been extended to advocates for the prevention of child sexual abuse, nonprofit workers or community leaders as well.
The conference will last from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and a lunch will be provided by the 足交视频 County District Attorney鈥檚 Office.
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