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"And Justice for All … Broken
Connections for Immigrant and Refugee Families in the Valley” is the
theme of the 9th annual Harry Specht Memorial Child Welfare Symposium,
presented from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 18 by California State University,
Fresno.
The symposium will focus on reconnecting San Joaquin Valley immigrant
and refugee families with advocacy-based services, examining current
policies and illustrating family strengths.
Local and regional professionals in child welfare, education, mental
health, community-based organizations, legal/judicial system and
economic development will participate. Current research findings will be
presented, highlighting the struggles of immigrant and refugee children
and families and documenting the need for advocacy-based services.
Keynote addresses are:
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8:40 a.m. - Fresno State
Social Work professor Dr. Kris Clarke, “The Unprotected Immigration:
The Global Production of Illegality”
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9 a.m. - Dr. Ann Aurelia
Lopez, a research associate at the University of California, Santa
Cruz, “The Implications of NAFTA and Immigration from Mexico”
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10:15 a.m. - Peter Y.
Vang of Fresno County Employment and Temporary Assistance, “The
Continuous Challenges of Achieving an American Dream: The Southeast
Asians’ American Perspectives”
The symposium will be held at
the Piccadilly Inn University, 4961 N. Cedar Ave. Admission is $50 for
professionals and $40 for students. Continuing Education Units will be
offered for additional $15. Due to limited seating, reservations are
required. A
copy of the program and registration form is available online at the
College of Health and Human Services web site.
Sponsors are Fresno State’s Title IV-E Child Welfare Program, Department
of Social Work Education, College of Health and Human Services, Chicano
and Latin American Studies, College of Social Sciences and University
Migrant Services; the Fresno County Department of Children and Family
Services; and several community partners.
The symposium commemorates the work of Dr. Harry Specht, a professor,
and community-based advocate in social work practice who died in 1995.
He was dean of the School of Social Welfare at the University of
California, Berkeley and co-wrote "Unfaithful Angels: How Social Work
Abandoned Its Mission" (Free Press, 1993). The book was critical of a
shift in the profession from helping the poor to private counseling of
the middle class.
For more information, call 559.278.3076 or e-mail
mflores@csufresno.edu.
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