Pitt to Cosponsor Family Support Conference

What does the state of a child’s family, school system, and overall community have to do with that child’s success in school? This and other child-related issues will be explored during the 14th Annual Family Support Conference May 16 and 17 in the Westin Convention Center Hotel, 1000 Penn Ave., downtown.

Attendees will hear presentations on national trends and challenges behind the family support movement, which encourages families to build on their own strengths, using community resources. Speakers will include Evelyn Harris, director of New York’s Department of State, Division of Community Services (speaking at 12:15 p.m. May 16 and 1 p.m. May 17); Paul Gasser, a marriage and family therapist and instructor at the University of Wisconsin at Platteville (9:30 a.m. May 17); and Lynn Amwake, program specialist at the SERVE Center, University of North Carolina at Greensboro (10:30 a.m. May 17). Afternoon discussions are scheduled May 16 on parent leadership, advocacy, and other topics. On May 17, attendees can choose among 28 workshops on topics ranging from the effect of violence on children to helping children develop social and emotional skills.

Admission for each day is $75. To register, call 412-244-5358. Among the conference’s cosponsors are Pitt’s Office of Child Development, School of Education, and School of Social Work.