‘Resilience research’ topic of Judge Baker conference:

The Judge Baker Children’s Center is sponsoring a weekend conference on Oct. 25-27 to address how academic and social failure of youth and adolescents can be prevented if the necessary steps are taken early in children’s lives. “Risk and Resilience: Protective Mechanisms and School-Based Prevention Programs” is being held in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Devereux – a health and social welfare services organization – at the University Park Hotel at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The central focus of the conference will emphasize the application of resilience research to effective prevention and intervention programs for at-risk children suffering from social, behavioral, or emotional disorders. Both the Judge Baker Children’s Center and Devereux aim to facilitate discussion between the research and practice communities on the effective utilization of new knowledge to improve practice and services.

The conference begins Oct. 25 with a networking reception for all attendees. Keynote speakers Ann Masten of the University of Minnesota and Pedro Noguera, Harvard professor of education, will present the following day, in addition to 12 dynamic workshops headed by leading resilience researchers and practitioners. Jane Knitzer of Columbia University will open with a plenary session on Oct. 27, followed by roundtable discussions in which participants will discuss implementation barriers, the solutions to combat them, and emerging areas of research, for reports to be shared with SAMHSA. Concluding the conference will be keynoter Dante Cicchetti of the University of Rochester with a plenary session following lunch.

Judge Baker Children’s Center, a nonprofit mental health center benefiting at-risk children and their families, conducts research and training on mental health and special education and also provides prevention and intervention services at its on-site therapeutic day school, Manville School.

Devereux is the nation’s largest independent, not-for-profit provider of treatment services for children, adolescents, and adults dealing with emotional, behavioral, and developmental challenges, and offers a full continuum of campus- and community-based programs in 12 states and the District of Columbia.

For additional information, call (610) 542-3090, or visit the Web site at http://www.riskandresilience.org.