Morning

7:30 a.m.

Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m.

Conference Welcome and Introductions

Joanne Corbin, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School for Social Work; Conference Director

Carolyn Jacobs, Dean, Elizabeth Marting Treuhaft Professor, School for Social Work

Susan Bourque, Provost/Dean of Faculty, Smith College

8:45 a.m.

Opening Speaker: Jo Becker, Advocacy Director, Children's Rights Division, Human Rights Watch
Topic: Nature of children’s forced involvement in combat. The opening address will focus on the worldwide situation of children involved in armed conflict, the nature of children's involvement, and the effects of their involvement on their lives, relationships, education/economic situation, and culture.

9:45 a.m.

Break

10 a.m.

Concurrent Workshops - Morning Session

Session 1: Psychosocial Approach to Addressing the Needs of Children Affected by Armed Conflict in Northern Uganda
Stella Ojera, B.A.

Session 2: Assessment and Treatment Issues for Children Affected by Armed Conflict: Effects on Children Family and Culture
Joan Lesser, Ph.D.

Session 3: Assessment, Development and Evaluation of Psychosocial Programs for Children Affected by Armed Conflicts
Martha Bragin, Ph.D.

Session 4: Practice Issues: Working with Immigrant and Refugee Children and Families Affected by Extreme Violence
Eugenie Mukeshima, B.A.

Session 5:  Psychological Assessment and Evaluation of War Affected Children in Low-Resource Contexts: The Development of the Acholi Psychosocial Assessment Instrument for War-Affected Children in Northern Uganda and its use in a Randomized Clinical Trial of Mental Health Interventions
Theresa Stichick Betancourt, Sc.D., M.A.

(See individual workshop descriptions.)

Lunch

11:30 a.m.

Lunch on your own

Afternoon

1 p.m.

Keynote Speaker: Michael Wessells, Ph.D.
Senior Child Protection Specialist for Christian Children’s Fund, Professor of Clinical Population and Family Health at Columbia University in the Program on Forced Migration and Health, and Professor of Psychology at Randolph-Macon College. Co-chair of a U.N. Task Force on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings.

Topic
Child Soldier Reintegration and Community Resilience Following Armed Conflict: Culture, Empowerment, and Peacebuilding

This presentation analyzes how a holistic, culturally grounded approach to the reintegration of children formerly abducted by armed groups contributes to community integration, resilience, and peacebuilding following armed conflict.

2:15 p.m.

Concurrent Workshops - Afternoon Session

Session 1: Resettlement of Immigrant and Refugee Populations: Addressing the Biopsychosocial Dimensions
Panel Presentation from Jewish Family Services, Springfield, Mass.

Session 2: Interrupting the Cycle of Violence: Individual and Collective Reconciliation
Adin Thayer, M.S.W.

Session 3: Multicultural and Diversity-Related Challenges and Perspectives in Working with Refugee and Immigrant Populations
Ay Ling Han, Ph.D., Khalilah Karim-Rushdan, L.C.S.W.

Session 4:  Peacebuilding and Reconciliation: Connections to clinical practice
Father Remigio Obol
Joanne Corbin, Ph.D., M.S.S., Associate Professor at Smith College School for Social Work

(See individual workshop descriptions.)

4:15 p.m.

Closing Remarks and Reception