Dear colleagues and friends:

I have been on California's Critical Incident (child homicide) Citizen Review Panel for 3 years. It has allowed me a great opportunity to understand the workings of the system. Our Panel is making significant steps toward improvements.

Citizen Review Panels (CRPs) were established as part of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) in 1996. CRP’s work to evaluate the extent to which State and local agencies are effectively discharging  their child protection responsibilities under the State’s CAPTA Plan.  CRPs allow those with lived experience and those out side official systems to impact public policy ensuring the protection of  children. California’s Citizen Review Panels are excited to welcome their colleagues from across the country to the first in-person National CRP Conference in two years! We are hoping that other state teams and interested advocates will join us in celebrating our ability to learn from one another about progress and barriers to effective child abuse prevention across the states.

This unique conference presents an opportunity for state citizen review panels and other interested organizations, advocacy groups, and individuals to get together and learn from one another.  The 2½ day agenda will include a variety of presentations, plenaries, workshops, and peer-to-peer networking sessions on topics relevant to the CAPTA mandate, learning more about shared interests, celebrating successes, and exploring strategies to address common challenges.

Featured speakers will be:

• Manuel Pastor:  All Together Now:  Finding Shared Fate in a Changing (and Divided) America
• James Bell, Burns Institute (Invited)
• Hasan Davis: Calling All Hope Dealers!
• Melissa Chadwick:  Regarding the Pain of the Other

  I hope that you will be able to join us for this exciting convening of caring and          committed volunteers from across the country!

Sincerely,

Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH