March 25, 2009

Purdue professors contribute to Stopping Child Abuse Summit

The "Connections Count" summit is 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church, County Road 350 S. and S. 18th St. in Lafayette. The registration fee is $25 before March 31 and $35 after. For more information or to register online, visit https://www.ourkidstippecanoe.org

The sessions will focus on local media coverage of child abuse and neglect issues in Tippecanoe County; trends and local concerns about juvenile delinquency and child abuse; home visiting programs that connect social service and health-care professionals; and best practices for mentor programming, managing volunteers, engaging youth and expanding community involvement.

The professors participating are:

* Steve Wilson, professor of communication and member of the planning committee, is participating on the media coverage panel and moderating the home-visiting program discussion.

* Julie Novak, professor and director of the doctor of nursing program as well as the Purdue School of Nursing clinics, is participating in the forum discussion about home-visiting programs.

* Mohan Dutta, associate professor of communication and director of graduate studies in the Department of Communication, is participating in the panel on media coverage. He co-directed the master's thesis project, along with Wilson, that analyzed three years of Lafayette Journal & Courier coverage of child abuse. Graduate student Ranjani Rao, who analyzed the media coverage, also will be on the panel.

* Jane Natt, assistant professor of communication, is moderating the panel about media coverage.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Steve Wilson, 765-494-7547, wilson25@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

To the News Service home page