BRIDGEWATER – The Somerset County Commission on Child Abuse & Missing Children (CCAMC) will hold its annual spring forum for professionals who serve children and families on Wednesday, April 23.

“The Commission provides educational programs on child abuse and is a key player in the development of community-based collaborations,” said Freeholder Director Patrick Scaglione, who will be a featured speaker at the event. “The speakers at this year’s forum will address the negative effects of parental substance abuse, as well as the positive effects from parental recovery.”

The forum, titled “Parental Substance Abuse: Its Impact on Children,” will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Somerville Lodge 1068, B.P.O. Elks, located at 375 Union Avenue.

The conference fee is $25. Registration and breakfast will be available at 8:30 a.m. Checks should be made payable to Friends of Somerset County Youth. To register, contact Andrea Clegg, Office of Youth Services, at (908) 704-6333 or clegg@co.somerset.nj.us.           

Speakers will include Freeholder Director Scaglione and retired Judge Thomas H. Dilts. Presenters from Richard Hall Community Health Center, the New Jersey Department of Child Protection and Permanency, Princeton House Behavioral Health Center, and Catholic Charities will discuss parental substance abuse and its effect on children.

Sponsored by the Somerset County Commission on Child Abuse and Missing Children and Friends of Somerset County Youth, the annual spring forum is held during Child Abuse Prevention Month and is intended to help raise community awareness and combat abuse and neglect of children.

For more information, contact Mariann Bruno, Somerset County Office of Youth Services, at (908) 704-6356.

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To view the event flyer, click here.