EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

DATE: 10 a.m.-noon Oct. 12, 2011

EVENT: Sandra Graham-Bermann, a University of Michigan professor of psychology and psychiatry, will participate in a Congressional briefing panel discussion about domestic violence on children.

Research shows that more than 15 million American children live in homes where intimate partner violence (IPV) has occurred at least once in the past year.

This exposure, she says, places children at great risk for developing problems in behavioral, emotional, social and cognitive functioning that can impede their optimal development. Many are traumatized by what they have seen. Without help many have problems in school, develop risky behaviors, such as delinquency and substance abuse, and have difficulty in social relationships with others, including teen dating violence.

Graham-Bermann said we now have evidence that interventions work. More intervention services for children exposed to family violence are needed, but agencies and communities nationwide often lack the funds needed to train personnel and to implement these programs.

“If we do nothing, society pays a higher price in treating more serious mental health problems, school failure, incarceration of adolescents, and in the ruined lives of adults and possibly even the next generation of children,” she said.

The briefing is happening now because October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

For additional information on Graham-Bermann, visit www.lsa.umich.edu/psych/people/directory/profiles/faculty/?uniquename=sandragb

She has written numerous articles on domestic violence, including one published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology: http://ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=3249

PLACE: 2237 Rayburn House Office Building, 45 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. A map of the Capitol complex, including the Rayburn building, is at www.aoc.gov/cc/cc_map.cfm

REGISTRATION: To register, email publicpolicy@ncadv.org or call (202) 774-8455.