Understanding the Impact of Poverty on Child Maltreatment

Promoting Positive Change in Communities by Confronting Poverty

Louisiana CASA is excited to host our third webinar series. This series is brought to you in partnership with the Louisiana Children's Trust Fund so we are required to ask participants certain demographic questions during registration. Once you register, an email will be sent to you that includes the link to join the webinar. We hope to see you there! 

This course has been approved for 1 General Social Work CEUs by Louisiana Child Welfare Training Academy as authorized by the Louisiana Board of Social Work Examiners. View Flyer

Understanding the Impact of Poverty on Child Maltreatment

The first in a series of public educational seminars, the presentation will explore how family poverty significantly increases the risk of child maltreatment and share research-backed findings on how economic adversity indirectly contributes to maltreatment. We will highlight promising prevention pathways that make a difference in the cycle of maltreatment by buffering risk factors and supporting vulnerable families.

Lawrence (Lonnie) Berger is Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in the Social Sciences, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work, and past Director of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focuses on the ways in which economic resources, sociodemographic characteristics, and public policies affect parental behaviors and child and family wellbeing.  He is engaged in studies in three primary areas: (1) examining the determinants of substandard parenting, child maltreatment, and out-of-home placement for children; (2) exploring associations among socioeconomic factors (family structure and composition, economic resources, household debt), parenting behaviors, and children's care, development, and wellbeing; and (3) assessing the influence of public policies on parental behaviors and child and family wellbeing. His work aims to inform public policy in order to improve its capacity to assist families in accessing resources, improving family functioning and wellbeing, and ensuring that children are able to grow and develop in the best possible environments.