Tribal Leaders Forum Overview

The 2011 Tribal Leaders Forum is a preconference event occurring in conjunction with the 4th Annual Indian Child Welfare Protection Conference on June 1, 2011 at the Hard Rock Casino Hotel in Albuquerque, NM.

The Forum is sponsored by the Children's Justice Advisory Group (CJJAG) and presented by the American Indian Development Associates (AIDA). This one day event will provide tribal leaders, administrators and policy makers with informative panel presentations, keynote presentations, a luncheon, and resource information regarding the trauma inflicted by physical abuse and neglect and its impact on child development, treatment and community response.

Indian Tribes declare Indian children and youth are their most important human resource. Tribal leaders are shouldered with the responsibility for providing safe and healthy communities and making sure that children are raised by healthy adults. To do this, Tribal leaders need to have effective tribal response systems. The purpose of this Forum is to bring together teams comprised of tribal leadership and high ranking tribal officials from NM Tribes and Pueblos to specifically discuss ways in which tribal leadership can support and improve coordinated community responses to child abuse and reduce the traumatic stress experienced by abused children.

Teams should include: Governors, Presidents and other Tribal Officials Tribal Council Members Tribal Judges Leadership from: Court: Prosecutors, Probation Officers Law Enforcement: Chiefs, Criminal Investigators Health: Medical staff, Behavioral Health Child Welfare: Social Services, Victim/Witness Education: Principals, Counselors

The Tribal Leaders Forum will feature:

• The Governor of the State of New Mexico and high ranking CYFD representatives who will present the statewide children's agenda.
  
  
• Recognized experts speaking on the effects of trauma on child development.
  
  
• Best practices for high functioning tribal multi-disciplinary and/or child protection teams.
  
  
• Strategies and best practices for early intervention.
  
  
• Information on national and local resources to support tribal communities to respond appropriately to children who have experienced trauma.
  
  
• NM Children's Justice Act Advisory Committee (CJAAG) presentation of information regarding the national Children's Justice Act and the CJJAG’s functions and resources.