Linda Spears, CWLA Vice President of Policy Will Speak at Senat...( Hearing to coincide with the 19th ann...),Health

Hearing to coincide with the 19th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), the Campaign for U.S. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics will host a Senate Staff Briefing on Children's Health Issues and The Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The briefing will be held November 20, 2008, in room 416 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building from 11:00 A.M - 12 Noon.

The focus of the briefing will be on the Convention's relevance to children's health issues in the U.S. In 1979, The United Nations began efforts to develop a treaty to protect the rights of the world's children. The United States was an active participant in the process and in 1989 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. To date, 193 countries have ratified the treaty and use it as a guide for policy and decision making concerning the needs of children. However, two nations, The United States and Somalia have failed to ratify the treaty.

While the U. S. has undertaken considerable efforts to improve the health and mental health of its children, many children still lack access to quality health services. The convention would establish a useful framework for creating and implementing policies and programs that best address the health care needs of children and their families.

Participants:

Harold Cook, Ph.D

UN NGO Representative and Fellow, American Psychological Association

Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Education, Columbia University

Jennifer Kasper, M.D., MPH, FAAP

Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics