CHICAGO, IL, DECEMBER 17, 1998 --Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Jess McDonald today announced plans for a ninth annual Hispanic Family Conference. This year’s conference, "Compadres Somos Todos: Kinship, Community, and Beyond," will be held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago December 18-19. McDonald said the conference represents a wonderful opportunity for professional enhancement and for participants to share their knowledge and experience.
The Hispanic Family Conference is also a forum to enjoy national and local speakers who advocate and work with Latino children and families in the child welfare system. This year’s keynote speakers are Jerry Tello, author of Cara y Corazon, a training curriculum for strengthening Latino families, and Guadalupe Lara, the former producer of the award winning radio program, "El Grito De Mi Raza." Tello is also the founder of the National Compadres Network, a national group fostering positive Latino male identity development as well as Comadres y Compadres, a youth mentoring program. Lara, the co-founder of the Michigan Standing Committee on Multicultural Health, the Michigan Hispanic Mental Health Association, and the Organization of Latino Social Workers, has been recognized by numerous organizations for her work.

This year’s conference, which will also include workshops that focus on the impact of Department initiatives and policies to Latinos, is being held in cooperation with the Second Legislative District Advisory Committee on Human Services, the Child Care Association of Illinois, and Northern Illinois University.

# # #