HAUPPAUGE, NY – Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, the Suffolk County Department of Social Services (DSS), the Suffolk County Bar Association and the Stony Brook University School of Social Welfare are hosting a conference, “Creating Transformational Change for Families Involved with the Child Protective System” on November 8 at Suffolk Community College.

The keynote speaker is Katie Beers, who was part of the Child Protective Services (CPS) system for years and was famously kidnapped and kept captive in an underground space in a Bay Shore garage before being freed. She is joined by Carolyn Gusoff, author of Buried Memories, which tells Katie’s story.

“Our children must be protected, and bureaucracy gets in the way of that mission. The only way we can affect change is to come together, identify our challenges to find common ground and move forward,” said Romaine. “This conference includes CPS professionals, judges from family court, clergy and Katie, who was failed by the CPS system.”

Joining Suffolk DSS Deputy County Executive Dr. Sylvia Diaz and DSS Commissioner John Imhof are Judge Fernando Camacho and Judge Caren Loguercio who will speak of their experiences on the bench hearing these difficult cases and Father Francis Pizzarelli of Hope House, Hope House Ministries, a human service agency that provides housing, educational assistance, addiction care and counseling for thousands of individuals in crisis.

“I have no doubt that this event will ignite the flames of change for the CPS system everywhere, not just in Suffolk County,” said Romaine. “There have been too many instances where children have fallen victim to a broken system that often does not allow caseworkers to do their jobs. Hearing Katie’s story firsthand will surely change the lives of anybody in attendance.”

The conference is scheduled for November 8, from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Van Nostrand Theatre at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood.

###