Detroit, MI— The Skillman Foundation announced that it will give $10,000 to support the 2006 Children’s Conference, Promoting the Well-Being of Children and Youth in Urban America: Best Practices to Next Practices. Wayne State University Children’s Bridge and Children’s Hospital of Michigan will host the second biennial Children’s Conference September 28 – 29, 2006 at the university’s McGregor Memorial Conference Center in Detroit. The conference will unite researchers, educators and students with care providers, policy makers and advocates to focus on best practices for promoting the well-being of urban children in the United States and on disseminating program models for next practices.

“The conference will play a critical role in bringing together top researchers in the nation to share their expertise and practical knowledge with practitioners working with urban children and youth” said Dr. Hilary Ratner, Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School. “The grant from the Skillman Foundation helps make this important work possible.”

Conference participants will learn strategies for translating program ideas into practice, methods for measuring and demonstrating program effectiveness, and strategies for locating and securing funding to implement programs. Concurrent sessions will highlight successful programs in the areas of children at risk; language and learning; health and health disparities; and violence, abuse and trauma.

Participants and speakers representing government, academic, medical and community-based organizations will apply the strategic directions created at the 2004 Children’s Conference to establish and promote best practices and next practices. Participants established this action agenda to guide research, encourage partnerships and inform policy decisions in children’s programs. The first Children’s Conference attracted nearly 600 national leaders, community partners, funding representatives and university faculty and students.

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students. The WSU Children\'s Bridge is a coordinated effort to promote interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty throughout the university in order to address the many interrelated challenges facing today\'s children. The goal of the project is to bring together many disciplines and fields from across the university to establish research priorities and develop outreach programs for improving children\'s development and well-being. For more information about the conference, visit the Children’s Bridge website at wsuchildren.wayne.edu.

Created in 1960, The Skillman Foundation is a private philanthropy committed to helping the children in metropolitan Detroit by providing resources to improve their homes, schools and neighborhoods. Each year, Skillman awards more than $20 million in grants to non-profit organizations, schools and agencies in Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties, with a special emphasis on organizations working in the city of Detroit.