CONLEY HOSTS TRAINING TO FIGHT SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME Feb. 26, 2008 In an effort to highlight a preventable form of child abuse, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley yesterday welcomed child welfare advocates, medical professionals, and others to a training event that will educate new parents about Shaken Baby Syndrome. “Babies Cry: Have a Plan” is two-day seminar for family support professionals who work with mothers, fathers, and caregivers across Boston, Suffolk County, and Massachusetts. Held yesterday and today at the Family Justice Center in Brighton, the seminar provides the visiting support staff with skills and coping tips to help new parents with the fears and frustrations they may experience when a baby cries inconsolably. Specifically, the program addresses Shaken Baby Syndrome, a traumatic brain injury associated with an adult caregiver shaking an infant so vigorously that his or her brain bounces back and forth within the skull. “As a father of two, I know I’ve felt lost sometimes, even overwhelmed – especially when the children were very young,” Conley said. “Every parent needs some help and advice along the way. Every parent needs a back-up plan, and no one should be afraid or embarrassed to ask for it.” In introductory remarks, Conley hailed the interagency partnerships that made the training possible, thanking Susan Goldfarb, executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County; Executive Director Suzin Bartley and staff member John Iacoboni of the Massachusetts Children’s Trust Fund, an organization dedicated to preventing child abuse nationwide; and Dr. Alice Newton, the medical director of the Child Protection Team at Massachusetts General Hospital. The training, co-hosted by Conley’s office and the Children’s Advocacy Center, will run through today at the Family Justice Center, a multi-service center that brings public and private agencies together under one roof to serve the victims of child abuse, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence. Conley serves as the FJC’s co-chair. Conley cited the case of a Revere father indicted last year for shaking his baby daughter so violently that she was rushed to an area hospital with brain swelling and an optic nerve so badly frayed that doctors feared she would lose her vision permanently. He faces up to 15 years in state prison if convicted on just one of four pending charges of aggravated assault and battery on a child. The harsh term is appropriate, Conley said, but it’s no substitute for a governmental commitment to preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome. “At the end of the day, laws don’t make good parents,” Conley said. “Education and support make good parents.” Return to the Press Releases page.