Paper/Proposal Title

The Rights of Children and Families: Local Initiatives in the Miami Valley

Presenter/Author Information

Kelly S. Johnson, University of DaytonFollow
Raymond L. Fitz, University of DaytonFollow
Vanessa Ward, Omega Community Development Corporation
Jan Lepore-Jentleson, East End Community Services

Location

Room S2080, Curran Place; also presented remotely

Start Date

12-3-2021 2:15 PM

End Date

12-3-2021 3:45 PM

Keywords

rights of the child, two-generational approach, recovery, solidarity, regional approach

Abstract

Dayton’s Committee on the Place-Based Two-Generation Approach to Poverty completed a working paper titled “A Call for Community Long-Term Recovery Plan” in January of 2021, arguing for an approach to recovery that is strategic, efficient, equity-focused, and regional. Practitioners and theorists connected to this document will address challenges and opportunities for addressing the rights of children in this area, particularly addressing the ways a regional approach can help to dismantle the legacy of historical injustices as we try to build back better.

Author/Speaker Biographical Statement(s)

Raymond L. Fitz, SM, Professor of Social Change, University of Dayton As President of UD from 1979 to 2002, Br. Ray emphasized creating a strong connection of learning to community engagement. In 2015, he received the Association of Catholic Colleges and University’s Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh award for outstanding leadership in Catholic higher education. In the region, Brother Ray facilitates participation, collaboration and learning in addressing the complex problems of poverty and racial injustice. He served on various boards and committees in our area in the past and continues this effort today. Brother Ray helped organize the Montgomery County’s Family and Children First Council. He presently serves as co-chairperson of the Commission for Minority Inclusion; member of the board of the Omega Community Development Corporation; convener of the committee on the Neighborhood Based 2-Generation Approaches; and serves on the Bridges Out of Poverty Steering Committee, among others. He recently was co-chair of the Dayton Oregon District Tragedy Fund. Brother Ray has always been willing to work with people in our community for economic and racial injustice. Kelly Johnson, PhD, Fr. Ferree Chair of Social Justice, University of Dayton Kelly Johnson has been faculty at the University of Dayton for 19 years, serving on the faculty of Human Rights Studies since its inception and offering a variety of courses for Religious Studies in the area of social ethics. She has written on Christian theology and practice concerning property rights, with a particular focus on the misleading quality of the language of stewardship, as well as environmental justice, the relationship of liturgy and ethics, peacebuilding, homelessness, restorative justice, and human rights. Her principal scholarly concerns connecting attention to tragedy, grace, and historical narrative with work for social justice.