HHS News Release

HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today announced the appointment of four new members to the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect.

The 15-member board was established under Section 102 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Amendments of 1988. Members reflect the country's ethnic, racial, and geographic diversity and are knowledgeable in child abuse and neglect prevention, intervention, treatment or research. Each year, the board submits a report to the Secretary and Congress recommending ways to coordinate federal child abuse and neglect activities and carry out the purposes of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.

The board's most recent report, "A Nation's Shame: Fatal Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States" addressed the issue of child fatalities at the hands of parents and other caretakers. The board recently selected Michael W. Weber of Minnesota as Chairperson and Randell C. Alexander, M.D., of Iowa as Vice- Chairperson. The newly appointed members are:

Barbara J. Baldizar, Nashua, N.H. Former State Senator Barbara Baldizar currently serves as a consultant on Family and Domestic Violence Policy, and has recently completed her tenure in the New Hampshire General Court. Vice Chair of the Senate's Capital Budget and Judiciary Committees, Ms. Baldizar also served on the Public Institutions, Health and Human Services, Banks, Senate Administration and Capital Budget Overview Committees. Prior to her election to the Senate, she served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives for three terms. Ms. Baldizar chaired the New Hampshire Task Force on Perinatal Chemical Dependency, and is a leading force in the state's fight to stop domestic violence. In addition to her appointment to the Domestic Violence Protocol Committee, she has worked in her legislative capacity to refine the manner in which law enforcement agencies are able to deal with domestic violence disputes. Most notable are the wiretapping and stalking bills which she sponsored during the 1994 legislative session. Ms. Baldizar also served on the Board of Directors of the Nashua Children's Association and the Board of Directors of Southern New Hampshire Services. Ms. Baldizar will occupy the Social Services seat.

B. Kay Lybeck, Phoenix, Ariz. B. Kay Lybeck is a graduate of New Mexico State University and is currently serving her second term as the President of the 29,000 member Arizona Education Association. She has also served as the vice president and treasurer of the Association. As an educator with 24 years of teaching experience, Ms. Lybeck designed and implemented at-risk programs at the middle school level and taught levels 3, 5, 7 and 8 for the Tucson Unified School District. Ms. Lybeck has served on the Arizona School Chemical Abuse Prevention Inter-Agency Committee; City of Phoenix School Safety Task Force; Arizona Governor's Task Force on Education; Subcommittee on Finance; Arizona Town Hall Conference concerning K-12 education issues; Children's Action Alliance; "Success By Six" Advisory BoardþArizona, and served as the co-chair of the National Education Association Western Regional Conference. Ms. Lybeck will fill the Teacher's seat.

Lt. Bill Walsh, Dallas, Texas. Lt. Bill Walsh is a 17-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department and Commander of the Investigation Section, which includes the Child Abuse Unit, the Family Violence Unit and the Child Exploitation Unit. In 1989, he co-founded the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center and currently serves on its board of trustees. Lt. Walsh also serves on the national boards of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and the National Network of Children's Advocacy Centers. Additionally, his current memberships include the Committee on the Assessment of Family Violence Interventions of the National Research Council, the National Institute of Justice Family Violence Program Review Team, and the Texas Child Fatality Review Team Project Committee. Lt. Walsh also serves as a trainer and consultant to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse. In 1989, he started the Dallas County Child Death Review Team, the first review team to operate independent of the Child Protective Services internal review in Texas. Lt. Walsh has received many awards for his work during his career, including being selected as the 1990 Dallas Police Officer of the Year. Lt. Walsh has lectured widely on the investigation of child abuse and family violence both nationally and internationally. Lt. Walsh will occupy one of two At-Large seats.

Murray Levine, Ph.D., Buffalo, N.Y. Dr. Levine has served on the Board since March 1994, and was reappointed by the Secretary to continue to hold the psychology seat. Dr. Levine is currently Professor of Law, Professor of Psychology, and Director of the Research Center on Children and Youth at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has written extensively on a number of legal issues relating to child abuse and neglect. He was a member of a team of lawyers and psychologists who prepared an amicus brief for the American Psychological Association in Maryland v. Craig. He also served as a member of APA's Working Group on Legal and Policy Issues in Child Abuse and Neglect. His book, Helping Children: A Social History (with A. Levine) is considered a classic study of the evolution of child welfare services in the United States. He is a Fellow of the APA and of the American Psychology-Law Society.

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Contact: Michael Kharfen (202) 401-9215