As individuals who chose tobecome members of ASDC, each of us made a commitment to work together on behalfof issues that relate to the health and well-being of our nation's children. Established forty-eight years ago, this is an ideal venue for participation by ASDC members. If you weren'tinvolved this year, plan to join in the action next year. And try these ideas for prevention. In April, ASDC members have another opportunity to demonstrate leadership inchild advocacy during Child Abuse Awareness Month.
Coalition is involved withtraining dental personnel in recognition and reporting protocols.
Remember that by lawwe are mandated reporters and that there are serious consequences for failure to reportsuspected cases of child abuse and neglect. The third arena in which I envision leadership involvement by ASDC members isvolunteerism. Recently there has been abundant media attention devoted to volunteeractivities, with further emphasis contained in numerous dental publications. Often ourcolleagues travel to the far corners of the earth to provide dental services to children inneed. A final area of focus in which I believe ASDC members might opt to exercise theirinfluence in advocacy for children is in the political arena with federal and statelegislators.