Wow! My Job Really IS hard!

Whenever I tell people that I am a child welfare lawyer, the response I often get is, "Wow - that must be really hard." Is it?? I don't really know. It's what I do every day. Sometimes it's difficult to see what is right under your nose.

Today I attended the first day of a two day interdisciplinary child welfare conference at Penn's Field Center. All manner of professionals are in attendance - doctors, lawyers, social workers, the whole works. It's being held in an extremely sexy new Wharton building that feels a bit like the set of Battlestar Gallactica. The day started with a keynote address from a guy named Dave Pelzer, probably the world's most famous (and well-published) survivor of child abuse. He was inspirational and entertaining, and provided very strategically timed glimpses into the horrors he experienced as a kid. He also made it very clear that it was the social service workers who saved his life.

Lunch got a little weird, as we heard from a genuis pediatrician/child abuse expert/tuba virtuoso named Dr. Eli Newberger, from Hah-vard. He did in fact play his tuba for us, accompanying a banjo player/singer, doing some Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong and Paul Robeson.

A few of the panels were a little dry, but the day ended with a bang as I sat and listened to Dr. Cindy Christian of Children's Hospital. She is the local child abuse guru and is generally an amazing woman. I have heard about her for years, even had her testify in a case way back when I worked for the city. But seeing her in action, talking about child abuse from the medical angle and what the doctor's duties are...plus the incredibly graphic slides of some of her more extreme cases...well, let's just say that I walked home from Penn on a beautiful, sunny evening, put on the U2, and had a good hard cry.

Yeah, it's hard. But you know what? I'm really proud of what I do, and to be in the same community as all of the generally kick-ass folks who are hanging out at Penn over these two days.