A first-of-its-kind conference was held last week in the Valley about the welfare of children and young people. The conference drew agencies from here and the city of Pittsburgh.

The Moms and Cops Conference has been around for about nine years, but this was the first time it was held in the Alle-Kiski Valley. We gathered at Harmarville Health South, under the sponsorship of the Alle-Kiski Hope Center.

More than 100 people attended, representing Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, FBI's Adopt-a-School program, Allegheny County's Department of Human Services, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, the Parental Stress Center, Attorney General's office and the Center for Victims of Violence and Crime.

Some of the local representatives were from the Allegheny Valley School District, Burrell School District, Parentwise, The Eden Center, Westmoreland County BARJ (Balanced and Restorative Justice in the probation office), Tri-City Life, Tarentum and Harrison police and Penn State Extension. Most of those in attendance were women, so a good number were probably mothers as well.

Some of the topics were: Children and Infant Mortality, The Realities of Child Abuse, The Impact of Trauma on Children, Family Violence and its Effect on the Community, Legal Advocacy, Cool Kids Make Cool Choices and The Risks of Youth.

It seems that there was something shared by just about everyone there. Knowing the causes of infant mortality and that the U.S. is ranked 27th in the world was a bit alarming. Yet it was suggested that unless people act on available information, situations will not improve.

Smoking by or around an expectant mother increases the probability of birth defects, so that is something that we can work to prevent. Teaching children -- especially girls -- how to identify healthy relationships could deter them from becoming a victim of relationship violence.

When various speakers talked about the risks of youth, they covered sex, drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, and activities going on in many middle schools and high schools where students use cutting, choking, oral sex clubs, etc., to exploit each other.

She revealed that the most victimized group on the Internet is teen girls. The attendees were warned that personal information and pictures loaded on MySpace can remain there forever. Parents were told to Google their children's names to see some of the information that may be on the Internet about them.

We were told that parents should make sure that home computers are visible in high-traffic areas so that we can view what is being downloaded. Young people often use acronyms in their messages to others that they know parents are unaware of.

Speakers advised parents to get involved with their children and have discussions on a regular basis to increase overall safety for members of the family.

Another interesting subject touched upon the need to work with children of incarcerated parents. That topic is one embraced by a friend of mine in Pittsburgh and an organization he has headed up for more than five years.

It was good to see members of the health care, legal, social services and the faith-based communities coming together to make sure that those who provide services for our children are knowledgeable from more than one perspective.

It was strongly suggested by one of the Pittsburgh presenters that you cannot expect real success without including God in the middle of everything we are trying to accomplish. I would certainly agree with that.

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