| Los Angeles, CA. The Inter Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN) presented the second annual Frank Vicencia Champion for Children Award to two deserving recipients at the annual Nexus XVI training conference at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Los Angeles. Frank Vicencia is the founder of Vicencia & Buckley Insurance Services located in La Palma CA. The first recipient was Carissa Phelps who was kidnapped and tortured at the age of seven and was forced into child prostitution. Her story was the subject of an award winning documentary. She went on to earn a BA in mathematics at Fresno State University and graduated summa cum laude. She received her Jurist Doctorate from UCLA School of Law, and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management, and in 2010 she was named one of the top 100 inspirational graduates. She currently works and practices employment law and will publish her first book in 2012.
The second award was presented in memoriam to Hersel K. Swinger. He was a renowned clinical psychologist at the 105 year old Children’s Institute where he was a member of the executive leadership for more than 30 years. The agency is dedicated to helping children traumatized by family violence. One of his greatest accomplishments was Project Fatherhood, a program to help low income, urban fathers become engaged effective parents. He was also Director of the Southern California Child Abuse Prevention Center at CSULA, and the Regional Director for the Center of Child Abuse and Neglect.
The awards were presented by two of Frank’s children, Steve Vicencia and Michele Vicencia Jondle. “My father would be the proudest man in the world knowing that his work in child abuse prevention would result in this award being named after him,” said Steve Vicencia.
Michele Vicencia added; “this is a proud day for the entire Vicencia family and we look forward to presenting this award to other deserving individuals in years to come.”
Assemblyman Frank Vicencia established the first ever California Select Committee on Child Abuse in 1982 and held hearings for a year. As a result of these hearings, Frank discovered there were serious problems with child abuse in this state, and Frank’s committee introduced 29 bills and 22 became law. California later became a model for other states in the battle against child abuse. “Frank’s work in child abuse was historic and we will be forever grateful to him for what he has done for the children of our state,” said Deanne Tilton Durfee, executive director of ICAN.
The Nexus XVI training conference is sponsored by ICAN Associates, the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services and the California Department of Public Health. The conference is held annually and is attended by advocates and professionals representing the best in the field of child abuse and domestic violence prevention.
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