Article archive / June 1, 2014
Originally published: . Volume 5, No. 10. Source pages: 11.
The Louisiana Coalition for Violence Prevention has added three new members to its steering committee. Industrial- Organizational psychologist Dr. Mkay Bonner, school psychologist E. Francoise Parr, and licensed clinical social worker, Carmen Weisner, have joined to help the group with its goals.
The Coalition is working to promote safety in Louisiana by strengthening early identification of those at risk of interpersonal violence. The group includes members of the psychology and behavioral health community, a cross section of leaders from school psychology, counseling, psychology and social work.
Dr. Mkay Bonner is a licensed psychologist with a specialty in Industrial Organizational Psychology. She owns an IO Consulting firm, Bonner Solutions & Services, APC, in northern Louisiana which focuses on hiring, training, and organizational consulting. Her expertise includes extensive work with police, fire, and public safety agencies as well as training for CPAs, human resources professionals, and other business groups. She is the Co- Coordinator for the Northeast Delta Crisis Intervention Team. And, she is an Assistant Professor in Criminal Justice at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
Francoise Parr is a school psychologist who has served children and adolescents in the St. Tammany Parish Public Schools for the past 9 years with a special interest in the assessment and behavior management of preschoolers. She is currently Past-President of the Louisiana School Psychological Association, a member of the National Association of School Psychologists, and on a Task Force aimed at seeking licensure for specialist level school psychologists. As a CASA, coordinator of a mission trip to Moore, OK to assist tornado victims, and a volunteer at a local food bank, Francoise has been active in community outreach for the past 20 years.
Carmen D. Weisner, LCSW, ACSW is the Executive Director of the National Association of Social Work, Louisiana Chapter (NASWLC) She has been a credentialed social worker for 40 years. Prior to her employment with the NASWLC she was a career civil servant with and expertise in child welfare. During Governor Mike Foster’s administration, she was appointed to serve as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Community Services (public child welfare agency), Department of Social Services.
The Coalition has been working with LaTech to develop training systems that are scientifically designed to help those in the behavioral health community to identify those at risk of interpersonal violence.
“Proper risk assessment is analogous to CPR training,” Dr. John Simoneaux, steering member, told the Times, “and should be a basic skill held by virtually all behavioral science professionals and many laypersons.”
“Our simple, straightforward idea,” he said, “is based on the hypothesis that we can reduce violence if we can increase early detection.”
The concept that mental health professionals can help reduce violence if they are better able to identify the risk factors and determine the correct next step stems from ideas voiced by several national experts who commented after the Sandy Hook tragedy, that there was no effective mental health system in operation.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.