TIFTON, Ga. — The Alliance for Children hosted its first regional summit Friday, Apr. 13 at Northside Baptist Church in Tifton.

The summit, which was the result of more than a year of planning, brought together representatives of various agencies and organizations from across the region that deal with child abuse.

Law enforcement from all over the region was in attendance, as were social workers, guidance counselors and attorneys.

The opening speaker was Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, and the afternoon speaker was Matthew Sandusky, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of Jerry Sandusky.

Attendees were able to attend several breakout sessions hosted by experts in different areas.

The panels discussed all different aspects of dealing with child abuse, from human trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation of children, prosecution of child abuse cases, child abuse medical exams, how witnessing domestic violence affects children, helping children deal with and heal from trauma and evaluating children medically after an incident of abuse.

Nancy Bryan from Ruth’s Cottage and The Patticake House, one of the organizers, said she wants this summit to bring together diverse agencies for a multidisciplinary approach to dealing with child abuse in the area.

She said that the “main course” of the summit was Agatston and Chandler, who spoke about building a community response to child abuse by bringing different agencies and services to work together to ensure children are protected and helped and offenders are prosecuted.

Presenters included Brian Johnston from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Andy Kogerma from the Department of Family and Children’s Services, Lalaine Briones from Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia, Dr. Adrianne Artis from Emory University, Alexia Tanner from Wholistic Therapudic Services, Judge Render Heard, Jr., Michelle White from the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Shannon Martucci from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kristy Carter from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and Andrew Agatston and Nancy Chandler from Children Advocacy Centers of Georgia.

Follow Eve Guevara on Twitter @EveGuevaraTTG.