The Fifth Eastern Symposium on Building Family Stengths, a conference for professionals who work with families, will be held at the University this week.

James Van Horn, associate professor of rural sociology and chairman of the planning committee, said the symposium, entitled Celebrate the Family, is unique because it explores the strength of families.

"We don't overlook the problems that families experience, but we try to focus primarily on the strong points of families and their ability to deal with problems such as teen pregnancy, drug problems and child care," he said.

The conference, sponsored by the College of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension program, is comprised of more than 90 general sessions and workshops. Post-symposium courses for credit will be offered March 30 and 31, Van Horn said.

Hedda Bluestone Sharapan, associate producer of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, will officially begin the conference with a speech tomorrow, Van Horn said.

The symposium will also present the Elmira Mental Health Players, Irene Lee, a child and family development specialist from the University of Arkansas, and Sol Gordon, a professor emeritus of child and family studies at Syracuse University.

"This conference brings together dozens of professionals in different fields who ordinarily would not find themselves together. They are all looking at the family but in different ways," Van Horn said.

More than 500 professionals are expected to participate, he added.

"One of the benefits of the symposium is it energizes the participants. They share ideas and build networks which span across the country. There is a wealth of information being shared, and people go away feeling good about what they are doing," he said.

On Wednesday Bernard Guerney, Jr., professor of human development, and Tearesa French, academic coordinator for the College of Health and Human Development, will address the symposium on the role of family care specialists in child care services.

Guerney said family child care specialists are a newly developed idea."They are the American version of the English Nanny," he said.

Walk-in registration for the symposium will be held today and tomorrow morning in Keller Conference Center, Van Horn said.