Nearly 400 school social workers and psychologists attended the ninth annual Clinical Professional Development for the Social Workers and Psychologists Chapter at UFT headquarters on Feb. 9. “The goal is to have a professional development day that addresses the clinical issues we deal with in the schools,” said Chapter Leader Vanessa Pressley. The event had been postponed from an earlier date, and Pressley said she was gratified by the turnout. The morning session dealt with attention deficit disorder, and the afternoon was devoted to a presentation on human trafficking that ensnares young people in prostitution and other illegal activities. Some of the students disappear, but others return to school to recruit other students. “There’s concern about children being solicited, and we’d like to be able to identify them and help them,” Pressley said. Attendees learned about the profile of the teens most at risk of being lured by traffickers. “Typically it is a child who is disassociated from family, having a hard time with them, and who is at risk of running away or being thrown out of the house by the family,” Pressley said. Among the data points discussed: a teen out on the street alone after leaving home is usually solicited within 48 hours by a predator.