Dr. Block works to educate and spread awareness about academic research related to violence and abuse.   He is an Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics and Immediate Past Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine in Tulsa.

View Dr. Block’s PowerPoint from Opening Plenary – April 2, 2013

(L to R) Mary Ann Becker, Wayne Becker, Dent Co. Sheriff Rick Stallings

The Children’s Trust Fund (CTF) presented the 2013 Richard P. Easter Award to  Special Investigator Wayne H. Becker of the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at a ceremony in Salem on April 26.  The award was presented for his exemplary efforts in protecting children in Missouri.

Special Investigator Becker has been with the Dent County Sheriff’s Office for nearly nine years. He was previously awarded the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Grant, which assists state and local law enforcement agencies and individuals with specialized training and equipment to develop an effective response to cyber enticement, child pornography cases and other crimes against children. Becker is responsible for the south central region of Missouri consisting of Dent, Phelps, Pulaski, Texas, Shannon, Reynolds, Iron, Washington and Crawford counties.

The CTF Board of Directors established this award in honor of the late Richard P. Easter, former Director of the State Technical Assistance Team (STAT), who is remembered for his commitment and leadership in promoting statewide prevention efforts to better protect Missouri’s children. Since 2000, CTF has presented the award each year to a distinguished law enforcement officer in Missouri for exemplary contributions to the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

CTF Executive Director Kirk Schreiber, CTF Public Affair’s Coordinator Paula Cunningham, and STAT Investigations Manager Emerson ‘Skip’ McGuire presented the award to Becker before his family, fellow officers, peers and colleagues during the surprise appreciation ceremony.

Listen to Podcast 4/3/2013

Learn more at Most of Us.Org and Montana Institute

Opening Plenary ppt, Robert Block, M.D. – 4-2-2013

Bringing the Protective Factors Framework to Life In Your Work ppt, Martha Reeder, D.A., 4-2-2013

School-Based Prevention Education ppt, Ellen Teller, 4-2-2013

Impact of Trauma on Brain Development ppt, Patsy Carter, Ph.D. 4-3-2013

Integral Family Support ppt, Gary Johnson, M.Ed. 4-3-2013

Co-Occurrence of Domestic Violence & Child Abuse ppt, Jeanne Oberdan, 4-3-2013

Positive Parenting Skills For Fathers ppt, Halbert Sullivan, Destini Goodwin, 4-3-2013

Strengthening Couple Relationships ppt, David Schramm, Ph.D. 4-3-2013

Reactive Attachment Disorder ppt, Patsy Carter, Ph.D., 4-4-2013

Integrating Child Sexual Abuse Prevention into Your Community ppt, Nancy Corley, Marissa Gunther, 4-4-2013

Here’s a sample of what the study discovered:

• In all but one state, at least one local or statewide business organization took public action in the past five years to support investments in early childhood.
• A sizable majority of state chambers and business roundtables, along with nearly half of large city chambers, reported taking some form of action.
• Business organizations championed early childhood investments in a variety of ways: making it part of their policy agenda, drafting media pieces, giving legislative testimony, and supporting specific early childhood programs.
• While early education and pre-kindergarten were the most commonly supported early childhood topics, business organizations are also supporting a broader agenda, including home visiting, health and child care.
• Most business organizations surveyed framed their early childhood work as support for education, but a large number used the frame of economic or workforce development.

Read the full summary here.

The resource provides information on measures of child well-being covering areas such as health, education, financial security, juvenile justice and child protection.   Data for the report is compiled from more than 80 federal, state, county and municipal sources by OSEDA.  Primary funding for the project is provided by Annie E. Casey and the Children’s Trust Fund.

1. Parental Resilience;
2. Social Connections;
3. Concrete Support in Times of Need;
4. Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development; and
5. Social and Emotional Competence of Children.

The first project included in this effort was the Small Steps, Big Footprints Mailing, which included several specific, easy-to-implement strategies from the Strengthening Families™ Initiative Self-Assessment for each Protective Factor. This information was sent to child care programs across Missouri to provide a quick reference list of ideas on how to reinforce each Protective Factor when working with families.  We spoke with Beth Ann Lang, Chief of Quality Improvement & T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI Scholarship, with Child Care Aware® of Missouri.  She told us why utilizing the Strengthening Families™ Framework is so important.

AUDIO: Beth Ann Lang on the benefits of the Strengthening Families Framework

The second project was the creation of a college curriculum based on the Strengthening Families™ Framework called Teaching Students to Empower Families. The curriculum was successfully piloted by over 60% of all Missouri-based, community colleges with early childhood degree programs. Now available to all two-year community colleges, it  is expected to be expanded to four-year colleges and other community based programs. The project created a curriculum based on short, specific lessons followed by activities and extended service learning opportunities. Lang says a major focus of the project was making it useful for students and user friendly for instructors.

AUDIO: Beth Ann Lang on the curriculum

The third element was the delivery of the Zero to Three® Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect (PCAN) Training Curriuculum followed by on-site Technical Assistance.  The curriculum includes SFFProtective Factors and addresses ways that child care providers can support the families whose children attend their program/center.  Through the CTF/Child Care Aware® of Missouri partnership, Child Care Aware® of Missouri delivered 48 3-hour sessions of the PCAN training followed by 296 hours of one-on-one site visits to assist 107 child care staff in directly applying what they learned.

Contained within all of these projects is the mission to enhance a child care provider’s resources by helping them understand what they’re doing well and how they can better support the children in their lives.

AUDIO: Beth Ann Lang on building on the positive

In addition to building projects that support the SFF, Lang says it’s important to have the support of organizations that are willing to promote the information that comes from the Framework.  Without such support a wonderful tool is in danger of being neglected itself.

AUDIO: Beth Ann Lang on the role CTF plays

NOTE: The Protective Factors now include a sixth factor, Nurturing & Attachment, which is utilized in some applications of the framework.

AUDIO: How the framework formed

The booklet includes valuable information about the six protective factors that help reduce the risk of child maltreatment, strategies for engaging communities to support families, information about child abuse – risk factors, why it occurs, identifying and reporting maltreatment and supporting parents and children with a history of trauma.   Tip sheets for parents and caregivers are included in English and Spanish as well as a calendar of suggested activities to assist communities with child abuse prevention month planning.  The protective factors help lay the foundation for prevention by helping parents build resiliency and social connections, providing concrete support and resources, and providing parents with knowledge of parenting including the importance of nurturing, attachment and appropriate developmental ages and stages.

Organizations, volunteers, and child advocates are encouraged to use this resource guide in their community throughout the year to promote healthy families and educate others about the cost-saving benefits and positive economic impact of prevention.