April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and the Child Welfare Information Gateway in conjunction with the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect and the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) is offering free copies of their 2013 Resource Guide Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action. The resource guide is developed for service providers and others who work to promote healthy families and prevent child abuse and neglect. The Missouri Children’s Trust Fund (CTF) as the state CBCAP lead agency provides copies to each of their community prevention grant partners. Participants at the 2013 CTF Prevention Conference on Child Abuse/Neglect also received a copy.
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.
