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April 2010Vol. 11, No. 3April Is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

"Strengthening Families and Communities" is the ongoing theme for National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The theme conveys the message that service providers and concerned individuals can help families and communities identify their strengths and build on those strengths to provide a safe, loving environment for their children.

Strengthening Families and Communities: 2010 Resource Guide is a free resource that supports service providers who work with parents, other caregivers, and their children. The guide highlights strategies to strengthen families by promoting five key protective factors that prevent child abuse and neglect:

  • Nurturing and attachment
  • Knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development
  • Parental resilience
  • Social connections
  • Concrete supports for parents

This year's guide also includes additional resources for working with families and communities, including:

  • New information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the "Safe, Stable and Nurturing Relationships Strategies"
  • A revision of the "levers" for effecting broad-based community change
  • Evidence-based strategies to strengthen families
  • Tools to help build community awareness and support the development of community partnerships with specific groups
  • A sample press release and public service announcements
  • Tip sheets to share with parents and caregivers

The guide was developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, its Child Welfare Information Gateway, the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention, and numerous national organizations and parents.

View or order the free resource guide on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website:
www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/res_guide_2010

Just in time for National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Child Welfare Information Gateway has enhanced the selection of child abuse prevention resources on its website to support child welfare and related professionals this month and throughout the year. Enhancements to the website include:

  • An Activities Calendar that promotes the protective factors and highlights 30 ways to strengthen families during National Child Abuse Prevention Month: www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/preventionmonth/calendar_eng.cfm
  • Updated resources throughout the Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect section, including new webpages on early childhood and child care services and evaluating prevention programs
  • A new look for the National Child Abuse Prevention Month website
  • A 30-second multimedia animation for marketing outreach that was launched last year in April to promote online prevention resources

Visit the Child Welfare Information Gateway website to find these resources and more:
www.childwelfare.gov/preventing

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