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July/August 2013Vol. 14, No. 6Community-Based Prevention With Communities NOW

Communities NOW is a community-based approach rooted in the idea that everyone can work to prevent child abuse and neglect. The program is focused on educating and empowering community members, not just those who are formally involved with the child welfare system, and providing them with the basic skills and techniques to act. In fact, training in the Communities NOW approach helps participants feel more confident in their ability to intervene with struggling families in their community.

Formerly the Front Porch Project at the American Humane Association, Communities NOW is housed at the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver School of Social Work. The goal of Communities NOW is to effect large-scale system change through broad community leadership and provide training and technical assistance to organizations implementing the intervention program. Currently, the program funds several projects around the country, including Florida's Devereux Kids, the Parent Child Center of Tulsa and the Family Support and Prevention Service in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance, and the Geminus Corporation in Indiana.

More information on Communities NOW, its project sites, and how your community can get involved is available on the Communities NOW website:

http://www.thebutlerinstitute.org/communitiesnow/