Preventing Child Abuse

 

  April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

   Download a template Press Release to recognize the month long observance here.

 

 

Every seven minutes a child in Texas becomes a confirmed victim of child abuse.  The key to ending child abuse is prevention, and everyone - advocates, educators, service providers, parents, concerned communities - can do something to help. 

Research shows that five important factors are present in healthy families. They are: 1) Nurturing and attachment 2) Knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development, 3) Parental resilience, 4) Social connections, and 5) Concrete supports for parents. Strengthening families by ensuring that parents have the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to care for their children is one of the most effective ways to help prevent child abuse and neglect.

The following national and state resources are available to further your prevention efforts:

State Resources

It's Up to You: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect is a website developed by the Prevention and Early Intervention division of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to be a resource for parents, professionals, and communities to support child abuse prevention and public awareness efforts. The site includes parenting tips posters, articles on a variety of subjects, activity sheets for kids, and professional materials including a suggested Community Action Plan, posters, book marks, sample press releases, letter to the editor, PSA’s, a sample proclamation, etc.

National Resources

The Child Welfare League of America is a coalition of private and public agencies serving vulnerable children and families. The organization publishes State Statistical Fact Sheets with extensive references for all states, including Texas. 

The Child Welfare Information Gateway, a service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. In addition to offering email alerts with updates on new research contributions to the child welfare field, the Gateway also offers a Strengthening Families and Communities 2009 Resource Guide. The guide provides tools and strategies for integrating the five protective factors into existing community programs and systems and includes examples of evidence-informed prevention strategies, talking points, suggestions for working effectively with community partners, tip sheets to share with families, sample press releases and more.