Community Resource Sharing Newsletter

Roberta Miksch, CFP Director

Shift Happens

Shifting to Mandatory Supporting

Most of us are familiar with ‘Mandatory Reporting.’ There is 100% a place for mandatory reporting, let me be clear about that.

By the time we get to reporting, it is not prevention. It is intervention. It is intervening after something has already happened. How do we get on the front end of our prevention work?

Child abuse & neglect can be prevented when we work together to change the conditions that lead to child neglect and abuse. It is about several factors that cause

overwhelm or overload in families. When parents do not have access to support or resources or they are dealing with too many factors at one time, it is easy to see how

this may lead to overwhelm which then could lead to abuse and neglect.

Here's where shift could happen.

What if we shifted our mindset? What if when we hear or say ‘Mandatory Reporting’ we

immediately follow it up with ‘Mandatory Supporting’ our families?

As a society we are concerned about kids. Do we, as a society, know what prevention is

and what it looks like? Do people know that prevention is supporting families to meet

their needs? Do people see themselves in prevention? Do you see yourself in

prevention?

Most of us know how to report through the Child Protective Services hotline. Do we

know how to support families?

Over the course of the next several months, we will provide ideas of how each of us can

support families. They are not hard! They may mean we need to shift out of our comfort

zone a bit. It may be saying a few positive words to a struggling parent…’I remember

when mine was that age, you’re doing a good job mama.’ Prevention is about building a

culture of support.

Culture happens in everyday moments. We are the creators of our culture. And even

though we are professionals working in our communities, let us not forget that we are

also people. Living in communities. Let us not forget that our everyday actions, even if it

is smiling at a mom whose child is throwing a tantrum in the store, are prevention.

Shift with me.

More to come.

Bellyni Maldonado, Bilingual Community Prevention Coach

Community Prevention

In recent months, I have been actively engaged in training Keydy, our new bilingual

coach, and Libby, our Industry Navigator.

Training Keydy as a family coach has been a rewarding experience, as I continue to coach families while mentoring her. It is gratifying to demonstrate to Keydy the significant impact of our work of guiding families through education, resource connections, goal setting, and, most importantly, empowering them.

Libby is currently undergoing training to become an Industry Navigator, during which she is acquiring knowledge about available resources and developing her professional capabilities in this role which encompasses providing and support while facilitating connections to essential resources. Libby's contributions to the industries will enhance accessibility for individuals who cannot engage during traditional office hours.

I would like to express my gratitude to our Community Prevention team for their invaluable support. Our team demonstrates exceptional collaboration, and I appreciate the support I receive in my role. Together, we achieve remarkable results! I am excited to see Keydy and Libby grow into their roles.