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Highlight
Sue Smith, the Prevention Administrator for the Department of Child Safety, played a critical role in bringing this training opportunity to Arizona child well-being sector professionals (at no cost to them!) by applying for federal grant funding. The course typically costs $2,200 per professional. Smith explains, "I have been wanting to do this for quite some time because I believe the protective factors strengthen families to help them thrive, and not just survive.” Smith also became certified at the training.
After completing the training, each newly certified trainer is required to provide at least three trainings to family-serving professionals, parents, and community members before the end of 2021. Click here to read about one new trainer's plan to bring Protective Factors to families of children with disabilities.
To request a Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors training for your organization, school, neighborhood, or friends, please contact Molly Peterson at [email protected].
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Impact Story
New SHIFT Initiative Creates Prenatal Support Systems for Expectant Mothers with Substance Use Disorder
What if we could reduce the incidence of substance-exposed newborns, foster care costs and rates, NICU expenses, and long-term medical and special education costs? We can. The SHIFT (Safe, Healthy Infants, Families Thrive) Taskforce, built through the National Quality Improvement Center for Collaborative Community Court Teams, aims to provide comprehensive support to pregnant families identified as at risk of substance use disorder. SHIFT uses community collaboration to build systems of care that:
• Ensure early identification of infants with prenatal substance exposure
• Reduce time to service engagement for parents and infants
• Increase cross-systems coordination and collaboration
• Decrease the overall trauma exposure for the impacted family
First piloted in Maricopa County, the second pilot in Yavapai County is gaining momentum as community providers and the Department of Child Safety form a prenatal care network.
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Advocacy
Urgent Action Against HB 2703
Prevent Child Abuse Arizona urges you to contact your state house representative and ask them to vote NO on HB 2703. HB 2703 seeks to develop online pre-school, which is developmentally inappropriate.
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Today in Prevention
The 2020 Child Abuse Prevention Conference was unprecedented in several ways, including the remarkable workshop proposals we received from presenters – more than we could manage to squeeze into a virtual conference! So we are continuing the learning opportunities by offering monthly webinars to you FREE through June. Every Third Thursday, we will be hosting one of the top workshops we wanted to feature at the 2020 conference but could not due to schedule limits. To register, follow the link below.
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Image from the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution |
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Carter G. Woodson: A Lesson on Personal Resilience
by Thomas Claiborn IV, Parent Advisory Council Member
In February of 1926, a man by the name of Carter Godwin Woodson launched a celebration of "Negro History Week," now known as Black History Month. Woodson was born December 19, 1875, in Canton, Virginia, and passed away on April 3, 1950. I want to reflect on his life and see if we can pick up some personal resilience tips.
He was the son of former slaves Anne Eliza (Riddle) and James Henry Woodson. His parents were both illiterate and his father, who had helped the Union soldiers during the Civil War, supported the family as a carpenter and farmer. The Woodson family was impoverished but proud. The happiest day of their lives was when they became free. Carter was often unable to attend primary school regularly because he needed to help out on the farm. Furthermore, he had to put off additional schooling while he worked in the coal mines of West Virginia (talk about ACEs!).
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Edward Casillas of Tucson reached a pivotal moment in his life when he and his two children entered the child welfare system. To help his children return to their father, Edward attended a parent support group. Edward was surprised by the scarce number of fathers in the group, which opened his eyes to the opportunity to support fathers on a similar path. Today, his most important role is as the proud father of his son and daughter. He continues to support families through his job at the Family Involvement Center. "I just want children and families to have the best shot they can at living a productive, happy life," shares Edward. Edward is also a recently certified Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors trainer, graduating from the group highlighted at the beginning of this newsletter.
Congratulations, Edward!
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Strong Families, Happy Kids
Last newsletter, we shared the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s report on Community Conditions that strengthen families. This report described community-level work as “creating positive change for a community as a whole, which might include policies, programs, public messaging, infrastructure, or concrete supports for families.” Prescott Woman Magazine models this through their public messaging around creating strong families. Every quarter, Prescott Woman magazine features an article relevant to supporting parents and families, informed by Prevent Child Abuse Arizona and authored by Hillary Dartt. Thank you, Prescott Woman Magazine, for creating positive messaging to support Yavapai families!
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Fundraising
Every year, Prevent Child Abuse Arizona celebrates happy, healthy childhoods and strong families during Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. We are eagerly preparing for this year, and so can you! Did you know that the blue pinwheel is the national symbol of happy, healthy childhoods? Promote joyful childhoods by showcasing the blue pinwheel in your home or business! When you purchase pinwheels from our store, 100% of the proceeds go to strengthening families in Arizona – in addition to spreading the message of prevention!
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Director's Corner
Creating a New World
By Claire Louge, Executive Director
If you work to prevent child abuse, you’ve probably had this thought:
There’s just SO MUCH that needs to be done.
It’s true. And what’s also true is that no single one of us can do it all. Because of that, you may have also asked yourself, “How do I pick what to do so I can make the most positive impact?” I’ve been reflecting on this question since the new year.
That’s a lot to change, but we can do it. And there’s never been a better time to do so.
This year and beyond, Prevent Child Abuse Arizona is shifting our direction even more towards primary prevention, and specifically on changing one big condition that affects child abuse and neglect: the way our society views struggling parents.
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As a 501(c)3 organization, Prevent Child Abuse Arizona is eligible to receive bequests. Please contact Rebekah Prieto at [email protected] if you would like to discuss including
Prevent Child Abuse Arizona in your legacy.
Tax ID #86-0832901
Prevent Child Abuse Arizona can only accept donations from individuals, businesses, and foundations located in the State of Arizona.
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Prevent Child Abuse Arizona is shifting the public conversation about child maltreatment so that prevention is the priority. The organization provides research-based prevention services, education and training to help promote strong families and safe, healthy children. For more information, visit pcaaz.org. |
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