April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This month and throughout the year, Pike County Children and Youth Services encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making Pike County a better place for children and families. By ensuring that parents have the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to care for their children, we can help prevent child abuse and neglect by creating strong and thriving children, youth, and families in our communities. Research shows that protective factors are present in healthy families. Protective factors are conditions or attributes of individuals, families, communities, or the larger society that mitigate risk and promote healthy development and wellbeing. Promoting the following protective factors is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect:
- Nurturing and attachment, Knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development
- Parental resilience and Social connections
- Concrete supports for parents and Social and emotional competence of children
April is a time to celebrate the important role that communities play in protecting children and strengthening families. Everyone’s participation is critical. Focusing on ways to connect with families is the best thing our community can do to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect.
In support of these efforts, the Children’s Bureau, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with its information service, Child Welfare Information Gateway, the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, the FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention, and over 30 national prevention partners, has created the 2019/2020 Prevention Resource Guide: Strong and Thriving Families. The Resource Guide, designed for service providers who work throughout the community to support families, is available online at:
https://childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/preventionmonth/resources/resource-guide/
For more information about child abuse, prevention programs please contact Pike County Children & Youth Services at 570-296-3446.