National Child Abuse Prevention Month (April 2013)

April was first declared Child Abuse Prevention Month by presidential proclamation in 1983. Since then, April has been a time to acknowledge the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse.  In Child Maltreatment 2011 [1] (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families [2], Administration on Children, Youth and Families [3], Children's Bureau [4]) it was reported that in FFY 2011 in the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, an estimated 676,596 children were victims of child abuse; and 1,545 children died as a result of abuse or neglect. The majority of child abuse cases stemmed from situations and conditions that can be preventable when community programs and systems are engaged and supportive. A community that cares about early childhood development, parental support, and maternal mental health, for instance, is more likely to foster nurturing families and healthy children.

A body of research has identified factors known to prevent and reduce child abuse and neglect. These factors—including parental resilience, nurturing and attachment, social connections, knowledge about parenting and child development, social and emotional competence of children, and concrete supports for parents—are outlined in Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action 2013 Resource Guide [5], also developed by the Children's Bureau.

In recognition of the collaborations needed to help prevent child abuse and neglect, the NCTSN has compiled a list of resources for advocates and policy makers, children and adolescents, educators, families and communities, and mental health and child welfare professionals.

Page Contents

• Featured NCTSN Products
• For Advocates and Policy Makers
• For Children and Adolescents
• For Educators
• For Families and Communities
• For Mental Health and Child Welfare Professionals

Featured NCTSN Products

Caring for Kids: What Parents Need to Know about Sexual Abuse [6](2009) (PDF) [7]
Provides information on supporting children who have been abused. Includes resources for parents and teens about acquaintance rape, and tools to help youth reduce their risk for abuse. An accompanying presentation (Caring for Kids: What Parents Need to Know about Sexual Abuse—An NCTSN Webinar) is also available through NCTSN's Learning Center for Child and Adolescent Trauma. [8]

Caring for Kids: What Parents Need to Know about Sexual Abuse [9] (2012) (PDF) [7]

Child Physical Abuse Fact Sheet [10] (2009) (PDF) [7]
Explains the prevalence and consequences of child physical abuse; offers guidance on how to recognize and help children who are being physically abused.

Physical Punishment: What Parents Should Know [11] (2009) (PDF) [7]
Provides facts on the negative impact of physical punishment and effective alternatives to physically disciplining children.

Raising Well-Behaved Kids: What Parents Should Know [12] (2009) (PDF) [7]
Offers positive, proven techniques for changing problem behaviors in children, and for setting the tone for a peaceful and happy home.
[13]

Child Sexual Abuse Fact Sheet for Parents, Teachers, and Other Caregivers [14] (2007) (PDF) [7]
Debunks some common myths about child sexual abuse, provides suggestions for how to respond to abuse disclosure, and offers tips to help protect children from sexual abuse.

Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit [13](2008) (PDF) [7]
Designed for professionals working with children in the child welfare system who have experienced traumatic stress. Provides basic information; teaches skills and values; and provides suggestions for how to support children's safety, permanency, and well-being. Includes case analyses and corresponding interventions tailored for these children and their biological and resource (foster) families.

NCTSN Child Physical Abuse Speaker Series
[15]A series of presentations by many of the top experts in the field. Topics include engagement strategies, assessment, cultural and systems issues, and evidence-based interventions for families in which there has been known or suspected child physical abuse. Sponsored by NCTSN’s Physical Abuse Collaborative Group.

Questions & Answers About Child Physical Abuse [16](2008) (PDF) [7]
Answers from David Kolko, PhD, a Network member and child physical abuse expert, to questions commonly asked about child physical abuse.

What You Expect from Treatment: Building Strong Parent-Child Relationships [17] (2012) (PDF) [7]
Guilt, blame, and shame are natural reactions to family conflict and aggression, but these responses are not productive. This fact sheet focuses on helping families find constructive approaches to reducing family conflict focus on building stronger relationships between parents and their children.

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For Advocates and Policy Makers

Administration for Children & Families [3]
Children's Bureau [18]

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For Children and Adolescents

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For Educators

Child Welfare Information Gateway [33]
“Connects child welfare and related professionals to comprehensive information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families.”

• The Role of Educators in Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse and Neglect [34] (2003) (PDF)
  A manual for teachers, school counselors, school social workers, school nurses, special education professionals, administrators, and other school personnel. Focuses on skills and programs that help educators recognize and report child maltreatment to prevent abuse and neglect from occurring, continuing, or recurring.

A national nonprofit that helps abused, neglected, and at-risk children. Focuses on advocacy, prevention, treatment, and community outreach.

• Speak Up Be Safe [35]
  A new school-based child abuse prevention education program (formerly Good Touch Bad Touch) that focuses on child safety. The program is research based, and culturally and developmentally appropriate.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) [36]

• Supporting Teachers, Strengthening Families [37]
  An initiative for early childhood educators to assist them in preventing child abuse and neglect, and in promoting children's healthy social and emotional development. Focuses on activities that promote and support family-strengthening strategies that can be used in early childhood programs and by individual professionals.
• Early Childhood Educators and Child Abuse Prevention: Perspective, Findings, Actions [38] (2003) (PDF)
  A report that summarizes national research by the NAEYC on early childhood educators' attitudes about their roles in preventing and reporting child abuse and neglect.

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For Families and Communities

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [39]
Child Development [40]

• Positive Parenting Tips [41]
  Guides discuss developmental milestones, and offer tips on positive parenting (for ages 0–17) and on keeping children safe. Information includes identification of specific conditions, data and statistics, research, free materials, multimedia and tools, and links to other websites. Available in English and Spanish.

Child Welfare Information Gateway [33]
“Connects child welfare and related professionals to comprehensive information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families.”

• Child Abuse and Neglect: General Information Packet [42](2008) (PDF)
  Fact sheets on child maltreatment and the services available from the Child Welfare Information Gateway. Information includes definitions of maltreatment, child abuse, and neglect prevention; and statistics on the prevalence of child abuse and neglect, and on the characteristics of victims and offenders. Provides links to directories listing hotlines, federal clearinghouses, state agencies, and other organizations that disseminate information about family and domestic violence and substance abuse.
        >En Español [El abuso y la negligencia de menores: Paquete de información general] [43] (2008) (PDF)

A national nonprofit that helps abused, neglected and at-risk children. Focuses on advocacy, prevention, treatment, and community outreach.

• Help for Parents [44]
  Offers access to the National Child Abuse Hotline for parents of children who are being abused. Trained counselors are available 24/7, with communication in 140 languages through translators. All calls are anonymous and toll-free: 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). Also offers resources on parenting including dealing with difficult behavior, setting limits, using time-out effectively, and safety.
• About Child Abuse [45]
  Describes child abuse and the four major forms: physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and emotional abuse. Offers advice on identifying child abuse, dealing with the aftereffects, resources for help, reporting child abuse, and much more.
• Parenting and Adult Survivor/Self-Help Reading List [46]
  Includes a list of books on parenting, and on adult survivors and self-help; a link to a 29-page list of books on abuse prevention and abuse aftermath; and a link to websites on child abuse and effective parenting.

Circle of Parents [47]

• Parent Resources: Tip Sheets [48]
  Guides that offer advice on how to deal with many issues parents face including tantrums, discipline, defiance, lying, schoolwork, time-out, and sibling rivalry. Available in English and Spanish.

Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America) [49]
An organization that works to prevent the abuse and neglect of our nation's children by building awareness, providing education, and inspiring hope to everyone involved in the effort.

• What You Can Do: Reach Out [50]
  Offers advice on how to support kids and parents to help reduce the stress that can lead to abuse and neglect.
• What You Can Do: Raise the Issue [51]
  Offers tips on how people can educate themselves and others to help their community prevent child abuse and neglect from happening.
• What You Can Do: Remember the Risk Factors [52]
  Identifies risk factors that can contribute to child abuse and neglect. Offers links to other valuable resources: An Approach to Preventing Child Abuse, The Relationship Between Parental Alcohol or Other Drug Problems and Child Maltreatment, Families and the Workplace, Twelve Alternatives to Lashing Out at Your Child, and Maltreatment of Children With Disabilities.

The Shaken Baby Alliance [53]
An agency that collaborates with community agencies and professionals to: (1) provide support for victim families of shaken baby syndrome (SBS), (2) advocate for justice for SBS victims, and (3) increase awareness of the problem.

Child Welfare League of America [54]
A coalition of hundreds of private and public agencies that serve vulnerable children and families. Offers expertise, leadership and innovation on policies, programs, and practices to help improve the lives of millions of children nationwide. Our impact is felt worldwide.”

• Ten Things You Can Do for Child Abuse Prevention Month [55]
  Provides suggestions for activities to support child abuse prevention.

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For Mental Health and Child Welfare Professionals

American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children
[56]A nonprofit national organization that supports professionals who serve children and families affected by child maltreatment and violence.

Child Welfare Information Gateway [33]
“Connects child welfare and related professionals to comprehensive information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families.”

• Emerging Practices in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect [57] (2003) (PDF)
  A study that identifies best practices in the field of child abuse prevention. Provides an overview of child abuse prevention; describes twenty-two programs deemed effective, innovative, or noteworthy.
• Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action 2013 Resource Guide [5] (PDF)
  Designed to support service providers in their work with parents, caregivers, and children to strengthen families and to prevent child abuse and neglect. Focuses on “six important factors that have been shown to protect children from the risk of abuse and neglect. Information about these protective factors is augmented with tools and strategies for integrating these factors into existing community programs and systems.”

A national nonprofit that helps abused, neglected, and at-risk children. Focuses on advocacy, prevention, treatment, and community outreach.

• Help for Professionals [58]
  Offers access to the National Child Abuse Hotline for professionals working with children who are being abused. Trained professional counselors are available 24/7, with communication in 140 languages through translators. All calls are anonymous and toll-free: 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). Callers can discuss signs and symptoms of abuse, get help on deciding a course of action to take when abuse is suspected, learn what to expect when reporting child abuse, and access contact information for local reporting agencies.

FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention [22]
“Provides training and technical assistance to Federally funded CBCAP Programs . . . serves as a resource to those programs and to the rest of the Child Abuse Prevention community.”

• Home Visiting Programs: A Brief Overview of Selected Models [59] (2010) (PDF)
  Outlines selected home visiting programs that are funded by state Community-Based Grants for Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention programs.

Healthy Families America [60]

• Measurement Tools for Use in Evaluating Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Programs [61] (2005) (PDF)
  Links to web-based resources that provide access to psychological tests and measures for individuals, and to organizational evaluation tools.

National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center [62]
A division of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina. Works on “achieving a better understanding of the impact of criminal victimization on adults, children, and their families.”

• Child Physical and Sexual Abuse: Guidelines for Treatment [63] (2004) (PDF)
  Provides guidelines developed by a national advisory committee of clinicians, researchers, educators, and administrators on evidence-based practices for treating children who are survivors of physical and sexual abuse. Includes a discussion of child-focused, parent-child, and family interventions; addresses treatments for offenders. Treatment of offenders is also addressed.

Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America) [49]
An organization that works to prevent the abuse and neglect of our nation's children by building awareness, providing education, and inspiring hope to everyone involved in the effort.

• Emotional Child Abuse Fact Sheet [64] (PDF)
  Defines emotional child abuse; discusses how it is identified, why it happens, and its consequences; describes potential perpetrators, victim assistance measures, and prevention efforts.
• Preventing Child Emotional Abuse: Position Statement [65](2010) (PDF)
  Defines emotional abuse. Discusses PCA America’s work on advocating for raising public awareness; increasing the availability of mental health services; and promoting research, training, and public education on the topic. Presents statistics on the consequences.

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