The Children’s Bureau hosted a webinar on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, to introduce the 2021/2022 Prevention Resource Guide. The guide shows how the most important thing we can do is support families in ways that build upon their strengths and enable them to care for their children safely before maltreatment is even a possibility. When we commit to partnering with families to help them access resources that focus on child and family well-being, they are better able to cope with stress, mitigate risks before formal child welfare intervention is needed, and realize their full potential. These values are reflected in the theme of the 22nd National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect and this accompanying Resource Guide: “Thriving Children and Families: Prevention With Purpose.”
Angie Guinn, a Behavioral Scientist in the Division of Violence Prevention at the CDC, shared about the federal focus of the guide, CDC Essentials for Childhood framework. This framework outlines strategies to help create a society in which every child can thrive. Changing norms and policies are two parts of the Essentials for Childhood framework. The full framework has four goals and suggests evidence-based strategies to achieve each goal.
Rahil Briggs, PsyD., is the National Director of HealthySteps, a Zero to Three program. Dr. Briggs shared about how Healthy Steps is an evidence-based, team-based pediatric primary care program that has been shown to promote positive discipline among parents of infants and toddlers, with an emphasis on families living in low-income communities. In participating pediatric practices, children ages birth to 3 and their families receive a set of screenings and follow-up visits for a wide range of issues, including autism, maternal depression, and social determinants of health. HealthySteps specialists connect with and guide families during and between well-child visits. More about HealthySteps and how to implement this program is included in the Resource Guide.
The 2021/2022 guide recognizes that there are actions we can take at all levels of society, within community systems, and in our organizations, as well as with individual families to address the root causes of maltreatment and provide meaningful support. The guide also seeks to highlight the innovative ways that communities are already doing purposeful prevention work to help children and families thrive.
Access the complete 2021/2022 Prevention Resource Guide here.
