This National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Practice Prevention With Purpose

 

 

This April, I invite you to participate in the National Child Abuse Prevention Month campaign.

We work all year to protect children and families and ensure their well-being, but this month, we can use this extra attention to move away from simply calling for awareness and redirect the focus to active change.

This year’s theme, “Thriving Children and Families: Prevention With Purpose,” shows the Children’s Bureau’s commitment to changing the conversation from one of raising awareness to purposeful action to prevent maltreatment by treating the root causes.

By providing all families with equal opportunity and access to the supports they need—and showing that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness—we can help improve the safety and well-being of children and youth across the country.

 

Read more about the actions we can take at all levels of society in the new Prevention Resource Guide, and use the new conversation guides to help families develop a plan for putting protective factors into practice in their daily lives.

 

 

Help spread the word in your community by using the sample social media posts and free graphics and use the hashtag #ChildAbusePreventionMonth to follow and share important resources all month.

To access past Resource Guide resources and tools, visit the Protective Factors Toolkit, which includes tip sheets, in both English and Spanish, designed to provide quick and easy-to-understand information to support families, as well as the “Protective Factors In Practice”  vignettes, which can be used as a training tool to help identify what protective factors may look like in diverse families.

Thank you for planning to support this year’s National Child Abuse Prevention Month and for your dedication to protecting and serving children and families all year round, so they can reach their full potential and thrive.

Through the continued dedication of child welfare, legal, and other related professionals, we can make the change from awareness to action and prevention with purpose.

 

 

4 Ways to Support National Child Abuse Prevention Month

 

Start a conversation in your community!

Use our sample social media posts and free graphics to put the spotlight on how we can work together to strengthen families and help children thrive!

 

 

Show your support!

Update your social media accounts with a National Child Abuse Prevention Month cover photo or Facebook profile frame, and show your friends, colleagues, and families that we must all come together to support addressing the root causes of child maltreatment.

 

Share resources!

All families need support, and we can all benefit from strategies that promote well-being. Follow the #ThrivingFamilies hashtag to share important messages and tools throughout the month to normalize asking for help and to give others access to important information.

 

Promote the Prevention Resource Guide!

As one of the Children’s Bureau’s most anticipated publications, Prevention Resource Guide can be used as a critical tool to help communities reduce the rates of child maltreatment. Help every community get access by letting your network know the new edition is now available for download!

Whether it’s a message in your email newsletter, a feature on your website, or a social media post, every action helps to make the well-being of children and families a priority.

Thank you for your support! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for ongoing support and updates, and remember to tag your social media posts with #ChildAbusePreventionMonth and #ThrivingFamilies to stay connected to the conversation.

 

CONTACT:

Elaine Stedt, Director
Office on Child Abuse and Neglect
Children’s Bureau, ACYF, ACF, HHS

EVENT: “Thriving Children and Families: Prevention With Purpose”