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The Safe Start Center supports the Safe Start initiative by developing, coordinating and disseminating information and resources for practitioners, policy makers, administrators, researchers, and trainers working to reduce the impact of violence in the home, school, and community on children and their families.
The Safe Start Center is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
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Welcome to this edition of the bi-monthly Safe Start Center e-Newsletter. Our goal is to raise awareness of programs and resources that help communities implement evidence-based practices to address the effects of family and community violence on children. For more information about the Safe Start initiative and the Safe Start Center, visit our Web site at www.safestartcenter.org.
Updates
Current news related to the impact of exposure to family and community violence on children and their families
From the Field
Spotlight on a community initiative to prevent and reduce the impact of domestic and community violence on children
Research to Practice
Using research to guide service delivery and policy
Featured Resource
A publication, video, curriculum, or other resource that supports evidence-based practice for children exposed to violence
Publications
Print and media resources for professionals and families
Related Links
Contact Us
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Miami Safe Start Announces Launch of New Web Site
The Miami-Dade County Safe Start Promising Approaches Initiative has launched a new Web site. The site describes the history and services of the Consortium for Children in Crisis, and provides a resource library with a research bibliography and a list of print and video materials. Visit http://www.miamisafestartinitiative.org.
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Putting the Pieces Together for Children and Families: The National Conference on Substance Abuse, Child Welfare, and the Courts
From January 31 through February 2, 2007, Children and Family Futures will host this conference in Anaheim, California to promote advances in practice and policy that lead to effective, coordinated, and culturally relevant services for children, youth, and families affected by substance use disorders. The pre-conference symposium on prenatal substance exposure, Behavior and the Brain: Prevention and Intervention for Children Across the Developmental Stages, hosted by Dr. Ira Chasnoff of the Children’s Research Triangle, will be held January 30. Continuing education units and other continuing education credits are available. Visit the conference Web site for details.
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Teleconference on Developmental Impact of Childhood Trauma
On February 23, 2007, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network will hold a Master Speaker Teleconference on the Developmental Impact of Childhood Trauma. The guest speaker, Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., is an expert on the neurological impact of trauma. Dr. van der Kolk founded the Trauma Center in Boston, Massachusetts and is a professor of psychiatry at Boston University Medical School. For information and to register for the free teleconference, visit the NCTSN Web site .
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Maximizing Protective Factors for Youth Violence Funding Announcement
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is soliciting applications to conduct secondary analyses of existing data to identify potentially modifiable protective factors for youth violence. This research will inform the development of youth violence prevention programs and policies by identifying promising protective factors that reduce the likelihood of violence in the lives of young people. Up to two awards of approximately $200,000 each will be funded for a two-year period. Applications are due by February 28, 2007. View the funding announcement.
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OJJDP Highlights Safe Start Initiative in current issue of News @ a Glance
In an article about Domestic Violence Month in the December/November issue of News @ a Glance, J. Robert Flores, OJJDP Administrator, writes about the effects of domestic violence on children and recognizes the role of OJJDP’s Safe Start Initiative in improving services for children and developing effective community responses to help children feel safe in their homes, schools and communities. View the article.
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Safe Start Promising Approaches, Erie, PA
The Children’s Advocacy Center of Erie County is the lead agency for the Safe Start Promising Approaches multi-agency collaboration. Its partner agencies are the Achievement Center, the Crime Victim Center, the Office of Children and Youth, and Edinboro University. Together, these agencies provide an integrated treatment program for children from ages birth to eight who have recently experienced or been exposed to child abuse, domestic violence, or community/school violence. As a Safe Start pilot site, the collaboration is participating in the outcome evaluation being conducted by RAND Corporation as part of the Safe Start Promising Approaches national outcomes research.
The Erie County Safe Start integrated treatment program includes case management, parenting education, and child, parent, and family mental health interventions. All children referred to the program receive a developmental assessment and periodic reassessments over a 2-year period. A multi-agency treatment team meets with the family to develop a comprehensive service plan, and throughout their involvement with the program a case management team works with the family to develop a family safety plan, provide crisis management services, assist with court-related activities, link the family to needed community resources, and facilitate the family’s participation in treatment. The program provides psycho-educational services to all parents through 12 weekly group therapy sessions designed to expand parent knowledge, improve parent/child bonding, and provide child management and child protection skills. Additionally, family members receive need-based mental health interventions identified during 16 onsite, in-home, or at-daycare visits provided by the multi-agency team.
To contact Erie Safe Start, visit www.safestartcenter.org and select Communities.
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Promising Practices of Safe Start Demonstration Sites
The Association for the Development of Community (ASDC) conducted an evaluation of the eleven Safe Start Demonstration Project sites funded by OJJDP from 2000 – 2005. As part of the evaluation process, ASDC developed a list of promising practices that contributed to the overall success of the programs. ASDC defines a promising practice as “an activity used by a site in the pursuit of improved outcomes for children exposed to violence. A practice is not an intervention, model, program or system change strategy.” (p.1)
Examples of promising practices described in the report are: a three-tiered collaborative structure; increasing the number of police referrals through fast response time; and enrolling rural families in services through home-based therapy and distributing cell phones. For each promising practice, data is provided regarding target population, reason for its promise, and evidence of its success. In this way, the report offers an opportunity to learn about practices that may enhance other community programs. View the report
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I Tried to Stop Them: Children’s Exposure to Domestic Violence in San Francisco
San Francisco Safe Start Initiative, June 2006
As part of the San Francisco Safe Start demonstration site, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Association for the Study and Development of Community, and the San Francisco Safe Start Initiative analyzed data obtained from the San Francisco Police Department to assess incidences of children exposed to violence and the Police Department’s current practices in responding to domestic violence. The report concluded that there are many more families being exposed to violence and more children living in violent homes than was originally estimated. It also shows that there was a steady increase in the number of domestic violence calls to the San Francisco police during the 2003-2005 period.
The practice implications of these results suggest that an effective response to domestic violence requires a broad community response acknowledging that law enforcement and criminal justice interventions occurs in only a small fraction of domestic violence situations. In addition, these systems are not structured to provide a preventive response to families experiencing escalating violence. General and specialized staff training on screening and assessment in multiple systems as well as appropriate services needs to be put in place in order to identify and provide developmentally appropriate services/interventions that can ensure safety for the family and reduce the impact of exposure to violence on children. View the report.
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New Publications for Judges and Practitioners Available Online
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), collaborating with OJJDP, has compiled a guide to research and resources as well as a checklist on strategies and practices to promote positive outcomes for children and youth exposed to violence. The publication, Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: A Guide to Research and Resources is designed to help judges and practitioners identify and understand the key issues surrounding children’s exposure. The companion publication, Checklist for Children and Youth Who Have Been Exposed to Violence, is a useful reference tool for judges and practitioners in juvenile and family courts. Visit www.safestartcenter.org to access the publications.
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Implementation of Home Visitation Programs: Stories from the Field
Miriam Wasserman, September 2006
Many state-based home visitation programs for pregnant women and young children and their families were adapted from local models and developed in settings very different from the state environment. This study looks at the implementation of four programs and reports on their experiences with respect to implementation and sustainability. The author conducted interviews with state and national representatives from Healthy Families America, the Nurse-Family Partnership, Parents as Teachers, and Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, and considered issues that include securing stable funding streams to support system functions, demonstrating proven outcomes, and ensuring program quality as the model is replicated. It was published by Chapin Hall. View all related articles.
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Lessons Learned On Collaboration, Systems, and Services From Safe Kids/Safe Streets
OJJDP Bulletin, November 2006
While collaborative approaches have been used successfully in other arenas, the Safe Kids/Safe Streets initiative represents the most comprehensive application in the child maltreatment field. It succeeded in building broad-based collaboratives focusing on child abuse and neglect issues in five very different communities. This bulletin summarizes the findings from an evaluation of the program sites to provide insight into collaboration building, systems reform, service options, and other strategies. View the Bulletin.
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Synthesis of Research on Disproportionality in Child Welfare: An Update
Robert Hill, October 2006
This paper, which focuses on inequities between African-American and Caucasian children, summarizes findings on racial and ethnic inequalities in the child welfare system. Most of the studies reviewed identified race as one of the primary determinants in decisions made by child protective services at the stages of reporting, investigation, substantiation, placement, and exit from care. Findings show that a disproportionate number of African-American children are removed from their homes when child abuse and neglect are reported. Once under state-mandated care, inequalities exist in treatment and services offered. View the study.
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Children’s Mental Health Facts for Policymakers
National Center for Children in Poverty, November 2006
In 1982, Jane Knitzer's seminal study, Unclaimed Children: The Failure of Public Responsibility to Children and Adolescents in Need of Mental Health Services, called attention to the desperate state of the mental health system for children and adolescents with mental health problems and their families. The study became a turning point in the mental health field and led to a series of reforms. Almost 25 years later, the National Center for Children in Poverty is undertaking a study to examine the status of state children's mental health policies. This document, selected from the series, first identifies current critical issues and then offers effective public policy strategies to enhance mental health for children, youth, and their families. View the fact sheet.
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Building Bridges Between the Healthy Marriage, Responsible Fatherhood, and Domestic Violence Movements: A Preliminary Guide
Based on the proceedings of the Building Bridges Wingspread Conference held in May 2006 and co-sponsored by the Center for Law and Social Policy and the National Conference of State Legislatures, this guide summarizes current tensions among the three fields and discusses possible avenues for collaboration. View all papers from the Wingspread Conference.
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Common Purpose: Sharing Responsibility for Child and Family Outcomes
Lisbeth Schorr, October 2006
In her keynote presentation to the Early Childhood Networking Meeting held in September 2006, Lisbeth Schorr addresses the barriers encountered in applying what we know about improving outcomes for children and families. Drawing upon lessons learned in recent successful public health campaigns, she characterizes multisystem social change as a complex array of synergistic interventions that combine to produce the desired result. She recommends four strategies for crossing traditional boundaries to effect change in systems: (1) be clear about the purposes; (2) create and sustain partnerships; (3) be willing to be held accountable; and (4) embrace systems change. Download the speech.
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Please contact us with your comments and suggestions at info@safestartcenter.org or 1-800-865-0965.
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To view previous issues of the Safe Start e-Newsletter, visit www.safestartcenter.org and select Publications.
The Safe Start Center e-Newsletter is distributed by the Safe Start Center under Contract No. GS-10F-0285K with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Information and points of view quoted in this newsletter do not imply endorsement by OJJDP, OJP or DOJ, or the Safe Start Center.
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