Welcome to this edition of the bi-monthly Safe Start Center e-Newsletter. In this issue, we introduce a new feature, "In the Limelight," to highlight achievements and awards to communities or individuals serving children exposed to violence. This issue recognizes Miami, Florida and Chicago, Illinois Safe Start sites; the director of Erie, Pennsylvania Safe Start; and OJJDP. We would like to highlight your awards and accomplishments in future issues. Please tell us about them and give us your feedback about the e-newsletter at info@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
In the Limelight
Recognition for programs and individuals helping children exposed to violence and their families
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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
Online Resources/Publications
Print and media resources for professionals and families
Related Links
Contact Us
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NCTSN Culture and Trauma Speaker Series
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network Culture and Trauma Speaker Series offers two Web-casts presented by recognized experts. On June 28, 2007, Luis Flores will speak on the topic, "The Traumatic Experiences of Border and Immigrant Youth." On July 26, 2007, Dolores Subia Bigfoot will speak on the topic, "American Indian Youth: Current and Historical Trauma." Presentations begin at 2:00 pm Eastern (11:00 am Pacific) and last 90 minutes. For information or to join a Web-cast, visit the NCTSN Web site Speaker Series page.
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National Summit on Young Children Held at U.S. House of Representatives
On May 22, 2007, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives convened a one-day National Summit on America's Children to update legislators on recent scientific findings about early childhood development. Topics covered included early learning, health and mental health, and income and family support. Nobel laureate economist, Dr. James Heckman, delivered a keynote address in which he stated that prevention and early intervention programs are far more economical than other remedial programs, such as job training, adult literacy, and GED preparation. Participation in the event was limited to members of Congress and invited advocacy groups. A live broadcast will be available soon. View a description and schedule of events.
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New Information on SAMHSA Web Site
A new section of the SAMHSA web site offers resources targeted to the mental health needs after a traumatic incident of students, schools, adults, families, health professionals, emergency responders, and others. Articles include Tips for Talking to Children in Trauma, and other resources for families about helping children and adults experiencing trauma and grief. Visit the SAMHSA Web site.
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Safe Start Initiative Added to Best Practices Web Site
The Safe Start initiative is listed in the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC) as a domestic/intimate partner violence policy initiative. New program models have been added in several categories, including children exposed to violence and child welfare. Among these programs are: the Child Witness to Violence Program (Boston); Parent-Child Psychotherapy for Family Violence (CPP-DV); Project Support (Southern Methodist University); and the San Diego Family Justice Center. Program areas under review for future inclusion are visitation, prevention, home visitation, and child welfare initiatives. Visit CEBC at www.cachildwelfareclearinghouse.org.
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Safe Start Promising Approaches, San Diego
San Diego Safe Start is a collaboration of agencies, systems and professionals who deliver evidence-informed, child-focused interventions to effectively assess and treat children ages 3 to 8 who are victims of violence and their families. The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency serves as the lead agency for a cross-agency, countywide network. The goals of the network are: 1) to build the capacity of providers in the child welfare, domestic violence and community-based agencies to respond to the needs of children exposed to domestic violence; 2) to reduce family violence and re-entry into the child welfare system; and 3) to improve the child's performance in school and at home.
Child Welfare-involved families that have identified domestic violence as a priority intervention issue are eligible to participate in this project. Families enrolled into Safe Start San Diego will receive an array of services including assessment, case planning and management, mental health services, family advocacy and other interventions, as needed.
Using the Trauma Assessment Pathway (TAP) developed by the Chadwick Center for Children and Families Trauma Counseling Program at Children's Hospital in San Diego, clinicians gain an in-depth understanding of the child, their developmental level, their traumatic experience, and the family, community and cultural system in which the child lives. When children are identified who have had one or more traumas and have symptoms of post-traumatic stress, clinicians provide Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). Following the TF-CBT approach, the therapist meets with the child each week and then with the parent/caregiver to teach ways to help their child at home. The therapy includes education about trauma and common reactions, help with parenting and behavior problems, relaxation/stress management, and other strategies.
Concurrently, case planning and management services are coordinated by a Child Welfare Protective Services Social Worker. These services include family assessment, safety planning, family advocacy, parenting classes and referrals to community-based and other services. In addition, a child advocate helps the family with child-focused safety planning, linkages to support services, problem solving and support to the primary caregiver. Monthly clinical case consultation team meetings are held to review progress and plan follow-up.
Safe Start San Diego also conducts community capacity-building activities, including a community conference and regional inter-agency and community training on identifying, treating, preventing and reducing children's exposure to violence. The San Diego team performs local evaluation analyses and is participating with RAND Corporation in conducting a national Safe Start outcome evaluation.
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Child Abuse and Safe Start Highlighted at National Press Event
In support of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) sponsored a national press event on March 29, 2007. The program Emerging Trends of Child Abuse: Prevention, Intervention and Treatment for the 21st Century included the following speakers: Assistant Attorney General Regina B. Schofield of the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Sharon W. Cooper, M.D of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill and David Finkelhor, Professor of Sociology, and Director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center, and Co-Director of the Family Research Laboratory Department, University of New Hampshire. Dr. Finkelhor spoke about the study that he and his colleagues will be conducting as part of OJP’s Safe Start Initiative. This study will help quantify numbers of children exposed to violence and provide real national estimates on the level of violence in children's lives in the United States. The study will document the wide range of violence experiences across a broad developmental spectrum. View the Press Release.
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Miami Safe Start Featured on ABC's "Good Morning America"
On May 30, 2007, ABC's "Good Morning America" featured the collaboration between Miami-Dade Juvenile Court Judge Cindy Lederman and clinicians at the University of Miami Linda Ray Center, directed by Lynne Katz. Lynne is also project director for Miami Safe Start Promising Approaches. Judge Lederman requires parents who are charged with child maltreatment or neglect of their infant or toddler to participate in child-parent therapy at the Linda Ray Center in order to repair the relationship. An ABC News Audio was also produced on the topic. For more information visit the Safe Start Center at www.safestartcenter.org/070530.htm.
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Chicago Safe Start Achieves Sustainability
On May 1, 2007 Chicago Safe Start became a fully sanctioned component of the Office of Violence Prevention, Chicago Department of Public Health. To mark the occasion, Mayor Daley proclaimed the week of April 22, Chicago Safe Start week. Chicago is a success story of how the federal government innovates, demonstrates, seeds, and then sustains work in partnerships with local agencies, collaboratives, and partners. On April 25-27, 2007, Chicago Safe Start held the first city-wide conference to highlight efforts around the city that help children exposed to violence. View the conference program and Mayor's Proclamation.
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Judy Smith, Director of Erie, Pennsylvania Safe Start Named "Woman of the Year"
On May 9, 2007, the State of Pennsylvania named Judy Smith, director of Erie, Pennsylvania Safe Start Promising Approaches as "Woman of the Year" for her longstanding work on behalf of children exposed to violence and their families. Since 2002, Judy has been the director of the Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) of Erie County. In an awards ceremony sponsored by the local CBS News affiliate, Judy was recognized for creating a safe place where children experiencing violence and abuse can get help. She was also recognized for her role in developing new resources for children and bringing together in one setting, multiple systems of care to provide an integrated treatment program for children and families. For information about Safe Start Erie, Pennsylvania and the Children's Advocacy Center, visit the Safe Start Center.
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Safe Start Initiative Identified as "Best in Class" for Project Management
The Partnership for Public Service, a bipartisan, not for profit organization, works with government to support best practices in the public interest. This year, the Partnership is taking a look at "Best in Class" for management of government programs. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention was interviewed about the Safe Start initiative as an example of excellence in strategic planning and management. Data collected in the interview process will be published in a guide on practical program performance management to be disseminated across government. Learn more about the Partnership for Public Service.
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Helping Babies from the Bench: Using the Science of Early Childhood Development in Court (DVD)
Zero to Three
May 2007
This DVD features the collaboration between Miami-Dade County Juvenile Court Judge Cindy Lederman and the University of Miami Linda Ray Center, headed by Lynne Katz, Miami Safe Start project director. The DVD was developed to raise awareness of the impact of maltreatment on developmental outcomes for young children. It features a discussion of early brain development and the effects of maltreatment, and follows two parents of toddlers referred by the court to parent-child therapy at the Linda Ray Center. We observe the progress of the two mothers through therapy, culminating in reunification with the child. For information or to request a DVD, visit Zero to Three at www.zerotothree.com.
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Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Resource Packet
As part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau, in collaboration with the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, the Child Welfare Information Gateway, and the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention created a resource packet for Child Abuse Prevention Month in April 2007. The packet is designed for service providers who work with parents. other caregivers, and their children to promote healthy families. The packet contains several resources for building community awareness of five important protective factors that can help families protect children from the risk of child abuse and neglect and tip sheets for parents in English and Spanish. These resources were developed with input from numerous national organizations, Federal partners, and parents. Download the resource packet.
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ONLINE RESOURCES/PUBLICATIONS |
Promising Practices Network: Programs That Work
Updated monthly
The PPN Web site features descriptions of evaluated programs that improve outcomes for children. Two areas of special interest are: Child Abuse and Neglect, and Cross System Involvement and Collaboration. To view program listings in these and other topic areas, visit the PPN Web site.
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Understanding Links between Adolescent Trauma and Substance Abuse: A Toolkit for Providers
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
April 2007
This toolkit contains materials for health care providers, parents, and teenagers. It is designed to raise awareness about the needs of youth with traumatic stress and substance abuse problems and to promote evidence-based practices in clinical settings. It also serves as a training guide for providers working with youth. To view the toolkit and related resources, visit the "New Resources" section of the NCTSN Web site at http://www.nctsn.org.
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Screening and Assessment for Family Engagement, Retention, and Recovery (SAFERR)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
2007
This Guidebook, developed by the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare, is designed to help caseworkers screen parents for potential substance abuse disorders in order to make decisions about children's safety. The practice principles and instruments found in the Guidebook provide a basis for collaboration between child abuse and substance abuse staff, which has the potential to improve engagement and retention and outcomes for families. View the Guidebook.
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Making it Work: Low-wage employment, family life and child development (in press) - Audio Review
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Ph.D.
New York University
Professor Yoshikawa's research addresses the question: How do different approaches to welfare and anti-poverty affect child and adolescent development, and the diversity of families in poverty in the United States? In his book, he investigates the effects of parents' low-wage work on children's educational and social outcomes. His findings reveal a complicated picture in which certain kinds of job trajectories have positive impact on children while others are more risky. Access the audio interview.
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Child Well-Being Index Report
Duke University
April 2007
The Child Well-Being Index (CWI) is an evidence-based measure of 28 key national indicators across seven quality-of-life domains beginning with the base year 1975. With the exception of two domains, the 2007 CWI indicates that children's quality of life has remained static since the early part of this decade. The two exceptions are children's health, which continues to decline largely due to a dramatic increase in childhood obesity and a small decline in childhood mortality; and children's safety, which continues to increase due to a general decline in teen pregnancy, violent crime, and drug and alcohol use among youth. The CWI also documents continuing disparities in the well-being of white, African American and Hispanic children. View the 2007 report.
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Buenos Principios: Latino Children in the Earliest Years of Life
National Council of La Raza
April 2007
The academic gap between Latino children, the fastest growing segment of the US child population, and White peers exists before children attend school and persists though elementary and secondary school. This report by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., concludes that investing in high-quality, comprehensive early childhood education programs could help narrow the growing school readiness gap between Latino and other children. Key findings include: families of two-thirds of Hispanic children (67%) under the age of three have income that is 200% below the poverty line, and young Latinos (29%) are less likely than their White peers (60%) to be read to on a daily basis. The report also includes recommendations for policy-makers. View the report.
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Early Head Start and Teen Parent Families: Partnership for Success
Center for Law and Social Policy
February 2007
This issue brief focuses on the special needs of teenage parents and their children and how the services available through Early Head Start (EHS) can support them. Teen parent families face multiple risks, which may be further complicated by issues involving disability, abuse, or neglect. In particular, the authors examine the benefits of EHS participation when either the child or a parent has a disability, or when the family is involved with the child welfare system. Download the Issue Brief.
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Reaching Out to Kith and Kin Caregivers in Early Head Start
Diane Paulsell, et al.
April 2006
Low-income families tend to rely heavily on care provided by family, friends, and neighbors, also called "kith and kin" caregivers. The Enhanced Home Visiting Pilot Project, funded by the Head Start Bureau, is exploring specific strategies to engage "kith and kin" caregivers and support their efforts to provide quality care. Pilot sites funded under this project have four main goals: (1) to improve the quality of care provided by kith and kin caregivers, (2) to increase consistency in caregiving between parents and caregivers, (3) to improve communication between parents and caregivers, and (4) to address caregivers' needs. In addition to describing the services that these pilot sites provide, this brief covers the sites' early successes and challenges. View the brief.
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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study
Kaiser Permanente and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
May 2007
The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study was designed to assess the long-term relationships between a wide range of adverse, traumatic, or chaotic childhood experiences on health, health behavior, social well-being, disease incidence, and costs of medical care. In the most recent report, the authors conclude that neglected and abused children experience increased rates of depression and trauma-related symptoms throughout their lifetime, as shown by significantly greater expenditures for prescription medications for these conditions. Increased usage of medications for depression and trauma-related symptoms lasted up to 50 years after the traumatic experience. This report was released in the May 2007 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. View ACE publications.
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Fathers' Risk Factors and their Implications for Healthy Relationships and Father Involvement
Center for Research on Child Well-Being, Princeton University
Fragile Families Research Brief - Issue 37, February 2007
Using both quantitative and qualitative data, the authors examine the relationship between father involvement and relationship status among unmarried couples, in the presence of risk factors such as physical abuse, substance abuse, or incarceration. Their findings highlight ways in which the effects of these risk factors on father involvement are mediated by the father's relationship with the mother. The authors recommend that policy makers should consider comprehensive drug treatment and alternatives to incarceration as part of a comprehensive approach to supporting families. View the Research Brief.
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¿Qué significa ser padres?: Guía para ayudarles a tener éxito como padres y madres de familia
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
2006
Este librito de 70 páginas incorpora más de 20 años de investigaciones sobre la crianza de los hijos que el NICHD ha realizado o apoyado. El librito le ofrece pautas que le pueden ayudar a tener éxito como madre o padre de familia. El librito también incluye historias sobre cómo los padres aplican estas pautas en su vida diaria, en niños desde recién nacidos hasta los 14 años de edad. (English Version: Adventures in parenting : how responding, preventing, monitoring, mentoring and modeling can help you be a successful parent)
This 70-page publication offers guidelines for successful parenting based on more than 20 years of research funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) related to parenting and child development. It includes brief scenarios of parenting children from birth to 14 years of age. Available from: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, http://www.childstats.gov, P.O. Box 3006, Rockville, MD 20847. Download print version.
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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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