Welcome to the November 2011 issue of the Safe Start Center e-newsletter. In this issue, we feature three new publications and an online toolkit published by the authors of the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence.
We also highlight a new brief summarizing the findings from the Safe Start Demonstration sites. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please contact us at info@safestartcenter.org or 1-800-8650965. Be sure to visit our website, www.safestartcenter.org, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for ongoing news and links to new resources as they are available.
IN THIS ISSUE
Current news related to the impact of exposure to family and community violence on children and their families
Conferences, funding opportunities and related initiatives in the news
Print and media resources for professionals and families
Tools/Resources
Guides, curricula, and e-learning
Policy/Advocacy
Local, state and Federal initiatives and information for policy advocates
Studies/Reports
Research studies, descriptive analyses, and reports on current issues and practices
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CEV IN THE NEWS
Overlap of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Addressed in CAPTA/FVPSA Reauthorization of 2010
Futures Without Violence summarizes the changes in the CAPTA Reauthorization of 2010, (P.L. 111-320). The reauthorization focuses on improving existing programs to better align with research and effective practices in preventing and responding to child abuse and neglect, and on increasing collaboration between agencies that serve abused mothers and their children and child welfare agencies.
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FBI Launches iPhone App for Missing Children
In this mobile app, parents can store photos and information for immediate use in case a child goes missing. The app also includes tips on keeping children safe as well as specific guidance on what to do in those first few crucial hours after a child goes missing. The FBI plans to expand this tool to other types of mobile devices in the near future.
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Defending Childhood Task Force Hearings
Experts from diverse fields will conduct four public hearings around the country to learn about the extent and nature of the problem of children's exposure to violence. They will identify promising practices, programming and community strategies and issue a report to the U.S. Attorney General with their findings and policy recommendations.
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OJJDP Holds National Conference
On October 12-14, over 2,300 participants attended the OJJDP national conference focusing on juvenile justice and children's exposure to violence. Attorney General Holder announced the establishment of the National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence which will hold public hearings to learn about the extent and nature of children's exposure to violence and develop policy recommendations. Joe Torre, Major League Baseball Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations, founder of the Joe Torre Safe at Home®Foundation, and a witness to domestic violence as a child himself, will co-chair the Task Force. Mr. Torre gave the plenary address at the conference.
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RAND Evaluators Present Paper on Safe Start Initiative
On November 16, evaluators from RAND Corporation presented at the American Society of Criminology conference about the Safe Start Initiative national evaluation. RAND will follow the presentation with the release of the paper examining predictors of enrollment and retention in a national evaluation of community-based programs designed to improve outcomes for children exposed to violence.
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EVENTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS
American Academy of Pediatrics Launches Building Up Project
This new project seeks to give medical homes the tools to identify children exposed to or victimized by violence, and to give children and families strategies and resources to stay safe, get support and treatment, and plan for a safe and healthy future. The website is currently under construction.
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Youth Focused Policing Resource Center Launched
The International Association of Chiefs of Police and OJJDP launched this new website to provide a directory of law enforcement programs and services for youth, training and technical assistance in juvenile justice, and resources relating to youth crime, delinquency, and victimization.
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Grants Awarded for Trauma-Informed Practice
The Children's Bureau awarded five grants for up to $640,000 per year for up to five years to provide trauma-focused treatments to reduce traumatic stress reactions for one or more targeted groups of children in contact with the child welfare systems.
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National Training Institute
Zero to Three, Washington, DC, December 9-11, 2011
This multidisciplinary conference is for professionals dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of infants and toddlers. Workshops focus on cutting-edge research, best practices, and policy issues for infants, toddlers, and families.
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National Conference on Responding to Crime Victims with Disabilities
Office of Victims of Crime, Orlando, FL, December 13, 2011
Attendees will have the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills to effectively serve people with disabilities who are victims of crime, abuse, and neglect. The conference will facilitate partnerships among the fields of victim assistance, advocacy for persons with disabilities, and allied professions.
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San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment
Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA, January 21-27, 2012
Workshops and general sessions on multi-disciplinary best-practice efforts to prevent, investigate, treat, and prosecute child and family maltreatment. Topics include trauma treatment, mental health, and cultural competence.
National Conference on Ending Family & Youth Homelessness
National Alliance to End Homelessness, Los Angeles, February 9-12, 2012
Early registration is now available. Conference information will be posted soon.
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National Home Visiting Summit - Save the Date
Washington, DC, February 15-16, 2011
The Pew Center on the States is hosting its National Summit on Quality in Home Visiting in February 2012 in Washington, D.C. Details and registration website coming soon.
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Making Children a Priority: Leading Change
Child Welfare League of America, Washington, DC, February 26-28, 2012
Learn the latest innovations in child welfare, best practices, and network with your peers. Participants will learn strategies for how to thrive despite the changing landscape and economic challenges for organizations, systems, communities, children, youth, and families.
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NIH Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation
Bethesda, MD, March 19-20, 2012
The goal of the conference is to provide a forum for communicating and networking about the science of dissemination and implementation. Conference participants will engage in dialog, exchange ideas, and explore contemporary topics.
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National Conference on Child Health and Domestic Violence
San Francisco, CA, March 29-31, 2012
Sponsored by Futures Without Violence, the goal of this conference is to advance the health care system's response to domestic violence. Workshop topics include health impacts, co-occurring issues, innovative practices, current research, and policy implications.
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RESEARCH TO PRACTICE
Communities Working Together To Help Children Exposed to Violence: Findings From Phase I of the Safe Start Initiative (2011)
This publication is a summary of the national evaluation of the Safe Start Demonstration grantees funded from 2000-2005. Outcomes of the interventions include reducing children's exposure to violence, reducing trauma-related symptoms and parental stress, improving child and parent functioning, and enhancing service provider capacity.
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FEATURED RESOURCES
National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence Publications
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has released three new bulletins from its National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV) series and a fact sheet on the survey.
Polyvictimization: Children's Exposure to Multiple Types of Violence, Crime, and Abuse focuses on polyvictimization, which is defined as having experienced multiple victimization of different kinds, such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, bullying, and exposure to family violence.
Childrens Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and Other Family Violence explores in depth the NatSCEV results regarding exposure to family violence among children in the United States, including exposure to intimate partner violence, assaults by parents on siblings of children surveyed, and other assaults involving teen and adult household members.
Questions and Answers About the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence
provides information about the objectives and key features, how the research team measured exposure to violence, and plans for follow-up surveys and publications.
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ONLINE RESOURCES/PUBLICATIONS
Tools/Resources
Guides, curricula and online training
Supporting Brain Development in Traumatized Children and Youth (2011)
This publication by the Child Welfare Information Gateway discusses the impact of maltreatment on brain functioning and consequent mental, emotional, and behavioral development. Contents include identification and assessment of the impact of maltreatment and trauma on brain development; how to work effectively with children, youth, and families to support healthy brain development; and how to improve services through cross-system collaboration and trauma-informed practice.
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New Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire Released (2011)
The Crimes Against Children Research Center released the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire-2nd Edition (JBQ-R2). The questionnaire attempts to document the full range of victimization that youth experience, including conventional crime, maltreatment, peer and sibling victimization, sexual victimization, witnessing, and other exposure to violence. Moreover, it can help practitioners determine youth's needs, assess whether victimization programs are effective, raise awareness on youth victimization, and improve victimization research
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Bullying Intervention: What Works (2011) (Webinar)
In this webinar, sponsored by OJJDP on August 24, 2011, experts provide the latest information on how to intervene and prevent bullying. Topics include findings from research, roles children and youth can play in instances of bullying, actions children find helpful in addressing bullying, and strategies to communicate with youth who bully, youth who are bullied, and those who witness bullying.
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A Desktop Guide for Tribal Probation Personnel: The Screening and Assessment Process (2011)
This guide provides information on how the screening and assessment process can facilitate and promote offender accountability and long-term behavior change. Topics include use of assessments, strength-based assessments, practical benefits for the probation officer and how to use assessment results.
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From Arrest to Homecoming: Addressing the Needs of Children of Incarcerated Parents (2010) (Webinar)
This webinar is about the emotional and physical needs of children of incarcerated parents and the complex family dynamics among children, incarcerated parents, and caregivers. Experts share practical tips and sample resources, such as co-parenting agreements.
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Digital Stories from the Field (2010)
Published by the National Resource Center on Permanency and Family Connections, this website has over fifty stories representing perspectives of former foster youth, social workers, parents, advocates, judges and CASA workers. There is also a section featuring stories of community members directly impacted by Systems of Care, a model that coordinates a network of community-based services to meet the challenges of children and youth with social, emotional and behavioral health needs.
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E-Learning Courses on Youth Topics (2011)
Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership provides free e-learning courses about runaway and homeless youth. Topics include adolescent development, resiliency, LGBTQ youth, and trauma in runaway and homeless youth.
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Honor our Voices (2011)
This is an online learning module developed by the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse and the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare at the University of Minnesota. It presents domestic violence through the voices of children in order to increase awareness and sensitivity to the needs of children and suggest promising ways of enhancing services for children exposed to domestic violence.
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Measuring Bullying Victimization, Perpetration, and Bystander Experiences: A Compendium of Assessment Tools (2011)
Published by CDC, this compendium contains 33 measures which were selected from a review of the literature published between 1990 and 2007 on bullying victimization, perpetration and bystander experiences among adolescents 12- to 20-years-old. It is intended as a starting point for researchers and others interested in studying bullying.
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Policy/Advocacy
Local, State and Federal initiatives and information for advocates
Improving Federal Collaboration for Homeless Children and Youth (2011)
Published by a consortium of organizations serving homeless families, this brief provides a strategic framework to improve services, programs, and policies for at-risk and homeless children and youth. Recommendations include development of comprehensive school-community partnerships, increasing access to stable and affordable housing, and increasing the health and stability of children under six.
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Systems of Care Online Policy Action Guide (2011)
This guide provides a framework for thinking about child welfare policy options and initiating actions that help promote an effective policy initiative. This guide is helpful for agencies developing a coordinated response to address the complex needs of children and families, and for organizations or community groups considering policies that promote family engagement, advance culturally responsive approaches, and strengthen community services and supports.
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Sexual Exploitation of Children (2011) (Video)
This video features moderated discussions about child sexual exploitation and current initiatives to protect children. Panelists are from the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, and Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency.
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Studies/Reports
Research studies, descriptive analyses and reports on current issues and practices
Trauma-Informed Behavioral Healthcare (Online journal)
This issue of the National Council Magazine focuses on trauma-informed care, featuring stories from many persons recovering from trauma, mental illness, and substance use. Contents include article on trauma-informed behavioral healthcare, children and trauma, a community initiative to prevent youth suicide, training resources and stories from the field.
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Reducing the Impact of Children's Exposure to Violence: Results of the National Evaluation of Safe Start Promising Approaches
RAND's evaluation of Safe Start Promising Approaches identified program successes and challenges in implementing programs for children exposed to violence. The evaluation results, though largely inconclusive, can inform similar efforts going forward.
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Tribal Youth in the Federal Justice System (2011)
This report, co-sponsored by OJJDP and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, describes findings from interviews with tribal and federal officials conducted between 1999 and 2008 that explored issues surrounding American Indian youth involved with the federal justice system. Topics include the prevalence, characteristics, and outcomes of these youth at each stage of the justice system.
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Race and Child Welfare (2011)
This brief summarizes a Chapin Hall conference in January 2011 addressing racial disproportionality in child welfare. Empirical evidence shows that actual black maltreatment rates are significantly higher than white rates and that black children suffer worse outcomes from maltreatment. The authors discuss policy and research implications.
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Batterer Intervention Programs Roundtable (2011)
Sponsored by Futures Without Violence, this roundtable brought together a variety of experts to discuss current approaches to batterer intervention and the lack of outcome evaluations. Participants agreed on the key elements of model batter intervention programs, but lacked consensus on treatment philosophies, program strategies, and evaluation methods. Links are provided to papers on evaluation issues.
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Highlights of the 2009 National Youth Gang Survey (2011)
This fact sheet, published by OJJDP, presents data collected from a representative sample of local law enforcement agencies about the size and scope of the national gang problem and factors that may influence gang violence. The rate of gang activity increased to 34.5 percent in 2009 from 32.4 percent in 2008. Larger cities and suburban counties accounted for more than 96 percent of all gang homicides.
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Journal of Juvenile Justice (Online journal)
This new semi-annual journal published by OJJDP is intended to serve as a practical tool for researchers and practitioners. Articles in the first issue include risk factors among crossover youth, evaluations of pilot programs demonstrating promise in reducing child maltreatment, and a method that may improve the reliability of juvenile justice screening and assessment instruments.
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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) – Response (2011)
This website was developed to bridge the gap between ACE research data and its potential for real world application to prevent ACE and ACE consequences. A goal of this site is to connect policymakers and leaders to information about ACE-informed policies and cost-savings studies that have been developed or proposed.
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RELATED LINKS
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CONTACT US
We invite your comments and suggestions. Please contact us at info@safestartcenter.org or 1-800-865-0965.
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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 in this newsletter do not imply endorsement by OJJDP, OJP, DOJ, or the Safe Start Center.
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