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This Resource Guide was developed to support service providers in their work with parents, caregivers, and their children to prevent child abuse and neglect and promote child and family well-being. It was created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, its Child Welfare Information Gateway, and the FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention. The resources featured represent the work of a broad-based partnership of national organizations, Federal partners, and parents committed to strengthening families and communities.

These activity calendars include daily tips to help put protective factors into action with families. Each day of the week corresponds to one of the protective factors. The activities were submitted by local Strengthening Families sites.

This Resource Guide was developed to support service providers in their work with parents, caregivers, and their children to prevent child abuse and neglect and promote child and family well-being. It was created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, its Child Welfare Information Gateway, and the FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention. The resources featured represent the work of a broad-based partnership of national organizations, Federal partners, and parents committed to strengthening families and communities.

The Prevention Resource Guide was developed to support service providers in their work with parents, caregivers, and their children to prevent child abuse and neglect and promote child and family well-being. It focuses on protective factors that build on family strengths to foster healthy child and youth development. The resources featured represent the work of a partnership of national organizations, Federal partners, and parents committed to strengthening families and communities.

Addresses the scope of the problem of child neglect as well as its consequences, reviews definitions and strategies for assessing neglect, presents lessons learned about prevention and intervention, and suggests sources of training and informational support. Strategies for addressing neglect, beginning with prevention, are included.

Describes the intersection of child welfare and early intervention (EI), provides an overview of the EI process, and outlines the challenges and strategies for implementing EI provisions in Federal law.

Discusses the importance of prevention as a critical component of the nation’s child protection system and examines the history of child abuse prevention, the scope of the problem today, ways in which quality programs are identified and implemented, promising prevention strategies, and issues for future prevention efforts. It outlines programs and strategies that are proving beneficial in reducing the likelihood of child maltreatment, such as public awareness efforts, parent education, home visitation, and community prevention efforts.

Provides professionals with an overview of chronic child neglect, its implications for child welfare, and casework practice to address it. The bulletin also explores multisystem collaboration and partnerships, evidence-informed interventions, and the importance of hope in combatting chronic neglect. It features examples of State and local efforts to address chronic child neglect.

Outlines a list of resources found on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website that focus on enhancing quality community-based collaboration.
The child welfare system can and should be designed to protect children by keeping families safe, healthy, and together whenever possible. Rather than being a substitute for parents, foster care can be a critical support for families when parents, for whatever reason, have lost much of their protective capacity. So what does it mean for birth parents and foster parents to truly work together in support of children’s well-being? Here is list of resources found on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website that focus on enhancing foster/birth parent partnerships.

Due to their potentially unstable living situations, physical distance from friends and family, traumatic experiences, and emotional vulnerability, children involved with child welfare are at risk for being targeted by traffickers who are actively seeking victims to exploit. This bulletin explores how caseworkers can identify and support children who have been victimized as well as children that are at greater risk for future victimization. It provides background information about the issue, strategies caseworkers can use to identify and support victims and potential victims, and tools and resources that can assist caseworkers.

Due to their potentially unstable living situations, physical distance from friends and family, traumatic experiences, and emotional vulnerability, children involved with child welfare are at risk for being targeted by traffickers who are actively seeking children to exploit. This bulletin is intended for child welfare agency leadership and explores how child welfare agencies can support children who are victims of human trafficking, as well as children who are at greater risk for future victimization. It provides background information about the issue, including its scope and relevant Federal legislation and initiatives, and strategies that agencies can implement to address the trafficking of children. State and local policy and program examples also are provided.

Summarizes State laws on immunity from prosecution for persons who in good faith report suspected instances of child abuse or neglect. Immunity statutes protect both mandatory and voluntary reporters from civil or criminal liability that they might otherwise incur. The publication also discusses the provision of immunity for taking photographs or x-rays, performing medical examinations or tests, and participating in the investigation or prosecution of child abuse or neglect cases. Laws for all 50 States and territories are included.

Provides an overview of child welfare in-home services, components of effective service delivery, and Federal funding sources for services. It also points to core practice elements of in-home services, evidence-based programs used during the provision of in-home services, and State examples of efforts to improve their in-home services delivery.

Discusses the factors parents must consider when deciding whether their child is ready to be left home alone as well as tips to help make the experience safe and successful for all. Resources for more information are also included.

Explains the long-term physical, psychological, behavioral, and societal consequences of child abuse and neglect and provides an overview of adverse childhood experiences. It also discusses the importance of prevention and intervention efforts and promoting protective relationships and environments. Childhood maltreatment can be linked to later physical, psychological, and behavioral consequences as well as costs to society as a whole. The outcomes for each child may vary widely and are affected by a combination of factors. Additionally, children who experience maltreatment often are affected by other adverse experiences (e.g., parental substance use, domestic violence, poverty), which can make it difficult to separate the unique effects of maltreatment.

Explores parent education programming for child welfare and highlights programs that have shown positive results or promise for strengthening families and preventing child maltreatment. The brief looks at the elements of effective parent education programs and research that demonstrate their benefit. It also includes examples of State and local parent education programs and a list of resources.

Intended to help parents (birth, foster, and adoptive) and other caregivers better understand the challenges of caring for a child or youth who has experienced maltreatment and learn about available resources for support.

Provides information on how communities, community leaders, and individual citizens can strengthen families, protect children, and prevent child abuse and neglect.

Highlights common themes and unique examples gathered by Community Collaborations to Strengthen and Preserve Families grantees during Children's Bureau-led site visits to other jurisdictions with promising approaches to community-based primary prevention.

Presents information from a review of current research linking protective factors to well-being for children and youth in and transitioning out of foster care. Topics include individual skills and capacities that can improve the well-being of children and youth in foster care, creating a community that supports the well-being of children and youth in care, strategies for practitioners, and resources for more information. This factsheet is part of a series of five factsheets for practitioners exploring the importance of protective factors in working with in-risk populations served by the Administration on Children Youth and Families.

Presents information from a review of current research linking protective factors to well-being for children exposed to domestic violence. Topics include individual skills and capacities that can improve the well-being of children exposed to violence; how parents, guardians, and others can contribute to the well-being of these children; creating supportive communities; and strategies for practitioners. This publication is part of a series of five factsheets for practitioners exploring the importance of protective factors in working with in-risk populations served by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families.

Presents information from a review of current research linking protective factors to well-being for the five in-risk populations served by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF): children exposed to domestic violence, homeless and runaway youth, pregnant and parenting teens, victims of child abuse and neglect, and youth in and aging out of foster care. Topics include individual skills and capacities that can improve the well-being of children and youth; how parents, guardians, and others can contribute to the well-being of these children; and strategies for practitioners. A model framework for organizing and applying protective factors is included, as well as a table listing specific protective factors for ACYF populations by level of influence. This publication is part of a series of five factsheets for practitioners exploring the importance of protective factors in working with in-risk populations served by ACYF.

Presents information from a review of current research on specific protective factors that carry moderate or strong association with improved well-being for pregnant and parenting teens. Topics include individual skills and capacities that can improve the well-being of teens who are pregnant and/or parenting; how parents, guardians, friends, and others can contribute to the well-being of these teens; creating supportive communities; and strategies for practitioners. This publication is part of a series of five factsheets for practitioners exploring the importance of protective factors in working with in-risk populations served by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families.

Presents information from a review of current research on specific protective factors that carry moderate or strong association with improved well-being for victims of child abuse and neglect. Topics include individual skills and capacities that can improve the well-being of children who have been abused or neglected; how parents, guardians, friends, and other adults can contribute to the well-being of these children and youth; strategies for practitioners; and resources for more information. This publication is part of a series of five factsheets for practitioners exploring the importance of protective factors in working with in-risk populations served by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families.

Provides an overview of national protective factors approaches to prevent child abuse and neglect. It is designed to help child welfare professionals, administrators, service providers, policymakers, and other interested individuals understand the concepts of protective and risk factors in families and communities and learn ways in which building protective factors can help lower the risk of child abuse and neglect now and in the future.

Examines the statistics and research related to maltreatment of children with disabilities, risk factors, and strategies for prevention. Issues encountered when assessing a child with a disability for maltreatment are explored; and information about promising prevention, collaboration, and training approaches are outlined.

Summarizes the effects of early trauma on brain development and steps child welfare professionals can take to screen for developmental delays and identify the trauma-affected children and youth in their care. Looks at ways to access cross-sector, therapeutic, and evidence-based treatment to encourage healthy recovery for trauma-affected children and youth.

This bulletin for child-serving professionals outside of child protective services discusses ways to support children and their caregivers and connect them with appropriate resources that may mitigate any risks for harm during crisis situations. This document is organized by the five protective factors that build on family strengths to foster child and youth well-being and development. Each section contains questions that professionals can address with parents/caregivers and with children/youth in the course of their work with families, with an emphasis on content appropriate for virtual visits.

This set includes 23 tip sheets written to help service providers offer guidance to parents and caregivers on specific issues, while supporting factors known to protect families from the risk of child abuse and neglect. Each easy-to-read factsheet focuses on concrete steps parents can take to care more effectively for their children and strengthen their family.

Outlines the legal definition of child abuse and neglect; the different types of abuse and neglect; and the signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect, including human trafficking. It also includes information on how to effectively identify and report maltreatment and refer children who have been maltreated as well as additional resources.