Community-based service providers are dedicated to helping children and families thrive within their context. This work therefore includes identifying family strengths that can be further developed, including the protective factors of nurturing and attachment, knowledge of parenting and child development, parental resilience, social connections, and concrete supports for parents. Effective casework practice involves leveraging these protective factors, which begins by engaging families in conversation.
Identifying and developing protective factors is an essential framework for child abuse prevention. The resources in this section were part of previous National Child Abuse Prevention Month campaigns but continue to support these processes. Protective factors vignettes are designed to support service providers and others in identifying key protective factors in diverse family contacts, while the tip sheets help facilitate conversations about essential topics, including accessing services and understanding child development.