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.
The protective factors have always been central to the Resource Guide. A protective factors approach focuses on positive ways to engage families by emphasizing their strengths, in addition to identifying areas where they have room to grow with support. Focusing on protective factors helps children, youth, and families build resilience and contributes to positive outcomes.
The following links directly to the Protective factors vignettes which were designed to support service providers and others in identifying key protective factors, tip sheets to assist with facilitating conversations about essential topics around accessing services and understanding child development and activity calendars that provide examples of ways to plan and engage families in events related to the protective factors.
Prevention Resource Guides
2023/2024 Prevention Resource Guide
Author(s)
Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau, Child Welfare Information Gateway, FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention
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. Download now or pre-order your physical copy scheduled to be shipped in May.
2021/2022 Prevention Resource Guide
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway;Children's Bureau;FRIENDS National Resource Center For Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention
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.
2019/2020 Prevention Resource Guide
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway;Children's Bureau;FRIENDS National Resource Center For Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention
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.
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