P REVENTING C HILD N EGLECT :
I T ’ S M ORE THAN A F AMILY A FFAIR
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EVENT/CONFERENCE
DATE

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• Welcome & Introductions
• Definition & the Basics of Child Neglect
• Preventing Child Neglect Initiative
• Preventing Child Neglect: the Socio-Ecological Model
• What You Can Do…at each level of S-E Model
• Your Comments, Observations & Questions

The Father of
Children’s Trust Funds
• Ray Helfer, MD conceived of and advocated for state children’s trust and prevention funds.
• The first Children’s Trust Fund was created in the state of
Kansas in 1980, beginning a national movement for developing CTFs in all states.
• Support from the federal Child
Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (CAPTA) has always been important to CTFs

• In almost every state.
• Focus on strengthening families to prevent child abuse and neglect before it occurs.
• Catalyze and support prevention efforts at the individual, family, community and societal levels.

• About 60% are the state CBCAP lead agency
• About 25% are the state Prevent Child Abuse
America chapter
• Many are licensed to manage specific programs in their state

• Children’s Trust and
Prevention Funds annually provide about
$200 million in funding for state-wide and community-based child abuse and neglect prevention strategies and leverage even greater amounts of funding.

The Alliance was established in 1989 to:
 Promote and support a national network of strong state children’s trust and prevention funds (CTFs)
 Initiate and engage in national efforts that help CTFs in strengthening families to prevent child abuse and neglect.
 Promote and support a system of services, laws, practices and attitudes that supports families by enabling them to provide their children with safe, healthy, and nurturing childhoods.

National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds
 Alliance is the membership organization for state children’s trust and prevention funds
 Multi-year focus on helping CTFs, their state systems partners and community programs support families in building protective factors
 Strong collaborations with other national organizations and federal partners
 Commitment to partnering with parents and community members

 There is sometimes a fine line between parental neglect of children and societal neglect of families
 The result for the children can be equally devastating
 Neglect prevention strategies can be quite different and include policies, practices, programs, financing, economic development, support for basic needs, etc.

While there is no singular definition of child neglect, a generic statement that is unlikely to be refuted is:
Child Neglect is a failure to meet children’s basic needs – whether the failure is the responsibility of parents, communities or society – and this void places children in harm’s way.

B ASICS OF C HILD N EGLECT
 Neglect is not one monolithic category – subtypes include physical, medical, emotional & educational neglect, & inadequate supervision
 Dominant and most pervasive form of CA/N
 70% of all child fatalities (2012)
 Only type of CA/N that has not declined in recent years
 More likely to recur that other forms of CA/N
 When recurring, cumulative impacts to child over time
 Can seriously impair child’s physical, cognitive, & social and emotional development

B ASICS OF C HILD N EGLECT
No single cause of neglect
Four evidence-informed characteristics that contribute to or are associated with child neglect
 Low socio-economic status
 Maternal depression and mental health disorders
 Substance abuse
 Interpersonal violence

I NITIATIVE ’ S S COPE OF W ORK :
P REVENTING C HILD N EGLECT
Alliance’s Neglect Prevention Initiative
 Integrating six years of work on the Strengthening
Families Protective Factor Framework
 Literature review
 Key informant interviews
 Creating a research-informed approach to child neglect prevention
 Identifying strategies that prevent child neglect
 Leading a national conversation

Concrete Supports in
Times of Need
Society
Social Connections
Community/
Neighborhood
Concrete Supports in
Times of Need
Family/
Relationships
Knowledge of Parenting &
Child Development
Parent Resilience
Child/
Individual
Social and Emotional
Competence of Children

www.preventioninstitute.org
Influencing Legislation and Policy
Changing Organizational Practices
Fostering Coalitions & Networks
Educating Providers
Promoting Community Education
Strengthening Individual Knowledge & Skills

 Variety of experiences/perspectives
 Selected CTF directors
 Researchers
 Policy Experts
 Practitioners/Social Workers
 Family Members
 Cross Disciplinary Professionals

K EY I NFORMANT I NTERVIEW Q UESTIONS
 Risk and Protective Factors at each of four levels of Socio - Ecological Model
 What is working well at family, community, system and policies to prevent neglect from occurring?
 What efforts need to be made to make significant impact on preventing neglect from occurring?
 Role/contributions to be made by the Alliance
 Role/contributions to be made by the CTFs

M OST F REQUENTLY I DENTIFIED P ROTECTIVE
F ACTORS
 Understanding of/Focus on Brain Architecture
 Universal Early Childhood Education &
Development
 Standard of Adequate Parent Care /Parenting
Behaviors
 Resources to Meet Family’s Needs
 Competent Parenting

M OST F REQUENTLY I DENTIFIED RISK F ACTORS
 History of Trauma
 Maternal Depression/Mental Health
 Substance Abuse
 Devaluing/minimizing challenges associated with raising children

Poverty has a Sense of Urgency
Action is Needed to:
 Shore up the safety net
 Raise political awareness about poverty
 Reframe issues & narratives in ways that reduce or eliminate polarization of our reactions to social problems
 Move discussion from incriminating parents to examining context & communities in which almost all parents are trying to raise children safely

S O W HAT C AN W E A LL
D O TO G ET FROM
ERE
A CALL TO ACTION
TO PREVENT
CHILD NEGLECT

T
OUTCOMES
T O
HERE
Safe & Healthy Children
Strong & Stable Families
Supportive and Thriving Communities
Humanitarian Society

OUNDATIONAL
EQUISITES
T HE G IVENS
 Acknowledge Existence & Increase Public Awareness
 Recognize the Ramifications of Inaction to Children’s
Brain Development and Health (short-term) and our
Nation’s Economic Prosperity (long-term)
 Develop Needed Partnerships and Relevant
Resources to Take Action
 Embrace Preventative Strategies to Reduce the
Incidence and Prevalence of Child Neglect
 Intervene & Effectively Treat Child Neglect
 Address All Areas of the Social Ecology

Call to Action:
PREVENT CHILD NEGLECT
SOCIETY
Federal laws and public policies that
• Remediate child and family poverty
• Meet children’s basic needs
• Increase supports of family policies
• Support father involvement
• Develop partnerships with families
• Respect culturally diverse practices
• Promote universal approaches that target very young children and families
• Encourage comprehensive, integrative approaches
Public will and social norms that
• Encourage giving of ourselves to benefit those less fortunate
• Eliminate stigma associated with needing and asking for help
• Expect formal and informal leaders to “walk the talk”
Federal and state financing that
• Invests in cost-effective prevention efforts
• Funds strategies/programs that collectively meet the multi-dimensional needs of families
• Prioritizes research funding (including neuroscience)
COMMUNITY
Neighborhood
• Available/accessible/affordable/qua lity
 Food
 Housing
 Education
 Child care
 Transportation
 Health care
 Job opportunities/living income
 Social supports
• Safe, stable and nurturing environment
• Parent participation in local endeavors
• Community culture of collaboration
• Concrete supports in times of need
• Linkages to quality services when needed
• Culturally specific services and supports
• Research-based services selection to enhance child and family wellbeing
 Acknowledge existence and increase public awareness of child neglect
 Recognize the ramifications of inaction
 Embrace strategies to reduce incidence and prevalence of child neglect
 Intervene and effectively treat child neglect
FAMILY
Relationship
Strategies and methods that build and sustain
• Strong families
• Healthy partner relationship
• Nurturing and attachment
• Fathers’ involvement
• Social connections
• Family’s ability to provide basic needs for children
• Parents as key decisionmakers in their own families
INDIVIDUAL
Parent/
Caregiver/Child
Strategies and methods that build and sustain
• Physical, emotional and economic well-being
• Knowledge of parenting and child development
• Parental resilience
• Social and emotional competence of children
• Parent’s ability to obtain assistance if needed
OUTCOMES: Humanitarian
Society
Supportive and
Thriving
Communities
Strong and
Stable
Families
Safe and
Healthy
Children

A W ISH L IST AT THE S OCIETY L EVEL
 Advances in neuroscience
 Government policies and programs that provide economic support
 Recognize the importance of parenting & offer education, social and material support to parents who are in need
 Design prevention strategies that address all levels of socio-ecological model
 Universal policies that support new parents

Call to Action:
PREVENT CHILD NEGLECT
SOCIETY
Federal laws and public policies that
• Remediate child and family poverty
• Meet children’s basic needs
• Increase supports of family policies
• Support father involvement
• Develop partnerships with families
• Respect culturally diverse practices
• Promote universal approaches that target very young children and families
• Encourage comprehensive, integrative approaches
Public will and social norms that
• Encourage giving of ourselves to benefit those less fortunate
• Eliminate stigma associated with needing and asking for help
• Expect formal and informal leaders to “walk the talk”
Federal and state financing that
• Invest in cost-effective prevention efforts
• Fund strategies/programs that collectively meet the multi-dimensional needs of families
• Prioritize research funding (including neuroscience)
COMMUNITY
Neighborhood
• Available/accessible/affordable/qua lity
 Food
 Housing
 Education
 Child care
 Transportation
 Health care
 Job opportunities/living income
 Social supports
• Safe, stable and nurturing environment
• Parent participation in local endeavors
• Community culture of collaboration
• Concrete supports in times of need
• Linkages to quality services when needed
• Culturally specific services and supports
• Research-based services selection to enhance child and family wellbeing
 Acknowledge existence and increase public awareness of child neglect
 Recognize the ramifications of inaction
 Embrace strategies to reduce incidence and prevalence of child neglect
 Intervene and effectively treat child neglect
FAMILY
Relationship
Strategies and methods that build and sustain
• Strong families
• Healthy partner relationship
• Nurturing and attachment
• Fathers’ involvement
• Social connections
• Family’s ability to provide basic needs for children
• Parents as key decisionmakers in their own families
INDIVIDUAL
Parent/
Caregiver/Child
Strategies and methods that build and sustain
• Physical, emotional and economic well-being
• Knowledge of parenting and child development
• Parental resilience
• Social and emotional competence of children
• Parent’s ability to obtain assistance if needed
OUTCOMES: Humanitarian
Society
Supportive and
Thriving
Communities
Strong and
Stable
Families
Safe and
Healthy
Children

Call to Action:
PREVENT CHILD NEGLECT
 Acknowledge existence and increase public awareness of child neglect
 Recognize the ramifications of inaction
 Embrace strategies to reduce incidence and prevalence of child neglect
 Intervene and effectively treat child neglect
SOCIETY
Federal laws and public policies that
• Remediate child and family poverty
• Meet children’s basic needs
• Increase supports of family policies
• Support father involvement
• Develop partnerships with families
• Respect culturally diverse practices
• Promote universal approaches that target very young children and families
• Encourage comprehensive, integrative approaches
Public will and social norms that
• Encourage giving of ourselves to benefit those less fortunate
• Eliminate stigma associated with needing and asking for help
• Expect formal and informal leaders to “walk the talk”
Federal and state financing that
• Invest in cost-effective prevention efforts
• Fund strategies/programs that collectively meet the multi-dimensional needs of families
• Prioritize research funding (including neuroscience)
COMMUNITY
Neighborhood
• Available/accessible/affordable/qua lity
 Food
 Housing
 Education
 Child care
 Transportation
 Health care
 Job opportunities/living income
 Social supports
• Safe, stable and nurturing environment
• Parent participation in local endeavors
• Community culture of collaboration
• Concrete supports in times of need
• Linkages to quality services when needed
• Culturally specific services and supports
• Research-based services selection to enhance child and family wellbeing
FAMILY
Relationship
Strategies and methods that build and sustain
• Strong families
• Healthy partner relationship
• Nurturing and attachment
• Fathers’ involvement
• Social connections
• Family’s ability to provide basic needs for children
• Parents as key decisionmakers in their own families
INDIVIDUAL
Parent/
Caregiver/Child
Strategies and methods that build and sustain
• Physical, emotional and economic well-being
• Knowledge of parenting and child development
• Parental resilience
• Social and emotional competence of children
• Parent’s ability to obtain assistance if needed
OUTCOMES: Humanitarian
Society
Supportive and
Thriving
Communities
Strong and
Stable
Families
Safe and
Healthy
Children

Call to Action:
PREVENT CHILD NEGLECT
 Acknowledge existence and increase public awareness of child neglect
 Recognize the ramifications of inaction
 Embrace strategies to reduce incidence and prevalence of child neglect
 Intervene and effectively treat child neglect
SOCIETY
Federal laws and public policies that
• Remediate child and family poverty
• Meet children’s basic needs
• Increase supports of family policies
• Support father involvement
• Develop partnerships with families
• Respect culturally diverse practices
• Promote universal approaches that target very young children and families
• Encourage comprehensive, integrative approaches
Public will and social norms that
• Encourage giving of ourselves to benefit those less fortunate
• Eliminate stigma associated with needing and asking for help
• Expect formal and informal leaders to “walk the talk”
Federal and state financing that
• Invest in cost-effective prevention efforts
• Fund strategies/programs that collectively meet the multi-dimensional needs of families
• Prioritize research funding (including neuroscience)
COMMUNITY
Neighborhood
• Available/accessible/affordable/qua lity
 Food
 Housing
 Education
 Child care
 Transportation
 Health care
 Job opportunities/living income
 Social supports
• Safe, stable and nurturing environment
• Parent participation in local endeavors
• Community culture of collaboration
• Concrete supports in times of need
• Linkages to quality services when needed
• Culturally specific services and supports
• Research-based services selection to enhance child and family wellbeing
FAMILY
Relationship
Strategies and methods that build and sustain
• Strong families
• Healthy partner relationship
• Nurturing and attachment
• Fathers’ involvement
• Social connections
• Family’s ability to provide basic needs for children
• Parents as key decisionmakers in their own families
INDIVIDUAL
Parent/
Caregiver/Child
Strategies and methods that build and sustain
• Physical, emotional and economic well-being
• Knowledge of parenting and child development
• Parental resilience
• Social and emotional competence of children
• Parent’s ability to obtain assistance if needed
OUTCOMES: Humanitarian
Society
Supportive and
Thriving Communities
Strong and
Stable
Families
Safe and
Healthy
Children

Call to Action:
PREVENT CHILD NEGLECT
• Acknowledge existence and increase public awareness of child neglect
• Recognize the ramifications of inaction
• Embrace strategies to reduce incidence and prevalence of child neglect
• Intervene and effectively treat child neglect
SOCIETY
Federal laws and public policies that
• Remediate child and family poverty
• Meet children’s basic needs
• Increase supports of family policies
• Support father involvement
• Develop partnerships with families
• Respect culturally diverse practices
• Promote universal approaches that target very young children and families
• Encourage comprehensive, integrative approaches
Public will and social norms that
• Encourage giving of ourselves to benefit those less fortunate
• Eliminate stigma associated with needing and asking for help
• Expect formal and informal leaders to “walk the talk”
Federal and state financing that
• Invest in cost-effective prevention efforts
• Fund strategies/programs that collectively meet the multi-dimensional needs of families
• Prioritize research funding (including neuroscience)
COMMUNITY
Neighborhood
• Available/accessible/affordable/qua lity
 Food
 Housing
 Education
 Child care
 Transportation
 Health care
 Job opportunities/living income
 Social supports
• Safe, stable and nurturing environment
• Parent participation in local endeavors
• Community culture of collaboration
• Concrete supports in times of need
• Linkages to quality services when needed
• Culturally specific services and supports
• Research-based services selection to enhance child and family wellbeing
FAMILY
Relationship
Strategies and methods that build and sustain
• Strong families
• Healthy partner relationship
• Nurturing and attachment
• Fathers’ involvement
• Social connections
• Family’s ability to provide basic needs for children
• Parents as key decisionmakers in their own families
INDIVIDUAL
Parent/
Caregiver
Strategies and methods that build and sustain
• Physical, emotional and economic wellbeing
• Knowledge of parenting and child development
• Parental resilience
• Social and emotional competence of children
• Parent’s ability to obtain assistance if needed
OUTCOMES: Humanitarian
Society
Supportive and
Thriving Communities
Strong and
Stable Families
Safe and
Healthy Children

I N T HEIR O WN W ORDS
Somehow we have created divisions in order to organize and encapsulate the work and ultimately we have done a disservice to the impact that we are trying to achieve and a disservice to children and their families. We cannot be limited by programmatic levels; we have to put together research and theory and practice and policy in a way that can lead to transformational change. - Key Informant

T HESE W ORK W ELL
ET
S
 Home Visiting – universal & targeted
 Family Connection
 Project Safe Care
 Triple P – Positive Parenting Program
 Strengthening Families Initiative
 Nurturing Parent Program
 Early Head Start
 Incredible Years
 Circle of Parents/ Parents Anonymous

I DENTIFYING T HAT W HICH I S R ELATED
 Comprehensive Community Change Initiatives
 WI Community Response Program – Project
Gain
 Promise Neighborhoods (DOE)
 Choice Neighborhoods (HUD)
 Invest in Children – Cuyahoga County, OH
 Help Me Grow

What Can I Do…
 Communicate the importance of child neglect prevention in all walks of life – Assume the role of advocate and champion whenever possible
 Advocate to shore up the safety net
 Raise political awareness about poverty and the need to alleviate it
 Reframe issues & narratives in ways that reduce or eliminate polarization of our reactions to social problems
 Move discussion from incriminating parents to examining the context and communities in which nearly all parents are trying to raise children safely

What Can I Do…
 Communicate importance of child neglect prevention to your neighbors
 Mobilize community members to establish “2-1-1” capacity to identify and share information about resources to meet families’ needs
 Establish means to expose “power leaders” to (1) families living in compromised environments & (2) efforts that effectively prevent child neglect…Facilitate this exposure.
 Identify credible Story Tellers who are willing to publically share their personal narratives and promote opportunities to share these stories.
 Offer and provide support to parents and others who share their personal narratives to educate others.

 All families have strengths
 All communities have strengths
 The solutions to challenges are most often in the community
 A little help from outside can leverage significant results

 Engaging community members in focused, structured discussions around questions that are important to child, family and community well-being.
 Building partnerships with parents and building protective factors within a community

What Can I Do…
 Demonstrate supportive parent-child Interactions both in your home and in public settings
 Identify & remind parents of what they do well when stressful situations challenge their parenting confidence.
 Form a playgroup where parents come together and support one another while their children play with peers.
 Nurture your primary relationship and remember the importance of intimate partner relationship stability
 Create or maintain opportunities and experiences that instill hope and promote optimism

…As An
?
 Communicate the importance of child neglect prevention to others and whenever possible, enlist them in your efforts.
 Become a resource to your local media on child neglect prevention as well as to civic, religious, and hobby groups that present opportunities to ‘spread the word.’
 Change the dialogue – Create narratives that challenge the notion that support to families is overprotective.
 Listen, empathize, and instill hope whenever you speak with families confronting challenges
 Support families in building protective factors

Bringing the Protective Factors
Framework to Life in Your Work
 Online training to support implementation of the
Strengthening Families™ Protective
Factors Framework in multiple settings
 Systems may use it for awarding
CEUs, other credits
 Provided free of charge to users
 7 courses, each about
2 hours in length o Introduction to the Framework
(also useful as a stand-alone orientation) o A course on each of the 5
Protective Factors o A wrap-up course that moves users from knowledge to action
More information is available at: www.ctfalliance.org/onlinetraining
Contact onlinetraining@ctfalliance.org

The Alliance is Now Training Others to Become Certified Trainers on This
Course Material Adapted From the On-line Content. Those Completing the
3-Day Training of Trainers:
 Become Certified Trainers and members of a national learning community of trainers from diverse fields who seek excellence in training around protective factors
 Receive the Trainer’s Manual for all 7 courses
 Receive a limited license to use course materials to train local and state audiences
 Receive access to the Alliance’s Trainer Support Site, offering the ability to :
 Download all training materials
 Utilize a virtual library organized around the Protective
Factors
 Have access to a trainer forum
 Participate in periodic Learning Community Networking Events with other Certified Trainers

Specific Neglect Prevention Materials




• Alliance publication to share research and innovative approaches in the field of child abuse and neglect prevention
• Each edition includes a section that “spotlights” a particular area such as home visiting, preventing child neglect, program implementation science, etc.
• Each edition also includes “The Savvy Practitioner,” a section that helps those who are not researchers better understand and be able to implement the important research findings related to our work
• Helps bridge the gap between research and practice www.ctfalliance.org/researchreview

Birth Parent National Network (BPNN)
 For parents at risk of or already engaged in the child welfare system and the organizations that support them
 Build knowledge base on engaging parents as strategic partners in policy activities
 Disseminate knowledge and information to BPNN organizations and parents
 Engage parents as partners to inform policy and practice
 Expand tools to train parents and organizations to communicate messages and partner together to change practice and policy at state and federal levels.
 Build a cohesive and unified national voice to inform policy and practice

• A series of 13 publications, five videos and other resources developed by the Alliance in collaboration with children’s trust funds and their partners
• The focus is on partnering with parents, research, community capacity building, professional development, policy and collaboration www.ctfalliance.org/ResourcesForAction

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