Highlight
Last year, the Children’s Bureau, Casey Family Programs, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Prevent Child Abuse America launched a new initiative called Thriving Families, Safer Children: A National Commitment to Well-Being. This initiative invited states, municipalities, and tribes to apply to receive technical support for collaborative projects working to establish child well-being systems.
A collaboration of organizations, including the Department of Child Safety Office of Prevention, the Arizona Council of Human Service Providers, Prevent Child Abuse Arizona, and the Collective Impact for Child Safety and Well-Being, worked together to submit an application, which was accepted.
The shared vision outlined in the application is to develop a statewide system to refer families to existing resources in a way that builds trust and gets them what they say they need.
Successfully achieving this vision necessitates the inclusion and leadership of youth, parents, people of color disproportionately affected by the child welfare system and poverty, and those with lived experience in the systems we are seeking to change—as well as community partners, service providers, and informal support networks. If you are interested in joining this effort, please contact claire@pcaaz.org.
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Impact Story
Parenting is stressful, even in the best of times. For the past half-year, Prevent Child Abuse Arizona Training and Program Director Meghan Hays Davis and Arizona's Children Association Program Supervisor Salli Maxwell have partnered to offer Parent Huddles twice per quarter. This "huddle" serves as a way for parents to gather together to strategize, learn, and give and receive support. Parents drive the conversation and Meghan and Salli offer support by answering questions or discussing struggles about child development and behavior. Parents leave feeling more resilient, connected, and knowledgeable about their children's needs.
One parent shared that she appreciated learning that "toddlers and children are not always rational and competent. They are not acting out on purpose to hurt you, but to communicate a need that they have and don't know how to express.” She added that this will help her practice patience and empathy during stressful times with her children.
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Advocacy
Across the nation, neglect is the most prevalent form of child maltreatment, but it is too often confused with poverty. There is a difference between the willful neglect of a child and the inability to access or afford resources. To ensure families are not punished for poverty, and to ensure children are safe with their families, we must make a clear distinction between child neglect and poverty. H.R. 2535, now circulating its second revisions in the House of Representatives, requires the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that grants given to states for child protective services systems are not used to separate a child from parents for reasons of poverty.
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Today in Prevention
The 2020 Child Abuse Prevention Conference was unprecedented in several ways, including the remarkable workshop proposals we received from presenters – more than we could manage to squeeze into a virtual conference! So we are continuing the learning opportunities by offering monthly webinars to you FREE through June. Every Third Thursday, we will be hosting one of the top workshops we wanted to feature at the 2020 conference but could not due to schedule limits. To register, follow the link below. Scroll down to view additional webinar opportunities!
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Call for Workshops
Prevent Child Abuse Arizona's Statewide Child Abuse Prevention Conference, now in its 27th year, brings together hundreds of child welfare professionals from various sectors across Arizona for two days of learning, inspiration, networking, connecting, and brainstorming. This year's event will be held virtually July 13-14, 2021.
Are you interested in presenting an engaging workshop on child maltreatment prevention? Please send us your proposal! Our theme this year is Cultivating Trust, and we are especially interested in workshops that incorporate key strategies such as . . . click below to learn more!
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The National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health series of learning modules is designed for a range of health professionals, human service providers, community health workers, home visitors, and peer supporters who interact with families on safe sleep and breastfeeding topics.
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Emergency Rental Assistance Program
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 authorized financial rent and utility relief for Arizona renters and landlords to be administered at the state and local levels. Renters and landlords in 12 Arizona counties are able to apply for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) using an online portal. Applications will be accepted through the program’s expiration on December 31, 2021, or until funding is exhausted.
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Fundraising
Children are locally grown. The environment surrounding our community’s children is critical to their successful development. Thus, we work together to cultivate relationships, connections, and environments that help every child thrive. You can make a difference in providing fertile ground for families to thrive. Give a helpful smile to a parent in the grocery store, get to know your neighbor, or donate to Prevent Child Abuse Arizona. You can nurture your community. We harvest what we sow. Let’s do it together.
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April is Child Abuse Prevention Month
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1. Mark your calendar now! April 1 is 'Wear Blue Day'! From azure to navy, wear your blue and share a photo on social media. Be sure to use the hashtags #GrowingBetterTogether and #WeCanPreventChildAbuseArizona!
2. Shop at Bashas’! For the entire month of April, Bashas’ family-owned grocery stores will be doing a roundup campaign to support Prevent Child Abuse Arizona and two other Arizona nonprofits. It’s an easy way to get the groceries you need while also strengthening Arizona’s children and families.
3. See the strengths in families. It can sometimes be easier to point out the negative than it is to see the positive. This month, when someone’s behavior bothers you, ask yourself, “What happened to them?” rather than “What’s wrong with them?” Help parents know their worth by telling them about the positives and the strengths you see in them.
4. Treasure children. Be kind whenever you’re in the presence of a child. Strike a positive conversation with children. Talk to children to make them feel like they’re part of the community. Acknowledge their strengths, efforts, and feelings. Help build children’s social skills by modeling humility, character, courtesy, and kindness.
5. Honor bravery. It’s not easy for parents to ask for help, and it shouldn’t hurt to ask. If parents seek assistance, offer encouragement that they did the right thing. Tell them, “You’re not the first one or the last one to need help.” It takes leaders to normalize help-seeking. Speak about the times that you’ve received help.
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Director's Corner
It's Normal Not to Be Okay.
By Claire Louge, Executive Director
Think about a time when you went through something hard, and you went to someone for support. Was their response supportive and helpful?
If it was, it's probably because they expressed empathy: They acknowledged that what you were going through was hard. That acknowledgment is the doorway to moving through tough emotions and tough times. It makes you feel more seen and less alone. It makes it okay not to be okay.
One thing I have appreciated about this pandemic era is that it has become normal not to feel okay. Our collective experience, in many ways, has given us the opportunity for empathy because we're all going through something hard. Although some have it much harder than others, the shared experience makes it easier to relate, to empathize. When we normalize that life can cause overwhelming stress, our struggle isn't considered a character flaw or a judgment on our worth; it becomes an understandable reaction to our circumstance. It becomes an opportunity for support.
Normalizing stress is also a key to preventing child abuse. Most child abuse and neglect is a result of overwhelming stress experienced by parents and caregivers. When we make it okay not to be okay, we're creating a culture of non-judgment and support, opening up the doors for parents to ask for help when they need it, and that is where prevention happens.
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As a 501(c)3 organization, Prevent Child Abuse Arizona is eligible to receive bequests. Please contact Rebekah Prieto at rebekah@pcaaz.org if you would like to discuss including
Prevent Child Abuse Arizona in your legacy.
Tax ID #86-0832901
Prevent Child Abuse Arizona can only accept donations from individuals, businesses, and foundations located in the State of Arizona.
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Prevent Child Abuse Arizona is shifting the public conversation about child maltreatment so that prevention is the priority. The organization provides research-based prevention services, education and training to help promote strong families and safe, healthy children. For more information, visit pcaaz.org.
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