02 Apr Child Abuse Prevention Month: Strengthen Families & Protective Factors
By Leah Wade, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Child abuse is something that everyone can play a part in preventing. From business professionals to grandparents, to neighbors, to teachers, to grocery store clerks, everyone has a role in preventing child abuse and promoting safe environments for children.
According to the recent national Child Maltreatment Report, Kentucky ranks 14th in the nation for child maltreatment. Kentucky is 60% higher than the national average, with child maltreatment at 12.3 per 1,000 children. Child abuse prevention, as outlined by Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky, consists of education and recognition of types of child abuse, pediatric abusive head trauma, neglect, and Adverse Childhood Experiences. It also consists of efforts to ensure the safety and security of children through policy, research, public awareness, accessibility to services, and support of protective factors.
Kentucky Strengthening Families is a national collaboration that promotes the six researched-based protective factors in communities and services. These protective factors build healthy communities and families and reduce the risk of child abuse.
Six Protective Factors:
1. Parental Resilience Families bounce back
2. Social Connections Families have friends they can count on
3. Knowledge of Child Development Families learn how their children grow and develop
4. Concrete Support in Times of Need Families get assistance to meet basic needs
5. Social and Emotional Competence of Children Families teach children how to have healthy relationships
6. Nurturing and Attachment Families ensure children feel loved and safe
The Face It Movement, an initiative founded and funded by Kosair For Kids, directly addresses the unacceptable incidences of child abuse and neglect in Kentucky with the promotion of best practices in child abuse prevention and intervention, engaging the community, and advocating for effective policies to improve the child welfare system. The Face It Movement provides free resources for community members, organizational partners, families, and caregivers to prevent child abuse and support the safety of all children.
For Child Abuse Prevention Month, Face It provides a social media toolkit for community partners to promote prevention tips for parents and caregivers throughout the month of April. Likewise, Face It provides easy ways YOU can be involved in preventing child abuse, such as attending featured events, volunteering with partner organization, donating to Kosair for Kids, and sharing social media parenting tips with caregivers, amongst others. Check out faceitabuse.org/capm/ for more information!
Be sure to follow Face It on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram throughout the month for safety tips, event highlights, parenting inspiration, and more!