JULY 2010
A publication of the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Santa Barbara County — because their world depends on us!
Member of the Coastal Tri-Counties Child Abuse Prevention Council
Nurturing Parent Leadership
In Protecting Children and Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect
Parents bring a unique voice to child
abuse and neglect prevention. Whether
they are getting involved due to their
own experiences or because they have a
desire to learn or to help their community, parents find ways to share our message that we as “professionals” often
cannot communicate as effectively from
the heart.
Professionals working in the field know
that the majority of child abuse cases are
due to neglect: inadequate food, shelter
or medical care, often due to a caregiver
abusing drugs or alcohol, suffering mental health issues or lacking parenting
skills. We also understand that in addition to addressing these risk factors,
there are “protective factors” that work
to prevent child abuse and neglect. But
sometimes it takes a parent’s voice to
bring this message home, so that those
hearing it can use it to prevent child
abuse and neglect.
At a recent parent leadership training
held by the Child Abuse Prevention
Council, a mother from Santa Ynez who
had attended the Parent Leadership
Conference, told the following story:
“An elephant was captured as a baby, and
his leg was tied to a little stake in the
ground every night so he wouldn’t run
away. While the elephant was little he
tried to run away many times, pulling and
pulling all night to free his leg, but the
stake held tight. So one day the elephant
gave up and stopped trying to escape, convinced that he was too weak to pull out
the stake. Years passed and the elephant
grew big and strong. So strong in fact that
he could have easily ripped the stake that
was holding him out of the ground. But he
never tried. Because of what happened
when he was young, he was convinced
that he was not strong enough to escape.”
The parent ended the story by telling the
group, “Our role as parent leaders is to
help parents see that no matter what happened before or how weak they once
were, they have the power in them to
help their families be strong and start believing in themselves as parents.”
Parents do benefit in many ways from participating in leadership groups. They report building knowledge and skills, an increased sense of personal achievement,
improved employment skills, and a sense
of their own leadership role in the family.
But the biggest benefit of
including parents is the effect it has on the prevention of child abuse and neglect in a community.
Families are the biggest
resource to each other
and their communities.
In a recent parent survey by
the Child Abuse Prevention
Council,
“other
family
members” and “friends”
significantly outscored any other category in response to the question
“When you have questions or concerns about your family, where do you
look for support?” Parents’ voices are
particularly effective when it comes to
encouraging other parents to actively
seek help in stressful or challenging
situations; this is one of the behaviors
we know prevents child abuse and
neglect.
Parents know their families and
communities.
Children live in families, and families
live in communities. Each family and
community has a unique set of
strengths and challenges that affect a
child’s environment and shape his or
her upbringing. Many parents report
that it was difficult to go against the
social environment that created their
norm for parenting. Parents who
come from similar backgrounds and
understand the challenges of a particular community know how to help others see the strengths and assets that
also exist. They can show others how
to build on those strengths to create
new norms that include those
strengths, but also incorporate healthy
parenting techniques and knowledge of
child development, two essential components in the prevention of child
abuse and neglect.
The CAPC Connection, July 2010
Communities benefit from strong networks of family
support.
Research identifies isolation as one of the risk factors for
child abuse and neglect. Families who are connected to other
families through engaging in community activities, volunteering
or joining parent groups provide valuable support to each
other and help each other in ways that more formal support
systems don’t have the capacity to do. Just as isolation is a
major risk factor for child abuse and neglect, having social
supports works as a protective factor for families.
Parent leadership strengthens families.
Parents who are working in leadership capacities are naturally
learning and growing as parents and report being able to apply new knowledge and skills at home. This contributes to
creating a strong bond between caregiver and child, helping
protect them from abuse and neglect.
Parents provide valuable insights and can express
them in unique ways.
As the story about the elephant illustrates, parents bring
creative ways to share the message, often enriched through
their own experiences. Their willingness to share personal
hardships inspires confidence in other parents to ask for help
and assists agencies in understanding how to better engage
family members. Accessible services and more resilient families are known to prevent child abuse and neglect.
page 2
In the field of child
abuse and neglect prevention, parent leadership is increasingly recognized as a key component in effective prevention practice. The
State Office of Child
Abuse Prevention has
created a State Parent
Team led by Parents
Anonymous to ensure
that parent voices are
engaged at every level
in planning for services,
and has hosted two
statewide parent leadership
conferences,
each of which was attended by over 300 parents.
Locally, the CAPC has created a parent leadership group that
is becoming active in helping spread the message of how to
prevent child abuse and neglect. We all have a role to play in
child abuse and neglect prevention, whether as a Mandated
Reporter, concerned community member or professional.
Active parents are a great resource; let us value and respect
their role by providing them with tools and meaningful ways
to get involved.
What Is Parent Leadership?
A parent leader may be a parent, grandparent, kinship care provider,
foster parent, or anyone else in a parenting role. Often parent leaders
have personal experience in utilizing services or resources that have
helped their family; others may initially join to learn about an issue and
realize they have the potential to help their community.
For parent leadership to be meaningful, “professionals” need to be
receptive to sharing responsibilities and open to recognizing the value
of parents’ insights and expertise, while providing adequate training in
such areas as presenting, participating in public meetings and understanding programs and services of the agency.
Below are some meaningful ways an agency can include parents:
•
Offer parents opportunities to participate in professional conferences
•
Invite parents to participate on the board of directors
•
Provide access to training
•
Invite parents to work alongside staff on projects and committees
Source: Parents Anonymous Parent Leadership Month Toolkit
http://www.parentsanonymous.org/pahtml/NPLMonth_tk1.html
The Child Abuse Prevention Council values
parent leadership and parent participation and
invests time and resources in sending parents
to conferences, hosting regular meetings and
providing trainings.
If you know of a parent at your school, center
or organization that would be interested in
participating in a parent leadership group dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect, please e-mail the CAPC Connection at
[email protected]
The CAPC Connection, July 2010
SPOTLIGHT ON THE PROTECTIVE FACTORS:
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Social skills begin to develop through positive interactions between adults
and children. Most children develop social skills through nurturing relationships and everyday activities. Some children need more focused attention
to develop socially and emotionally. How adults react to the child is KEY:
acting out children make parents feel incompetent and reactive; unresponsive parents make children feel incompetent. Both need support.
page 3
Child Abuse Prevention
Academy Is a Success
In observing this protective factor in your environment, ask yourself:
•
Have you noticed yourself responding with more or less control to a
child based on his or her behavior?
•
How could you help a parent who is struggling with a challenging
child?
•
Where else can families get help to strengthen this protective factor?
For more information on the protective factors, visit
www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/promoting/protectfactors.
The Santa Barbara CAPC is Now Online!
Check out www.PreventChildAbuseSB.org, the SB CAPC’s
new website!
Find out more about the CAPC’s commitment to preventing child abuse and neglect, news, upcoming events, media
outreach efforts, publications (including past issues of the
CAPC Connection), and mandated reporting, as well as
links and resources for prevention, parenting and more!
Save the Date: Parent Conference
Parents Anonymous has announced that the 2011 California State Parent
Conference is scheduled for February 8th and 9th. This conference provides a wonderful opportunity to learn more about issues relevant to parenting and preventing child abuse and neglect, and is a chance for parents
and agencies to work together to develop communicative relationships.
For updates on the conference plans as they develop, visit the California
Parent Engagement Center website, or e-mail [email protected].
On March 19th, ninety-five members of
the community attended a Child Abuse
Prevention Academy sponsored by the
Santa Barbara CAPC and the Allan Hancock College Early Childhood Studies
Department. Participants learned about
mandated reporting laws, medical aspects
of child abuse, how the Child Welfare
system engages families, the effects of
violence, abuse and neglect on the developing brain, and risk and protective factors for preventing abuse and neglect.
Attendees included students, childcare
providers, Public Health staff, foster parents, school RNs and staff members of
several family resource centers.
Similar academies will be offered during
the upcoming year; stay informed by visiting www.PreventChildAbuseSB.org. If you
have a request for training, please click
here and complete the form with any
relevant details. If you are interested in
hosting or assisting with a Child Abuse
Prevention Academy, please e-mail
[email protected].
RESOURCES AND LINKS
Promising Practices in Parent and Family Involvement, 1997-2009
http://www.friendsnrc.org/download/Promising%20Practices_Parent%20Involvement_annotbib.pdf
Parent Support, Education and Leadership
http://www.friendsnrc.org/CBCAP/priority/parent_support.htm
Supporting Father Involvement, Strategies, Volume 13, Issue 3 Summer 2010
www.familyresourcecenters.net/workingstrategies
The CAPC Connection, July 2010
page 4
As a CAPC we are busy in our communities working with parents and children. CAPC members and supporters contribute stories related to what their organizations are doing and how you can utilize them as a resource. The following was written by Dr. Florene Bednersh, Assistant Superintendent of the Santa Barbara
County Education Office.
About the Child Assistance Team Creating Hope (CATCH)
Supporting At-Risk Preschoolers Using the Second Step Curriculum
When a preschool teacher is at their wit’s end, CATCH can
come to the rescue. CATCH, Child Assistance Team
Creating Hope, is an itinerant service operated by the
Santa Barbara County Education Office. Referrals are taken
for any “at risk” preschool child exhibiting behavioral challenges – biting, kicking, cussing and more. Children are supported to be successful in their preschool setting through
direct support for the child and consultation for the preschool teacher and the parents.
One of the primary tools used by the CATCH staff is the
Second Step curriculum, developed by the Committee for
Children. Second Step is an easy-to-use, developmentally
appropriate, evidence-based curriculum that develops students’ social and emotional skills and teaches children to
change behaviors and attitudes that contribute to violence.
It includes fully scripted lessons and activity plans, presented
in self-contained photo lesson card format, and puppets. It
covers empathy training, where students learn how to identify and predict the feelings of others and provide appropriate emotional response; impulse control, where students
learn skills in problem solving and conflict resolution, effective communication and specific social behaviors; and anger
management, where students learn techniques to reduce
stress and redirect angry feelings to prevent aggressive or
violent reactions. The curriculum also includes “Segundo
Paso” Spanish language supplements. Three of our staff are
certified trainers of trainers and can educate other preschool teachers in using the curriculum. For more information on CATCH, contact Erin Galbraith at 805-966-1357.
Reporting Child Abuse or Neglect
If you are a Santa Barbara County mandated reporter and you suspect child abuse or neglect,
YOU MUST ADHERE TO THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURES:
1. Immediately call Child Welfare Services at:
800.367.0166 Santa Barbara County Hotline
805.683.2724 After Hours
This info is also available at
www.PreventChildAbuseSB.org!
In the case of an emergency, please call 911.
2. Complete and file a Suspected Child Abuse Report, Form #SS8572 (www.CTC-CAPC.org/SCAR)
3. Retain a legible copy of the SCAR Report.
4. YOU are responsible for making this report. DO NOT ALLOW your supervisor/principal to make
the report for you or assume because another co-worker has some of the same information that
they will make the report.
5. Do not attempt to investigate, conduct interviews or interfere with the information you hold.
6. Remember that you are to report SUSPECTED abuse—you are not required to have witnessed or
have complete proof of the incident. You are obligated by law to report what you observe or what
you are told that caused suspicion the child is being physically, sexually or emotionally abused or
neglected. When in doubt, call CWS or law enforcement and get their input about the scope of your
report.
The Santa Barbara County Child
Abuse Prevention Council welcomes
your feedback, ideas and requests for
training and resources.
Email us at:
[email protected]
The CAPC meets the third Thursday
of every month (except August and
December) from 10am-12pm at the
Santa Ines Mission. All meetings are
open to the public. To receive agendas or more information, call the
KIDS Network at 346.8222, or email
[email protected].
The CAPC Connection is compiled
by Santa Barbara County CAPC
Members. Concept by Ann McCarty.
Desktop publishing by Joy Thomas.