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An economic impact analysis released today estimates the costs of child abuse and neglect to the United States were nearly $104 billion last year, and a companion report highlights the unavailability of federal child welfare funding for programs and services known to be effective at reducing incidences of child abuse and neglect.
Continue reading "Cost of Child Abuse and Neglect Staggering" »
In 2006, 1,129 children died in Missouri, and of those, 79 children died as a result of child abuse/neglect. These statistics and many others are contained within the report, Preventing Child Deaths in Missouri (pdf), which provides a statistical breakdown of child injuries and deaths. The document includes helpful recommendations for keeping children safe and reducing the chances for injuries and/or fatalites from occurring. The report, issued by the State Technical Assistance Team (STAT) within the Missouri Department of Social Services, reflects the work of many dedicated professionals throughout the state who strive to improve and protect the lives of Missouri's youngest citizens. Printing for this document is paid in part by a grant from the Children's Trust Fund.
The Children's Trust Fund Annual Report (pdf) for Fiscal Year 2007 highlights CTF prevention activities, events, grants and public education campaigns. From July 2006 through June 2007, CTF distributed nearly $2.8 million in prevention funding and directly served over 80,000 persons. CTF funded community-based programs such as home visitation, safe crib, respite care, mentoring, family support and parent education, including infant nurturing, fatherhood and grandparent support. CTF continued its "Never Shake A Baby" and "Not Even For A Minute" awareness campaigns, and introduced two new campaigns, "Words Hurt" targeting the emotional abuse of children, and "Parent with Patience", which focuses on realistic expectations of children.
The Children's Trust Fund (CTF) Board of Directors announces the availability of grant funds for child abuse/neglect prevention programs for state Fiscal Year 2009 (July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009). Up to $300,000 is available for first year projects and up to $900,000 is available for renewal projects (those that are currently funded by CTF within the five-year grant cycle.)
"These funds are available annually to support Missouri's children and families, and we are thrilled many prevention programs previously supported by CTF are being replicated in other parts of the state," said Gina Staves, CTF board chair.
CTF receives no general revenue funding, but funds all of its prevention activities, programs and public education campaigns with funds received from dedicated fees on marriage licenses, vital records, general donations, donations from the specialized CTF license plate, state income tax checkoff, interest from the fund, and a federal grant.
"It's critical that we commit to our grant recipients for up to five years, provided they meet the grant requirements, so they can continue to provide essential prevention services and sustain themselves once CTF funding has ended," said Kirk Schreiber, CTF executive director. During the final three years of funding the grantee is required to provide matching funds in increasing increments.
To be considered, applications must be postmarked on or before March 13, 2008. For more information please contact Laura Malzner, CTF Program Coordinator, at (573) 751-5147 or laura.malzner@oa.mo.gov.
Download FY 2009 CTF General Prevention Grant Application (Word doc)
Download FY 2009 CTF General Prevention Grant Application (PDF)
The Children's Trust Fund (CTF) is pleased to announce the availability of Community Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) grant funds for fiscal year 2009 (July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009). CBCAP funding is a federal initiative that originates from the Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. CTF is the designated lead agency to disburse this funding in Missouri.
The CBCAP project in Missouri is designed to help communities develop a model integrated system for delivering health, family support, and social services to children and families in order to improve outcomes, reduce costs, and ultimately reduce the risks of child abuse and neglect. Through incorporating a lead agency concept, each CBCAP site works to develop a more efficient and coordinated way of working with families to reduce duplication of existing services and maximize the resources of public and private providers. Community collaborations and partnerships are encouraged to apply. As part of the funding requirements, each site must participate in a rigorous strategic planning and evaluation process.
According to Kirk Schreiber, CTF Executive Director, the Missouri CBCAP model offers community partnerships and provider networks an excellent opportunity to work together to provide coordinated services and support to children and families. "This model has proven successful with previous community recipients, and we are very excited to offer these grant opportunities for a "third generation" of CBCAP communities."
The Missouri CBCAP model is recognized by the federal funding agency as attaining the highest level of program standards and performance indicated by evidenced based outcomes and successful replication of the program in other communities. Each CBCAP site continues to show statistically significant improvement in scores of standardized measures of family risk (Child Abuse Potential Inventory) and distress (Parental Stress Index) among parents participating. Families also report high levels of satisfaction with the services they receive.
The deadline for submitting a CBCAP application is Friday, April 18, 2008, 5:00 p.m. For more information please contact Laura Malzner, CTF Program Coordinator, at (573) 751-5147 or e-mail at laura.malzner@oa.mo.gov.
Download FY 2009 CBCAP Application (pdf)
Download FY 2009 CBCAP Application (Word doc)
Fourth graders at Blair Oaks Elementary School in Wardsville were the first students in the state to have ID's made as part of the Missouri State Highway Patrol's new safety program. The program provides parents easy access to all of the information they may need if something happens to their child. The ID includes photographs of the children, their height and weight, address, phone number, parents' names, birth date and a digitally scanned fingerprint. The information is strictly for the ID card and is not saved or shared.
Last year about 8,000 children were reported missing across the state according to Kaverne McCullum, supervisor of the department's Missing Persons Unit. At the end of the year there were still 450 children considered missing, McCullum said. [Read more - Jefferson City News Tribune] [Link to Keeping Children Safe]
A new resource entitled Pathways to the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect is available through the Pathways Mapping Initiative at Pathways to Outcomes. This site holds a wealth of findings to assist community coalitions, providers of support services, funders, and policymakers with improving the lives of children and families living in America's at-risk neighborhoods. Included is a broad collection of information about what works in social programs and policies to achieve desired results, including increased rates of children ready for school and higher numbers of economically successful families. The Pathways Mapping Initiative draws from and builds upon a larger body of knowledge about what is working in other communities including best practices, theory of change, indicators of progress and successful benchmarks.
Other Pathway resources available include Pathway to Children Ready for School and Succeeding at Third Grade and Pathway to Successful Young Adulthood.
A new study published in Child Abuse and Neglect has found that fathers are far more likely than mothers to break or fracture their children's bones, and that young infants are often the target of this type of abuse. According to Suzanne Starling, a forensic pediatrician for the Child Abuse Program at Children's Hospitals of the King's Daughters, Norfolk, Virginia, "If prevention efforts remain targeted primarily at women, a large proportion of perpetrators will not be reached. Alternative prevention efforts must be sought." Broken and fractured bones are the second most common physical symptom of child abuse in the United States. [More]
The Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development produced by the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development is now available as a free online resource. The Encyclopedia, intended primarily for policy-makers, service providers and parents, brings together articles written by internationally renowned experts on topics having to do with the psychosocial development of young children, from conception to the age of five. Each of the 33 topics addressed is explored from three perspectives: development, services and policies. Key points are summarized in a user friendly format that will be most useful to practitioners and planners.
A special report on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children was recently released by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). This report explores research into the organization of the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), the effects of CSEC on victims, and what measures are being taken and can be taken in the future to prevent its occurrence. Research indicates that CSEC takes place at three levels: local exploitation by one or a few individuals, small regional networks involving multiple adults and children, and large national or international sex crime networks where children are traded and sold as commodities.
"Many children who become victims of commercial sexual exploitation have suffered from absent, negligent, or abusive parenting. A survey of adult prostitutes at an Atlanta jail, for example, revealed that nearly half had been sexually molested as children. Carefully planned and evaluated child abuse prevention programs, better treatment of victims, and more attention focused on abusive households would help address the issues that can underlie CSEC." [Excerpt from report]. Current U.S. outreach programs are discussed as well as recommendations for future action.
Related websites: Office of Justice Programs; US Department of Justice
