Missouri Children's Trust Fund

American Humane Association Releases New Publication

A new publication entitled A Common Bond: Maltreated Children and Animals in the Home- Guidelines for Practice and Policy is now available from The American Humane Association (AHA) . The free publication is intended as a resource for professionals working in the fields of child protective services and animal welfare.  Oftentimes child abuse, animal abuse and family violence co-occur.  This booklet provides a framework where individuals and agencies can work together to protect both children and their pets. A Common Bond is published by AHA in cooperation with The Humane Society of the United States, the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, and ACTION for Child Protection.  For a free printed copy of the booklet, send an email to info@americanhumane.org with "Common Bond" in the subject line or click here to view and print a pdf version.

Check-Off Child Abuse in Missouri

If you receive a refund on your Missouri taxes, please consider donating a portion of that refund to the Children's Trust Fund (CTF) through the tax check-off program.  A small donaton from you could make a big difference for Missouri's kids.  This program was created in 1983 as the original source of funding for CTF.  CTF depends on your donations and contributions to provide prevention programming in Missouri that help build strong, healthy families and keep children safe.  Just look for the handprints on your Missouri tax form and indicate the amount you would like to give, or for more information, contact your accountant.  Together we CAN check-off child abuse.  Thank you.

View or print CTF Tax Flyer 2008.pdf
Play CTF Tax Radio Ad.mp3
Play CTF Tax Radio Ad Pawprints.mp3

April is Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention Month

It is the responsibility of each individual to prevent child abuse and neglect.  As a result, April is annually designated as Child Abuse Prevention Month. This year’s theme, Strong Families-Safe Kids, recognizes that the most important thing we can do to prevent child abuse is to support families. Prevention efforts are the best hope for eliminating child abuse in Missouri.

Missouri KidsFirst, in partnership with the Children’s Trust Fund, has developed a web-based child abuse prevention packet for individuals and communities to modify and use to support local child abuse prevention efforts. This packet is designed to help improve the safety and well being of children by offering parenting tips and ways to discuss how to bring communities together to prevent the abuse and neglect of Missouri’s children.  The toolkit may also be accessed by clicking the April is Child Abuse Prevention Month button on the CTF homepage.

If your agency is conducting events related to Child Abuse Prevention Month, and you would like to include them in the calendar of events, please complete the Activities Registration Form and return to Missouri KidsFirst.

Thank you for all you do to prevent child abuse!  Please share this message with your partners.

2007 Kids Count Missouri Data Book Released

The 2007 Kids Count Missouri Data Book shows a number of positive changes for Missouri's children including an overall decrease in the rates of child abuse and neglect between 2002 and 2006.  The annual publication, issued by Citizens For Missouri's Children (CMC), is a collaborative project of more than 30 public and private organizations from across the state. The book provides information on measures of child well-being for the entire state, county by county, covering areas such as health, education, financial security, juvenile justice and child protection.  Data for the report is compiled from more than 80 federal, state, county and municipal sources by the Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis (OSEDA) at the University of Missouri.  Primary funding for the project is provided by the Children's Trust Fund, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Health Care USA.

Prevention Month Packets Available

Free copies of Promoting Healthy Families in Your Community: 2008 Resource Packet are available from the Children's Trust Fund and online at Child Welfare Information Gateway.  The packet, made available by the Department of Health and Human Services - Children’s Bureau to prepare for Child Abuse Prevention Month - April 2008, is developed for service providers and others who work to promote healthy families and prevent child abuse and neglect.

National Prevention Conference in May

A national-level conference devoted to the prevention of child abuse and neglect will be held May 19-22, 2008, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The conference entitled "Connecting the Dots - Turning Knowledge Into Action" and hosted by Prevent Child Abuse America, will focus on presenting a variety of evidence-based and innovative research and practices that can be useful to prevention and family support professionals including more than 90 workshops delivered by experts in areas such as effective prevention strategies and practices; research, knowledge and innovation; practical strategies for direct service provision; parent education and support; non-profit management, leadership and organizational culture; capacity building; and wellness. 

To take advantage of the earlybird registration rate, register by March 28th.