About the Resource Guide
Strengthening Families and Communities, produced by the Child Welfare Information Gateway, is a resource guide developed to support service providers in their work with parents, caregivers, and children to prevent child abuse and neglect. The guide includes information about protective factors that help reduce the risk of child maltreatment, strategies for changing how communities support families, and evidence-informed practices. It also offers suggestions for enhancing protective factors in families and tools to build awareness and develop community partnerships. While developed for use in the United States, the guide addresses a global concern on how abuse and neglect severely threaten family viability, frequently leading to family separation. The guidance and support mechanisms proposed here can be adapted to mitigate risks and strengthen families in other country contexts.
What's Inside
The Resource Guide was created primarily to support community-based child abuse prevention professionals who work to strengthen communities and support parents, caregivers, and their children. However, others such as policymakers, parent educators, family support workers, health care providers, program administrators, teachers, child care providers, mentors, and clergy, also will find the resources useful.
Resources include:
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Chapter 1: Laying the Groundwork—Information about the research and theory on which the Resource Guide is based, including protective factors that help reduce child abuse and neglect, strategies for creating lasting change in how communities support families, and evidence-informed practice.
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Chapter 2: Working With Families: The Five Protective Factors—Detailed information about each of the protective factors and tips for infusing them into direct practice with families and children.
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Chapter 3: Engaging Your Community—Tools and strategies to help build community awareness and support the development of broad-based community partnerships.
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Chapter 4: Protecting Children—Information about why child abuse occurs, risk factors, consequences, and identifying and reporting maltreatment.
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Chapter 5: Resources—Contact information for private and Federal partners working nationally to strengthen families.
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Chapter 6: Tip Sheets for Parents and Caregivers—Strengths-based tip sheets on specific parenting topics that can be used in discussions or visits with caregivers.
Using the Resource Guide
The following are several suggested uses for the Resource Guide:
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Distribute copies to key community partners working with children and families, including child welfare agencies, child advocacy centers, public health agencies, child care centers, family therapists, media representatives, schools, faith communities, and policymakers.
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Use the Resource Guide as a topic for discussion at an upcoming meeting of your family strengthening community partnership.
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Provide copies to those who regularly offer trainings to family support workers in your community.
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Use the information in the Resource Guide when developing your own media kits, press releases, and other public awareness tools.
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Make the information available to those in your community who are writing grants to support family strengthening work.
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Make copies of the parenting tip sheets for use in parent education classes or parent support groups.
©Administration for Children and Families
