April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This month and throughout the year, the Warren County Children’s Advocacy Center encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making Warren County a better place for children and families. By ensuring that parents have the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to care for their children, we can help prevent child abuse and neglect by creating strong and thriving children, youth, and families in our communities.

“April is a time to celebrate the important role that communities play in protecting children and strengthening families,” said Melissa McLean, Executive Director of the Warren County Children’s Advocacy Center. “Everyone’s participation is critical. Focusing on ways to connect with families is the best thing our community can do to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect.”

This year, the Warren County Children’s Advocacy Center is hosting several online events and programs to encourage families and community members to show their support for Child Abuse Awareness while still maintaining the necessary social distancing due to the Coronavirus.

Some of the events planned for the month include:

Wear blue on Fridays for the whole month of April. Share your photos with us using the hashtags: #WearBlueDay, #WarrenCountyStands, #StandAgainstChildAbuse, #WCCAC

Visit the Warren County Faceboook page and download the person outline found there. Decorate one, or several, and place them in your windows! Take a walk with your immediate household to see how many you can spot around Warren County! If you would like one sent to you, email director@warrencac.org.

Participate in our children’s calendar coloring contest. Details available on our website (www.warrencac.org), our Facebook page, or via email.

More activities will be announced throughout the month of April.

Research shows that protective factors are present in healthy families. Protective factors are conditions or attributes of individuals, families, communities, or the larger society that mitigate risk and promote healthy development and wellbeing. Promoting the following protective factors is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect:

¯ Nurturing and attachment;

¯ Knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development;

¯Parental resilience;

¯Social connections;

¯ Concrete supports for parents;

¯ Social and emotional competence of children.

In support of these efforts, the Children’s Bureau, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with its information service, Child Welfare Information Gateway, the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, the FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention, and over 30 national prevention partners, has created the 2019/2020 Prevention Resource Guide: Strong and Thriving Families. The Resource Guide, designed for service providers who work throughout the community to support families, is available online at https://childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/preventionmonth/resources/resource-guide/.

For more information about child abuse prevention programs and activities during the month of April and throughout the year, contact McLean by email at director@warrencac.org, or follow the Warren County Children’s Advocacy Center on Facebook.