April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This month and throughout the year, Fulton County Job and Family Services Child Protective Unit encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making Fulton 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 making meaningful connections with children, youth and families in our communities. Join Fulton County in wearing blue on Wednesday March 12th, 2017 to show your support for prevention. Tag Fulton County’s Facebook or Twitter pages to show your support.
Research shows that protective factors are present in healthy families. Promoting these factors is among the most effective way to reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect. They are:
-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
“April is a time to celebrate the important role that communities play in protecting children and strengthening families,” said Maurine Clymer, Supervisor for Children’s Services. “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.”
In 2016, Fulton County had 1003 total inquiries into the Child Protective Unit for information and referral, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, emotional malnourishment and neglect. Of those cases, 45% were referred into the Children Services Unit for further investigation. There were an average monthly total of 14.3 children in custody in 2016.
In support of these efforts, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, its Child Welfare Information Gateway, the FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention and over 30 National Prevention Partners have created 2016/2017 Prevention Resource Guide: Building Community, Building Hope. The resource guide, designed for service providers who work throughout the community to strengthen families, is available online at https://childwelfare.com/topics/preventing/preventionmonth/resource-guide/
For more information about child abuse prevention programs or to report suspected child abuse or neglect in Fulton County call 419-337-0010 and press 3 then 2. Reports can be made anonymously. For more information about child abuse prevention programs and activities in Fulton County, visit www.fultoncountyoh.com/jfs.
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