April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This month and throughout the year, WakeMed encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making Wake County, NC 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.
Promoting Protective Factors; Promoting Healthy Families
Research shows that protective factors are present in healthy families. Promoting these factors is among the most effective ways to reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect. The factors 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 Dr. Elizabeth Witman, WakeMed pediatric primary care physician and Medical Director, SAFEchild 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.”
We All Can Play a Part in Supporting Strong and Thriving Families
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 the 2019 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 here.
Contact WakeMed
For more information about child abuse prevention programs and activities during the month of April and throughout the year, contact WakeMed by emailing us at info@wakemed.org. We also encourage you to subscribe to our Families First magazine, a quarterly publication of WakeMed Children’s.
