Serving Child Abuse

Nonprofit organizations across the country are developing solutions to inform individuals and governing bodies on the effects and solutions to sexual abuse and violence against children. Each organization focuses on this work, playing its part, but without working together, the mission each stands to complete is disabled in the landscape of service. Each organization acts as a member of the body no matter what the state and approach to their efforts. This function of unity from state to state is a picture of the highway to reaching national goals, working to reduce the problem of abuse and preventing it from occurring all together.

Three different aspects of this critical topic will be reviewed here. Through the lens of different nonprofit organizations; all with similar missions, but a different approach to service it is possible to see value of each part as it makes up the whole function of service. First, prevention techniques are offered through education and information campaigns. This sets the stage to drive programming and tactics that help children overcome when victimized. Finally, the hopeful result is a commitment to large scale information campaigns and public policy movements to engender interest and tighten consequences against offenders. These are just a few of the nations leading programs in the fight against abuse.

Knowing that the consequences of abuse are so detrimental to the development of children, the Idaho Children Trust Fund/Prevent Child Abuse Idaho is working to prevent child abuse and neglect before it ever happens. The organization funds, trains and provides technical assistance to community based programs that provide parenting education, home visitation, child sexual abuse awareness and family support services. All of its prevention work is based on strengthening families through building five protective factors that all families need to provide a nurturing environment for children. With its focus more on the family, looking at the positive before the negative, this program offers a very laboratory-based feel to its work, setting the stage of caring through the information it provides. The Idaho Children’s Trust Fund operates through programs that share similar missions. Check out the available resources and publications on its practices: http://idahochildrenstrustfund. idaho.gov

Following in its stead is the New York based Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP) which functions at the management level, or the second stage. CAPP is helping children to remain informed about staying safe and avoiding harmful and threatening situations. Using a host of creative and playful training and workshop sessions for children, CAPP is diligently supporting fundraising initiatives to keep children informed and programming in operation. Through CAPP, children can learn the signs and responses, and adults are educated on how to safeguard children from predators. Sustainable development is essential to its operations, so without the help of community and donating bodies, the children they serve may not be reached. If you are interested in donating and offering your support, please take a look at their site here: http://childabusepreventionprogram.org/about.html

The final approach to tackling child sexual abuse plays out in the legislative agencies, public policy institutions and the medical facilities that respond to victims and help crack down on offenders. The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape takes a rather aggressive approach in this realm of service. With 52 centers across Pennsylvania alone, the organization focuses on ensuring that victims are quickly responded to and have the care they require to be relieved. When abuse has taken place, PCAR is the body that moves to service the policy, legal and medical stages of response. Their body of research and capacity to help is beyond the scope of this article, so check them out: http://www.pcar.org/centers/index.html