HOULTON, Maine — April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time when people come together to identify, promote and discuss the prevention of child abuse before it begins.
Protective factors are conditions or attributes in individuals, families, communities, or the larger society that, when present, mitigate or eliminate risk, said Bonnie Dickison, community educator for Aroostook Council for Healthy Families. When these factors are present in families and communities you see an increase in the health and well-being of children and families.
“Protective factors help parents to find resources, supports, or coping strategies that allow them to parent effectively, even under stress,” she said. “The lack of Protective Factors results when communities have unmet needs in psychosocial and other concrete resources. The presence of Protective Factors in a community have children who become healthier adults because they have built resilience and coping strategies for mitigating the Adverse Childhood Experiences they experienced.
Evidence has shown that the inclusion of protective factors in programs and communities are linked to lower incidences of child abuse and neglect. The protective factors framework includes building nurturing and attachment through:
– Knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development
– Parental resilience
– Social connections
– Concrete supports for parents
– Social and emotional competence of children
Some of the things planned are:
– Pinwheel lapel pins will be worn by members of the Sheriff’s Office for the month of April.
blue magnetic awareness ribbons will be displayed on the Houlton Police cruisers for the month of April.
– Pinwheel garden on display on the lawn by the firehouse/police station.
– Proclamation signed at the town council meeting on the April 11.
– Cary Library story and craft time will feature pinwheel craft on the April 13, at 3 p.m.
– Strengthening Maine Families training opportunity for local childcare providers at Houlton Regional Hospital on April 23 from 9-11 a.m.
– Children who gather for a local playgroup will make a pinwheel craft and receive a storybook “Always Be Safe” on April 29.
To find out how you can support your local Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Council please contact Aroostook Council for Healthy Families at 532-1141 or 1-877-207-2301.
