Prevent Child Abuse West Virginia (PCA-WV) is a state chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America, a national leader in building awareness, providing education, and inspiring hope in everyone involved in the effort to prevent child abuse and neglect.  By supporting effective community programs, public engagement activities and sound public policy, PCA-WV seeks to attain its mission to eliminate child abuse and neglect in WV.

The guiding principle for the programs is that preventing child abuse is everyone’s business and success depends upon having as many organizations, agencies, community groups and individuals working together as possible.

PCAWV is particularly looking for innovative, collaborative approaches to prevention and if you or your organization intend to apply for this grant opportunity, it is suggested that you review resources about new trends and research in prevention and take some time to familiarize yourself with what is already happening in West Virginia.

Partners in Prevention
Application for New Community Teams (Deadline: August 13, 2010)
Partners in Prevention is a statewide initiative that focuses on innovative and effective strategies that build strong families and communities in order to prevent child abuse and neglect. Thirty-three community teams are currently participating, and we hope to add up to seven (7) new teams this fall. The teams receive annual grants of up to $7,500 to conduct local projects to strengthen families, protect children and engage the public in child abuse and neglect prevention. The team leaders meet two times a year to learn about effective prevention strategies from state and national experts and from each other. To help facilitate peer learning throughout the Partners in Prevention network, team leaders are also invited to participate in conference calls on topics of shared interest.

Click here to download the application.

Helpful Information and Documents
We have assembled some information and documents that may assist those that wish to take advantage of these funding opportunities.

When the well-being of children and families becomes the priority of everyone in a community, the number of child abuse and neglect incidences will decrease. Other good things will also happen, including better health outcomes, improved school performance and family economic self sufficiency. For information on the factors that help prevent child abuse and neglect, click here.

Additional information on protective factors can be found at "Strengthening Families Through Early Care and education: A Protective Factors Approach" on the Center for the Study of Social Policy website.

  Here’s what some West Virginia communities are doing to strengthen families and keep children safe. These are just some ideas to spark your thinking!

• Community baby showers can provide expectant mothers with an opportunity to receive helpful advice, useful baby items and connect with other moms-to-be for emotional support.
• Churches can provide congregations with information about child development and the importance of reaching out to youth in the community.
• Parenting classes provide parents and other family members the opportunity to learn more about child development and share good ideas for supporting and nurturing the children in their lives.
• Youth leadership programs inspire young people to think about the difference they can make in their community.

Here are some documents that may be helpful to you as you’re designing your project.

Abuse and Neglect, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

This useful guide describes a wide range of prevention strategies and gives examples of model programs across the country.
Click here to view 

Protective Factors

Child Welfare Information Gateway, Children's Bureau, FRIENDS National Resource Center For Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention, 2007.

Here is information from the Child Welfare Gateway about important “protective factors” that help keep families and children strong.
http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/res_packet_2007/ch_one_protective.cfm

Additional information on protective factors can be found at: "Strengthening Families Through Early Care and education: A Protective Factors Approach" on the Center for the Study of Social Policy website.
www.cssp.org/doris_duke/protective.html

An Approach to Preventing Child Abuse. Prevent Child Abuse America.
This 3-page fact sheet describes a continuum of prevention programs that provide educational, supportive, and therapeutic services to parents from the prenatal period through the school years.
Click here to view

For more information contact:

Genny Ferri
Community Partnerships Coordinator, Prevent Child Abuse West Virginia
Phone: 1-866-4-KIDS-WV (1-866-454-3798)
Email: genny@teamwv.org