Defending Childhood Recommendations: Home visiting services

Attorney General Eric Holder affirms that children’s exposure to violence is nothing less than a national crisis. With this public health issue comes serious ramifications for the future of our country and the young men and women who will soon be called upon to build that future. 

In response to these troubling statistics and others, Holder launched the Defending Childhood Initiative in 2010, which has since resulted in a report on prevalence and recommendations. Throughout the month of July we’ll take a closer look at some of the recommendations, what is being done and what you can do to help.

One of the Task Force’s recommendations is to “expand access to home visiting services for families with children who are exposed to violence, focusing on safety and referral to services.”

Currently, there are several different early childhood home visiting models, all of which provide services designed to improve maternal and child health, early cognitive and emotional development, and family safety and stability, including family violence prevention.  As a result, the Affordable Care Act (2010) included provisions to support America’s Healthy Futures Act, a $1.5 billion, five-year national initiative to support maternal infant and early childhood home visitation programs.In addition to providing funds to support these services, the legislation also included new benchmark requirements for States. One such benchmark requires home visitation programs to measure a reduction in “crime or domestic violence.”

Defending Childhood Recommendations: Domestic violence services

Attorney General Eric Holder affirms that children’s exposure to violence is nothing less than a national crisis. With this public health issue comes serious ramifications for the future of our country and the young men and women who will soon be called upon to build that future.

In response to these troubling statistics and others, Holder launched the Defending Childhood Initiative in 2010, which has since resulted in a report on prevalence of childhood exposure to violence and recommendations to address it. Throughout the month of July we’ll take a closer look at some of the recommendations, what is being done and what you can do to help.

One of the Task Force recommendations is to “ensure that parents who are victims of domestic violence have access to services and counseling that help them protect and care for their children.”

Everyone knows that within intimate relationships, conflicts occur. When parents handle differences calmly, particularly in the presence of their children, they are helping to shield their children from toxic stress. On the other hand, heated confrontations in front of children are much more likely to teach even young children that home is far from safe. This is particularly true when there are frequent hostile interactions between parents. Repeated exposure to such conflicts can be a source of chronic stress. Infants can begin to worry for their parents and to see their parents as frightening. Toddlers and school-aged children are likely to learn aggressive behavior and develop poor social and emotional skills.

Defending Childhood Recommendations: Engage fathers

Attorney General Eric Holder affirms that children’s exposure to violence is nothing less than a national crisis. With this public health issue comes serious ramifications for the future of our country and the young men and women who will soon be called upon to build that future.

In response to these troubling statistics and others, Holder launched the Defending Childhood Initiative in 2010, which has since resulted in a report on prevalence of childhood exposure to violence and recommendations to address it.

Throughout the month of July we’ll take a closer look at some of the recommendations, what is being done and what you can do to help.

One of the recommendations of the Task Force recommendations is to “ensure that parenting programs in child- and family-serving agencies, including fatherhood programs and other programs specifically for men integrate strategies for preventing domestic violence and sexual assault and include reparation strategies when violence has already occurred.”

A father’s engagement with their children is associated with positive cognitive, social, and emotional development from infancy to adolescence. The father’s role is more than that of economic provider and includes nurturing, caregiving, and emotional support in both obvious and subtle ways.

Defending Childhood Recommendations: Identification

Attorney General Eric Holder affirms that children’s exposure to violence is nothing less than a national crisis. With this public health issue comes serious ramifications for the future of our country and the young men and women who will soon be called upon to build that future.

In response to these troubling statistics and others, Holder launched the Defending Childhood Initiative in 2010, which has since resulted in a report on prevalence of childhood exposure to violence and recommendations to address it. Throughout the month of July we’ll take a closer look at some of the recommendations, what is being done and what you can do to help.

“The first crucial step in protecting our children is to identify and provide timely and effective help to those who already are being victimized by violence.”

— Defending Childhood Task Force Report

One of the recommendations of the Task Force is to “ensure that children exposed to violence are identified, screened and assessed.”

To reach this goal, it is crucial that staff serving children and families have the knowledge and skills needed to understand, recognize and address the impact of victimization and traumatic experiences on children.

Defending Childhood Task Force Recommendations: A closer look

Attorney General Eric Holder affirms that children’s exposure to violence is nothing less than a national crisis. With this public health issue comes serious ramifications for the future of our country and the young men and women who will soon be called upon to build that future.

The horrific mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut that claimed the lives of 20 elementary school children and six adults last December served as a shocking reminder of how much is at stake in the ongoing fight to protect the most vulnerable citizens: children.   Nearly every day the tragedy that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School is compounded by individual tragedies that take place on the streets of big cities and small towns across the country that too often pass unnoticed.

The most comprehensive study of children’s experience with exposure to violence is the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), first conducted 2008-2009. Results indicate that 60 percent of children surveyed had experienced at least one form of violence or abuse over the past year, nearly half experienced at least two forms of victimization, and 8 percent experienced seven or more different types of victimization.  An update released earlier this year confirms that this data remained fairly stable in the study done in 2011.

Defending Childhood Initiative

In response to these troubling statistics and others, Attorney General Eric Holder launched the Defending Childhood initiative on September 23, 2010. The Attorney General has been personally and professionally committed to this issue for many years, dating back to early in his career when he served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and through his tenure as Deputy Attorney General. Building on lessons learned from previously funded research and programs that Attorney General Holder spearheaded, such as Safe Start, the Child Development-Community Policing Program, and the Greenbook Initiative, Defending Childhood leverages existing resources across the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to focus on preventing, addressing, reducing, and more fully understanding childhood exposure to violence.

The state of LGBT related anti-bullying legislation in the United States

As the country recognizes and supports LGBT pride and awareness this month, advocates across the country are working to address the problem of LGBT-related bullying in schools.

The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) notes that two types of laws exist that are meant to protect LGBT children and youth in schools:  fully enumerated anti-bullying laws and non-discrimination laws.

Enumerated laws are specific to protecting students from bullying related to sexual orientation or gender. There are 15 states with this type of law including Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Non-discrimination laws also exist to provide protection for LGBT students in schools. Unlike fully enumerated legislation, some of these laws do not protect against discrimination based on gender identity, which is the case in Wisconsin. However, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia do provide some protection on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

This type of legislation is incredibly important in order to offer both legal and physical protection to students. GLSEN notes that 6 out of 10 students feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and transgender students have an even higher rate at 8 out of 10. Bullying introduces terrible risks for children and perhaps the greatest for LGBT youth. Many children report feeling unsafe in school, but the reality is that many of them actually are not safe. As many as 1 out of 5 have been physically harmed according to the 2009 National School Climate Survey. When children and youth feel threatened at school this often leads to further problems such as depression, thoughts of suicide, poor grades, mental and physical health problems that can extend into adulthood.

This year more and more states are recognizing the need for better and fully enumerated laws and are responding to the need by increasing anti-bullying legislation in order to protect LGBT students.

Two recent examples of these efforts:

The Pennsylvania State Legislature is pushing legislation that will target bullying in schools specifically based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The legislation, known as the Safe Schools Improvement Act, supports a larger education bill to combat bullying and harassment. Read more about it here.

At the federal level, Senator Al Franken has recently reintroduced the Student Non-discrimination Act that offers protection to students against harassment and bullying based on gender or sexual identity. The bill offers nationwide protection, modeled after Title IX legislation, and remedies discrimination in public schools based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Do you know the laws in your state? What’s being done to protect LGBT students from bullying?

 

New Study: The Relationship between Protective Factors and Outcomes for Children Exposed to Violence

More and more research is revealing vital information about the issue of children’s exposure to violence (CEV). A new study from the Rand Corporation was released June 3 titled The Relationship between Protective Factors and Outcomes for Children Exposed to Violence.

The new study looks at protective factors that can help bolster children’s resilience and protect kids against the negative affects of exposure to violence. The authors’ goal is to better inform the creation and evidence-based intervention and prevention programs for children affected by violence.

Some of their findings showed:

• Children that had more experiences of violence re-exposure had more behavior problems than those children that had not been re-exposed.
• How protective factors and outcomes for these children are related.
• Intervention to enhance positive protective factors may be key to improving positive outcomes for children.

See the full abstract here.

To learn more please checkout the Safe Start Center’s publication page for a great selection of resources and links to more information about CEV.

Serving Refugee and Immigrant Families in the United States

A rapidly growing demographic in the United States are children born to immigrant families. These children and their families may face a number of economic and social barriers as they grow and develop in their new surroundings. Some of these circumstances may open them up to issues such as violence exposure, problems with school readiness and access to services. However, many organizations are working to bridge this gap between services and immigrant and refugee communities by providing resources and guidance. Two examples of projects working towards this goal are the Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services (BRYCS) project and the Safe Start Center.

BRYCS does this through the provision of technical assistance between national organizations and immigrant and refugee communities in areas such as early childhood education and child welfare. This month they just released a new handbook, Raising Young Children in a New Country: Supporting Early Learning and Healthy Development. Check it out here.

 

The handbook is part of a larger joint effort by BRYCS, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Head Start and the National Center on Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness to create a larger Collaboration Toolkit of similar resources. It is designed for immigrant and refugee parents to use in conjunction with service providers to provide them with important early childhood information to help them adapt themselves and their children. This and other resources in the toolkit will serve to help give families and communities much needed information by looking at six important themes:

1. Family Well-Being
2. Safety and protection
3. Guidance and discipline
4. Healthy Brain development
5. Early learning and school readiness
6. Connecting to Early Care and Education

The Safe Start Center also provides a great resource to help agencies working with immigrant families. The Trauma Informed Tips for Agencies working with Immigrant Families does this by sharing some of the potential warning signs of exposure to violence in children aged 0-18.  It also gives agency staff important information to serve their clients, including tips on how to:

1. Screen for exposure to violence symptoms and mental health needs of children and their families on an ongoing basis
2. Refer families for comprehensive mental health assessments that include lifetime exposure to violence and acculturation stressors
3. Plan for individualized interventions that take into consideration traumatic experiences for both caregivers and children, which may be affecting the current family situation
4. Expand the definition of “trauma-informed care” and “evidence-based interventions”

Do you know of any other useful resources for immigrant families? Share them below!

New NCAVP report on LGBT-related violence and prevention programs

Coinciding with Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride month annually held in June, is a report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), titled Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2012.  The report looks at national level data from 15 programs across 16 states that work towards anti-violence.

The report shows that although there has been a decrease in reported LGBT-related violence nationally, there has been a rise in some states like New York. Also troubling are the report numbers showing that children and young adults aged 29 and under represented almost half of the victims and survivors. This reveals the need to rapidly increase anti-violence programming for children and young adults.

However, the report does share some great examples of organizations already working to combat this violence. Based in Washington D.C., some of these organizations include Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV) and the DC Trans Coalition (DCTC).  The report also noted Project Empowerment that has positively helped to increase access to education and employment for at-risk and disenfranchised LGBT residents.

Below are some recommendations and best practices included in the report:

 

• Decrease the risk of severe violence and homicide through ending LGBTQ and HIV-affected poverty.
• Increase funding for LGBTQ and HIV-affected anti-violence support and prevention programs.
• Community Based Organizations should create programs and campaigns to prevent anti-LGBTQ and HIV-affected harassment and violence.
• Schools and universities should create LGBTQ and HIV-affected anti-violence initiatives and LGBTQ and HIV-affected-inclusive curricula to reduce hate violence and harassment.
• Schools, universities, and community-based organizations, including anti-violence programs, service organizations, and faith organizations, should collect data on violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected people.

American Street Kid

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, a 2002 study put out by the US Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) found that there are over 1.6 million homeless and runaway youth in the United States, and this number is growing every year.

The National Coalition for the Homeless notes that these youth become homeless for a variety of reasons typically falling under three, often related, categories: family problems, economic problems, and residential instability. Youth leave home to escape problems, but they often become exposed to a wide variety of violence, including trauma, abuse, poverty, substance abuse, and increased incidence of contracting illnesses such as HIV. Many also face the challenges of finding safe places to sleep or even feeding themselves.

American Street Kid is a new documentary film sharing the stories of youth that have experienced the terrible reality of the traumas and difficulties that can lead to homelessness. The film was created by film maker Michael Leoni using footage from five years worth of interviews and work on the streets of Los Angeles collecting the voices of hundreds of youth living on the city’s streets.

This film is working to raise awareness about the very real problem of youth homelessness and to give voice to the millions of children and youth that are homeless across the United States.

Check out the campaign below:

American Street Kid