Child Abuse
AN OUNCE OF
PREVENTION: Stopping Abuse Before It Starts
THE ISSUE
What if there were a way to intercept the dangers and patterns of behavior that lead to child abuse before they manifest physically and/or emotionally? In more than 300 communities nationwide, Healthy Families America (HFA) is stopping child abuse before it starts. HFA targets at-risk families and provides home visitors to mothers before and after the birth of a child. The home visitors teach basic child-raising skills and lend emotional support that might not exist otherwise. They aren't just preventing bad things from happening, they are promoting all the good things that vulnerable parents might miss. The program has been so successful nationwide that TO THE CONTRARY profiled two Healthy Families in Alexandria, Virginia.
FACTS AND STATS
According to Healthy Families in Alexandria,
Virginia:
According to statistics released
in 1996 by The Health and Human Services:
RESOURCES:
The Freddie Mac Foundation, www.freddiemacfoundation.org
Healthy Families America, call (312) 663-3520
National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect
(HHS), for info call (800)FYI-3366, or
write to: PO Box 1182, Washington, DC,
20013-1182
