New from the National Responsible
Fatherhood Clearinghouse!
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According to the Children’s Bureau’s 2020 Child Maltreatment Report, which covers annual reports of child abuse and neglect from child protective services agencies in the United States, during 2020:
- Approximately 2 million children received services to prevent future instances of child maltreatment.
- Approximately 1.2 million children received post-response services (such as family preservation, family support, or foster care) because of needs discovered during an investigation or alternative response.
- Fewer than one-quarter (21.8 percent) of confirmed maltreatment victims were removed from their homes because of an investigation or alternative response.
- The majority (77.2%) of child abuse cases were perpetrated by parents.
- Importantly, mothers’ boyfriends and stepfathers, who often lack the same history and bonding with the child, are more likely to abuse children than biological fathers.
- More than one-half (52.0%) of perpetrators are female and 47.1 percent of perpetrators are male.
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April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The Child Welfare Information Gateway (CWIG) describes this as an opportunity for families and communities to work together to strengthen families and prevent chid abuse and neglect. This year’s theme is Thriving Children & Families: Prevention With Purpose. The CWIG has created a Resource Guide that highlights innovative ways to “help children and families thrive.” The guide focuses on the protective factors approach, which emphasizes the attributes of families and communities that increase the well-being of children and families and reduce the likelihood of maltreatment.
Specifically, the focus on protective factors is intended to help parents with risk factors for abuse and neglect learn effective parenting skills, thereby reducing the likelihood for child abuse and maltreatment at home. Protective factors that can help lower incidents of child abuse include: nurturing and attachment within families; knowledge of parenting and child development; parental resilience; connections to social support; concrete support in the form of adequate food, housing, and other essential services; and social and emotional competence of children.
Download and share CWIG’s Outreach Toolkit with your friends, family, and networks to boost the prevention message!
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Below are examples of ways that you can strengthen your family’s protective factors, help your child’s development, and enhance their feelings of safety.
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Parental resilience: Find positive ways to manage any stress, challenges, adversity, or traumatic experiences that your family may face.
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Social connections: Build positive relationships that provide emotional, informational, instrumental, and spiritual support for your family.
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Parenting and child development: Seek out resources and services to build your knowledge of child development and parenting strategies that support children’s physical, cognitive, language, social, and emotional development.
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Concrete support in times of need: Seek out support services that address your family's needs and help minimize their stress (e.g., access to healthy food, a safe neighborhood environment, and specialized medical, mental health, social, educational, or legal services).
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Social-emotional competence of children: Encourage family interactions that help your children develop the ability to communicate clearly, recognize and regulate their emotions, and establish and maintain relationships.
If you need help finding support or local resources, try engaging with a Parent Café as a first step. Cafés are physically and emotionally safe spaces where people talk and share information on topics that matter to them, such as the challenges and victories of raising a family, navigating landscapes of inequality, enhancing well-being, or being involved in the recovery process of someone they love.
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Strengthening familial relationships can bolster protective factors for fathers and their families.
This brief describes how COVID-19 affected fathers’ relationships and the healthy relationship programming provided by fatherhood programs. The brief also suggests strategies that programs can adopt to better support fathers’ co-parenting and romantic relationships.
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We are available by phone.
If you need resources or support, give us a call on our
Parent Help Line at 1-877-4-DAD-411 (1-877-432-3411).
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As a practitioner, you have opportunities to share the message of prevention with the fathers you serve as well as with your wider network. Here are some tips to spread the word:
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Share this resource, which lays out 24 ways to help your children and prevent child abuse. It is a great conversation starter to use with fathers.
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Share this video to highlight success stories from programs that support families and build strong communities. The video can be a great motivator for fathers who are in the process of learning strategies to prevent abuse and neglect.
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Provide or refer fathers to community services that can enhance their parenting knowledge and skills, improve their understanding of nonviolent discipline techniques, and help them overcome any financial, social, or emotional challenges.
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Partner with the media. Use these Op-ed templates and sample press releases to spread the word about National Child Abuse Prevention Month in your community. You can share the messages through your social media accounts, on your websites, or through your community listserv.
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Join the conversation. Contribute to and join the conversation on social media by using these hashtags: #ChildAbusePreventionMonth, #ThrivingFamilies, and #CAPmonth.
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Mark your calendars. April 27, 2022 is Digital Advocacy Day! Use your voice to support children and families on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and via email. You can encourage policymakers and the public to act on issues that increase positive childhood experiences and prevent child abuse and neglect.
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Get the latest resources. Prevent Child Abuse America has compiled resources to help prevent child abuse and neglect. Review and share this information to promote and support ways to keep all children safe and help every family thrive.
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Disclaimer: Reference to specific products, services, or companies does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the U.S. Government, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), or the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse. ACF is not responsible for the contents of “off-site” web page references or for any private, third-party, pop-up, or browser-integrated software or applications. |
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Upcoming Events
NRFC is monitoring events and will update our website and in newsletters if events are canceled.
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Our Mission: The goals of the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse are to provide, facilitate, and disseminate current research and proven and innovative strategies that will encourage and strengthen fathers and families and providers of services.
Our Resources: Visit the NRFC website for fatherhood topics and tools, news, and new publications, which can be found through the NRFC online library search.
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