Prevention Programs
Prevention programs actually avert child abuse and neglect by:
- Triaging and reaching out to expectant and new parents who are in need of extra support in parenting prenatally or at birth,
- Strengthening protective factors, for example promoting positive parent-child relationships and parenting skills, informal teaching about early child development, life skill building,
- Reducing risk (e.g. domestic violence, substance abuse,
- Promoting healthy child development, conducting developmental screens and making referrals to early intervention services,
- Facilitating access to resources and services needed to support the family including those to ensure children are ready to learn in kindergarten.
While a number of early childhood home visiting program models have been developed in recent years, Hawaii Healthy Start and Healthy Families America are the most specifically designed to avert abuse and neglect and promote emotional well being of infants and toddlers.
