Be part of an international movement for building strong families and reducing child abuse and neglect.

1. Home Visiting
Summit
September 29,
2014
Bringing the Protective Factors
to Life in Your Work

2. 2
BE PART OF AN
INTERNATIONAL
MOVEMENT
FOR BUILDING
STRONG
FAMILIES AND
REDUCING
CHILD ABUSE
AND NEGLECT

3. IDENTIFYING RISK FACTORS

4. A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

5. LOOKING AT THE FAMILY THROUGH A
DIFFERENT LENS

6. A single mom working two
jobs, has no transportation,
and does not bring her child to
the center on time.
1
A parent just moved to the
city, appears to have an
alcohol problem, and has a
special needs child
2
A teenage parent, who works
a minimum wage job, has not
graduate from high school,
and has no health care.
3
A mother of two preschoolers
is in a wheelchair because of
cerebral palsy,
her extended family lives very
far away. 4
FOUR CORNERS EXERCISE

7. EXERCISE: CONSIDERATIONS
¡ Did you make the decision based on deficits?
¡ What assumptions, if any, did you make?
¡ Did your biases play a role in your decisions?
¡ If you were working with this family,
how would you find their strengths?

8. WHAT ARE THE PROTECTIVE
FACTORS?
Strengthened
Families
Optimal child
growth and
development
Reduced Child
Abuse and
Neglect
Concrete supports in
times of need
Knowledge of parenting
and child development
Parental resilience
Social connections
Social-emotional
Competence of children

9. SOCIAL CONNECTIONS

10. CONCRETE
NEEDS
AND
SUPPORTS
CLOTHING
SHELTER
HEALTH
CARE
FOOD
JOB
TRAINING
EDUCATION
FOOD
CONCRETE SUPPORTS

11. Children’s Trust of South Carolina | scChildren.org
PARENTAL RESILIENCE

12. KNOWLEDGE OF PARENTING AND
CHILD DEVELOPMENT

13. SOCIAL EMOTIONAL
COMPETENCE OF CHILDREN

14. POSITIVE OUTCOMES FOR
PROTECTIVE FACTORS
Strengthened
Families
Optimal child
growth and
development
Reduced Child
Abuse and
Neglect
Benefits ALL families
Promotes better overall
outcomes for children and families
Grounded in research, practice and
implementation knowledge
Easily integrated into existing
programs, systems, strategies
Builds on strengths within the
family

15. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BUILD
PARTNERSHIPS WITH FAMILIES?
¡ The family is the center of a child’s life;
¡ Working with parents gives us a more holistic view
of how to support and strengthen families; and
¡ Highly involved families almost double the positive
odds for their children in education, health
promotion and social-emotional development.

16. ¡ What are you already doing to build protective
factors with families you currently serve?
¡ Is their something ELSE you could do to build
protective factors with the families you serve?
¡ What do the Protective Factors look like in
YOUR life?
Children’s Trust of South Carolina | scChildren.org
HOW CAN YOU HELP YOUR FAMILIES
BUILD PROTECTIVE FACTORS?

17. ¡ Respond immediately when
families are in crisis;
¡ Facilitate mutual support
around parenting and other
issues;
¡ Address parenting issues
from a strength based
approach;
¡ Encourage parents to manage
stress effectively;
¡ Help families to develop the
skills they need to identify their
needs and connects to supports
¡ Help children develop a positive
cultural identity and interact
with a diverse society.
¡ Model nurturing support to
children.
¡ Provide resources on parenting
and child development
Children’s Trust of South Carolina | scChildren.org
WHAT ARE SOME EVERY DAY ACTIONS THAT
BUILD PROTECTIVE FACTORS?

18. Birley Wright, M.Ed.
bwright@scchildren.org
803.744.4033
scChildren.org