In an effort to stop child abuse
For Tammy Thompson, child abuse is an issue near and dear.
“This was more personal than professional,” said Thompson, a program coordinator for Vocational and Psychological Services, a psychological services provider in Western Pennsylvania for nearly 15 years. “I adopted children out of (Children and Youth Services) that came from an abusive home.”
About 15 participants discussed scenarios and obstacles to intervention, developed comfort with diverse parenting styles and responses with empathy and respect as part of their Front Porch Project training Thursday at Monarch Place, 100 Brugh Ave.
The training from the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance is built on the belief everyone can and should play a role in preventing child abuse as it teaches participants ways to intervene and options — both big and small, direct and indirect — in situations dealing with children and their caretakers.
This is the first time the Butler County Prevention Council offered the training to the community, said Amanda Feltenberger, Butler County Prevention Council chairman and Butler County Human Services director of integrated services. However, the group has a goal that the opportunity will be the first of many.
The training, scheduled in April for National Child Abuse Prevention Month, is part of the Help SToPP, (See, Talk, Prevent, Protect) It!, a child abuse prevention initiative spearheaded by the Butler County Prevention Council, a subcommittee of the Butler Collaborative for Families, Feltenberger said.
Overall, the mission of the initiative is to strengthen connections, supports and resources within the community for families and individuals to keep all children safe from harm and abuse.
When people think about child abuse, they picture the worst-case scenario, said Mandy Geibel, of the Mental Health Association in Butler County, who was one of the session’s trainers.
“Child abuse, child maltreatment has nothing to do with income. It can come across any realm, any population, any socioeconomic status,” Geibel said.
Child abuse prevention can be a scary topic and a large undertaking for the community, so the training focuses on people using their comfort level to act and intervene, Feltenberger said.
The training is one piece in the group’s Child Abuse Prevention Plan, Feltenberger said.
Two years ago, the council narrowed its focus to child abuse prevention.
At that time, many organizations focused on child abuse prevention, she said. However, there was no one agency or group that had child abuse prevention as its mission. Despite efforts, there was not much coordination.
“We could basically function as the umbrella that these various child abuse prevention efforts could happen under so that there would be more coordination and ultimately a more significant impact,” she said.
The 12 member organizations and four additional community members are finalizing a three-year strategic plan for child abuse prevention efforts in the community, she said.
The first tier focuses on general prevention. The second tier focuses on targeted efforts to families identified as at risk. The third tier focuses on families where abuse has already occurred, to enhance their support and intervention to make sure abuse does not happen again.
“The idea is to try to intervene early and to support families early so that it doesn’t get to that point,” Feltenberger said.
“Building a community awareness of the fact that we all have a role to play. Everybody can do something in terms of preventing child abuse. It can be really small, it can be really big, If we really get everybody active in some way, then we’re absolutely going to be better off,” she said.
After the initial session, the group plans to advertise the availability of the free training to various groups throughout the county, included churches, civic groups and business associations.
The training is one tool community members can use to prevent child abuse, said Cathryn Heakins, a Butler County Children and Youth Services employee. She is also part of the Butler County Prevention Council.
“I didn’t really understand how community members can act,” Heakins said about her professional perspective on child abuse. “It’s interesting to hear the small ways that are practical that people could intervene. It’s more doable than I thought originally.”
One perception of Children and Youth Services is that it has the ability to handle all aspects of child abuse, she said. However, its role is limited because it is a government entity.
The community can fill the gap Children and Youth Services cannot, Heakins said.
