Jefferson County Pilot Project to Prevent Child Maltreatment and Death
Mission:
Pilot Project to reduce preventable child maltreatment and death in children age birth
to (3) in Jefferson County through the coordination of existing programs and organizations.
Parent Education and Training Committee
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Target parents of newborns and high-risk populations with a standardized program on child maltreatment;
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Training to include generalized injury prevention and specific abusive head injury and unsafe sleeping environment education to include safe napping guidelines;
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Target parents and infants before birth and during the first week of life and 6-8th weeks of life;(times of greatest risk
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At risk population to be mindful of:
Isolated individuals with weak support
systems
Individuals with a history of substance abuse
Individuals with a history of mental disorders
Public Awareness and Publicity Committee
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Define the problem – (example) Child maltreatment is any act or failure to act on the part of a caregiver that results in a child death, physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation.
(b) Any failure to act which results in placing a child at risk of serious harm.
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Develop a community based public awareness campaign involving local government; private enterprise/industry; faith based organizations; community organizations and social service partners.
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Create an “atmosphere” that reflects the “community” is responsible for the safety of its children.
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Recruit membership from Major community civic organizations and the faith based community.
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Target expectant parents and those individuals most at risk for maltreatment:
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At risk population to be mindful of:
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Individuals with a history of abuse
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Isolated individuals with weak support systems
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Teen parents
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Individuals with a history of substance abuse
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Individuals with a history of mental disorders
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Emphasize campaign for expectant mothers and the infant populations first week of life and weeks 6-8.
Primary Healthcare Committee
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Create a standardized information and education to expectant parents at birth;
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Encourage improved response to reporting child maltreatment.
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Encourage improved documentation on child maltreatment.
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Standardize training for healthcare professionals (online at orientation maybe).
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Create a standardized risk assessment form or list of data elements for healthcare professionals to utilize (child maltreatment risk assessment).
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Develop an objective medial definition for abuse.
Neighborhood Empowerment Committee
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Mobilization of lower socio-economic neighborhoods to support 0-3 and appoint mentors to new mothers;
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Develop a coordinated community response to the prevention of child maltreatment age (0-3);
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Recruit membership from major community organizations and the faith-based community;
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Create a “The death of a child is a community responsibility” atmosphere.
Public Policy Committee
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Increase awareness among public sector leadership and empower them to facilitate change within the community.
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Include the development of education and training to public sector Community.
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Encourage the adoption of proven models of prevention and intervention to combat child maltreatment and increase awareness and reporting.
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Encourage the development of a standardized protocol response to child maltreatment and intervention.
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Encourage the development and adoption of specific training for law enforcement personnel, first responders and firefighters.
Evaluation and Data Collection Committee
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Create standardized terminology when defining abuse;
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Develop indicators to track and establish timelines for reporting;
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Collect data from Jefferson ME;
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Create a data collection form;
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Report data to IVI Committee;
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Calculate the cost and consequences of abuse to Jefferson
June 2010 Project Update
Prevent Child Death in the Birth to Three Populations
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