Understanding Child Abuse Part 5

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Concrete Supports for Families – Parents facing a lack of basic needs like food, housing, transportation and clothing are far less able to support the ongoing well-being of their children.  Families dealing with employment loss, parental incarceration, natural disaster, or health crisis may need help accessing resources in an effort to limit the stress that can lead to child abuse (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016b).

Extension programs can help build concrete supports for families in the following ways:

·       Connect parents to economic resources such as job training and social services.

·       Serve as an access point for health care, child care subsidies, and other benefits.

·       Provide for immediate needs through a closet with extra winter coats and a direct connection to a food pantry; facilitate help from other parents when appropriate.

·       Help families access crisis services such as a battered women’s shelter, mental health services, or substance abuse counseling by helping families make initial calls and appointments, assisting with transportation, and providing the name of a contact person in addition to a phone number.

·       Link parents with service providers who speak their language or share a similar background, when available.

·       Train staff to listen for family stress and initiate positive conversations about family needs.

·       Let parents know about all available community resources, so they may select what is most appropriate for their needs.

·       Develop processes for parents to share information about formal and informal resources that they find helpful (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016b, p. 20).

Written By: Lisa Jo Shields, PhD, LMHC

Family Life and Child Development Specialist

*References Available Upon Request