Eckerd believes that a child shouldn’t have to be harmed in order for a family to get help; that it’s best to keep families together, strengthening and supporting them before abuse or neglect occurs. Eckerd provides services, resources and support designed to promote healthy child development and strong families, help keep children safe, and ultimately prevent abuse or neglect.
Eckerd believes in strengthening and supporting families.
Eckerd prevention strategies include community resource development, community education, and support of the Five Protective Factors for families. Referred to as “Community Facilitators”, Eckerd prevention staff utilizes these strategies to strengthen and support families. They work closely with local Child Protective Investigators to help identify and develop community resources needed to strengthen families and help maintain children safely in their homes and provide referrals to parents in need of assistance.
Five Protective Factors
Protective factors are conditions in families and communities that, when present, increase the health and well-being of children and families. These attributes serve as buffers, helping parents find resources, supports, or coping strategies that allow them to parent more effectively – even under stress. Research has shown that the following protective factors are linked to healthy families and lower incidences of child abuse and neglect:
- Nurturing and Attachment – Building a close bond helps parents better understand, respond to, and communicate with their children. When a close parent-child bond exists, children develop trust that their parents will provide what they need to thrive.
- Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development. Being a good parent is part natural and part learned. Parents need to be given the information and tools to be successful, so they understand the stages of child development and have realistic expectations.
- Parental Resilience. Resilience is the ability to handle everyday stressors and recover from occasional crises. This is about being strong and flexible, so that when everyday stress or an occasional crisis arises, parents are able to bounce back.
- Social Connections. Trusted and caring family and friends provide emotional support to parents by offering encouragement and assistance in facing the daily challenges of raising a family. Supportive adults in the family and the community can model alternative parenting styles and can serve as resources for parents when they need help.
- Concrete Supports for Parents. We all need help sometimes. Providing or connecting families to the concrete supports they need is critical. When community resources are needed, it’s important these services are accessible, affordable and readily-available to parents.
Click here to learn more and to download the Strengthening Families and Communities 2011 Resource Guide.
