Last month, SCAN held a training for facilitators who will lead a new parenting program offered by SCAN’s Parent Education Program: Strengthening Families. Strengthening Families is an evidence-based program focusing on building positive relationships between parents and middle-school children. Charlie McLaughlin from the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth led the three-day training with lots of […]
Anyone can report suspected child abuse or neglect, but if you are identified in the Code of Virginia (§ 63.2-1509) as a mandated reporter or you have received training in recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect – then you are a mandated reporter. Over the summer, we have trained mandated reporters everywhere from summer camps to childcare […]
It’s summer: From more time at home (with a babysitter or unsupervised) to time on vacation (swimming, outdoors, etc.), it’s an important time to share resources with the parents and families in your community. Here’s a round-up of great, local information and support to share this summer: SCAN’s Summer Safety for Kids page on the […]
For two years, we’ve been talking about the power of connections in the lives of children. (#kidsneedconnections) When children have healthy relationships with positive adults in their lives, their resiliency grows and our ability to prevent abuse does too. But what if we also focused on the connection between adults and organizations, and the impact […]
As we approach Fathers’ Day, we’re reflecting on a project we’ve been working on at SCAN over the last several months to place special emphasis on engaging men, particularly (but not limited to!) fathers, in preventing family violence. One of our Master of Social Work interns this year compiled research around how to connect with, […]
When you hear about child sexual abuse, many thoughts might go through your mind: “They should go to jail.” “Parents should keep a closer eye on their children.” “Who would do that to a child?” These statements distance us further from what has happened. These thoughts make it easier to dismiss the sexual abuse because […]
We say it over and over: Parenting can be tough. From the first day a child comes home from the hospital, parents face decisions and schedules and subjects they most likely have never even thought about before. It’s a time when parents — especially those in high-risk families with few community connections — need all of the support they […]
In the Greater Prince William County area, there is a unique organization called The Child Protection Partnership. It is a group of human service workers, non-profit organizations, county employees, early childhood educators, parks and recreation staff, school employees, and concerned citizens that meet monthly. SCAN is fortunate to be a part of it as well. At these monthly meetings, we […]
This month SCAN’s Allies in Prevention Coalition held a quarterly meeting with one question in mind: How can we be more intentional about making the time and effort to connect with the kids in our lives? As discussion continued, it became clear that as resource providers, we think about this almost constantly. But we’re thinking […]
SCAN kicked off its first parenting class of the year on February 5th using The ABCs of Parenting from the evidence-based Nurturing Parenting Program®. This 8-week program is designed to empower parents by providing them with effective parenting skills and techniques. The length of the program provides the group enough time to delve into the […]
The recently released film ’50 Shades of Gray’ is dominating the box office, but discussion around the storyline — including sex, abuse and relationships — is also filling the radio airwaves, morning talk shows and social media. Your kids are certainly hearing about it, which means it’s time for parents to decide how to react. […]
Children’s issues are proving to be a major concern for The Virginia General Assembly 2015 session, which convened on January 14th. Over 150 pieces of legislation related to children and family issues have been introduced, and SCAN’s Legislative & Advocacy Committee is reviewing these bills and will follow them as they move through the legislative […]
Our Allies in Prevention Coalition is a force to be reckoned with in Northern Virginia. Over 80 members strong, it represents all five jurisdictions of the region and every area of service for children and families. Each time the coalition meets, I see members become armed with even more information and strengthened in their resolve […]
SCAN’s work in Public Education has been expanding its reach to include child care workers. These newly formed relationships are a perfect example of how we connect with the communities in which we live. Through our involvement with the Child Protection Partnership of Greater Prince William, we have received funding and administrative support from the […]
With October — Domestic Violence Awareness Month — drawing to a close, it’s an important time for us to remember that there is no time limit on violence in the home. It happens all year long, in every community. And it always, always affects the children involved. Every year, 3 million children in the U.S. […]
“I cannot get my baby to stop crying.” “My baby gets cold at night, so I have to leave a blanket in her crib.” “Why can’t I figure out what he needs? I feel so frustrated!” Service providers working with parents hear these kinds of comments and questions all the time. It’s normal for new […]
This fall, SCAN published its first white paper for child and family welfare professionals. A resource focused on building resiliency in children through books, it includes research, directives, references and calls to action. It is the next step in a multi-year initiative to use SCAN’s “Kids Need Connections” campaign to educate and empower local parents […]
Ever since launching our Kids Need Connections campaign last spring, we’ve had countless discussions with service providers, families and staff about how to build the connections that we know are so critical for happy, healthy and safe children. One of the tools we’ve developed is a series of Children’s Stories that Build Resiliency, a list of children’s books with questions to […]
SCAN’s Public Education team spent time this summer developing a new page on SCAN’s website specifically for the faith community. Why? Because they have an important connection to the children and parents in our communities–and they are often in unique positions to safely provide support, compassion and love. We hope to connect with as many faith groups of all kinds as possible in the coming […]
It’s a question we often hear from parents and caregivers–when is it “okay” to leave my child at home alone? Busy schedules, challenges with after-school care and so much more often make this a tough decision. Simply put, there is no easy answer. Every child is different, regardless of age. Every home situation is different, […]
One of the constant challenges of parenting today is time management. Families have busy schedules, often juggling multiple jobs and endless activities, and can really struggle to spend quality time together. How can we better support parents in their efforts to connect with their kids while still handling the stress and schedule of daily life? Here […]
We’re on the hunt for your favorite websites, online libraries, resource centers and more that can help child and family welfare advocates. We’ve dedicated a page here on the blog for collecting links to these valuable online resources, and readers can continue to share their finds in the comments section so we can add them to […]
Resiliency. It’s a buzz word we’ve heard more about in child welfare circles in recent years, but educating our communities on what it actually means can be a challenge. When SCAN developed its Kids Need Connections campaign earlier this year, the importance of resiliency was at the heart of every discussion. First, how can we […]
