Home Visitation Works

Home Visitation Programs

The Child Abuse Prevention Fund is focused on preventing child abuse and neglect from ever happening. To do that, the CAP Fund supports local programs that have child development educators, called parent educators that work with new parents and their babies. Parent educators work with parents to teach them about how their baby is developing, caring for their babies and young children so that their basic needs are met and their homes are safe, and making sure the homes have books and toys and other stimulating items to enhance the baby’s development and promote parent/child interaction. All of these things have proven to decrease the risk of the family ever becoming involved with child protective services. There is more evidence than ever that the CAP Fund is reducing the risk of abuse, and helping families raise healthy children.

Parent educators meet with new parents in their home to help prevent physical abuse and neglect and promote healthy child development and parenting. These visits include some of the following:

  • Ensuring the home environment is safe (there are working smoke detectors, baby gates across stairways and unsafe rooms, safe sleep environments for babies like cribs or pack and plays).
  • Making sure parents have the necessary baby care items like diapers.
  • Educating parents about healthy child development, parenting and healthy ways to interact with babies and young children to promote parent/child bonding. These visits include making sure that the parent and their child has stimulating books and toys so the child can learn, grow and develop.
  • Supporting parents and teaching them about how their baby grows and develops and what to do when they are frustrated and upset, especially when a baby will not stop crying.

An article on child abuse prevention and home visiting written by Jennifer Hammel, Child Abuse Prevention Fund Director

The problem of child abuse in Wisconsin is staggering. In any given year, more than 40,000 children are reported to authorities as being abused or neglected. And nearly 20 percent of those reports actually are proven. These children could fill every seat at Miller Park or populate a city the size of New Berlin or Brookfield. Most often, the abusers are people the children know, love and trust – family members, siblings, unrelated people living in the home, neighbors. And the list goes on.

But there is hope. The Child Abuse Prevention Fund supports programs that work directly with families who are at risk for abusing their children. Being at risk means there are family circumstances that may contribute to a child being unsafe in the home. Trained professionals are paired with families who are expecting a baby or have just delivered a baby. The professionals spend time weekly or twice monthly in the family’s home, helping new parents learn about child development, new baby care, nutrition, setting up a safe home environment and parenting their children using strategies that are not abusive. Children served by programs supported by the Child Abuse Prevention Fund are more likely to be immunized, live in safe environments and have parents that understand their developmental needs.

One mother who was enrolled in a home visiting program had this to say: “I know more about how to be a good parent and that there are different ways to raise children and I’ve learned how to be patient and learned how to step away when I’m overly stressed and angry – and that it’s OK to do so. I’ve learned more about the development of my child than I did in any of the books I’ve read.”

YOU are making a difference. Efforts similar to what the Child Abuse Prevention Fund is doing are helping decrease the risk of child abuse all over the United States. It is more important than ever to continue our work… read here…

 

Facts about child abuse and neglect:
Most parents want to be great parents. Most parents do not abuse or neglect their children. However, there is no disease, natural disaster or trauma that is injuring more children in the United States than child abuse and neglect.

In Wisconsin in 2009, nearly 56,619 children were reported abused and neglected in Wisconsin. These children could fill every seat at Miller Park plus or populate a city the size of New Berlin or Brookfield.

A child is:
• Reported abused and neglected every 9 minutes.
• Neglected every 22 minutes.
• Physically abused every 42 minutes.
• Abused by people that the child knows.