The
Prevent Child Abuse Network, a program of THE RAISE FOUNDATION™, was originally formed by a resolution of the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 1974 to be the Orange County Chapter of the national Child Abuse Prevention Council. Orange County receives, on average,
over 85 reports of child abuse every day. We have our work cut out for us.
Recognizing that we must all work together if we are going to truly have an impact, we convene the Prevent Child Abuse Network the second Thursday of each month from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at CSP, 1821 E. Dyer Road, Suite 200, Santa Ana, CA 92705 to:
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Discuss existing services |
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Determine best practies |
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Identify gaps in services and determine what resources are still needed to help combat child abuse |
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Identify locations where concentrated services may be needed |
... and we work to do something about them.
Our purpose has remained the same throughout:
To bring relevant child abuse prevention, intervention, and family support information to public and private agencies and to provide an opportunity for connecting communities, programs and services and fulfill our mandate as Orange County’s Child Abuse Prevention Council.
Network participants include representatives from non-profit agencies, the business community, government agencies, schools, advocates and dedicated individuals -- in other words, ANYONE who wants to work together to prevent child abuse in Orange County.
In keeping with our mandate as the Child Abuse Prevention Council for Orange County, we report all our efforts and work to the Board of Supervisors annually.
We have accomplishments in the following areas:
Safe Haven
We focus on outreach and marketing to spread awareness of the Safely Surrender Act. In 2007, a video was produced for mass distribution highlighting positive outcomes of the Safe Surrender Law.
Outreach to Parents
We produce and distribute the Guide for New Parents: That Set of Instructions Your Baby Didn’t Come With. This 400+ page manual is filled with information about every aspect of a child’s life from birth to toddler. The guide is given at no-cost to mothers who have been assessed as "at risk" and is distributed through by hospitals, clinics, the Visiting Nurses Association, and through Family Resource Centers.
Continuing Education and Training
We provide Continuing Education to the community and professionals offering programs such as Internet Safety, Self-Injurious Behavior, Gang Trends in Orange County, Personal Safety Issues, and, others.
Annual Child Abuse Prevention & Treatment Conference
To help insure that professionals working in the area of child abuse prevention, intervention and treatment have opportunities to keep abreast of the latest research and best practices in the field, we provide a major conference on child abuse issues annually.
Blue Ribbon Kick-Off Event
April is National Child Abuse Prevention month. This event honors those children we lost to abuse and promotes hope that by working together we can prevent child abuse and help others who want to prevent child abuse.
Excellence in Child Abuse Prevention Awards
We recognize individuals or groups who have shown dedication to the children and families of Orange County who have been affected by child abuse at the annual Excellence in Child Abuse Prevention Awards honoring the memory of Linda Howard.