Misconceptions about healthy parenting can be deadly to a child. Most forms of child abuse can be prevented through education and heightened awareness. Over 33,000 Orange County children were reported as abused and neglected in 2006 and five Orange County children died as a result of the abuse.

Project Overview: It is often lamented that babies “don’t come with a set of instructions.” In the summer of 1997, we began to ask, "Why not?" As a first step, we began surveying Orange County hospitals. We asked for a sample of the information they routinely give to parents of newborns while in the hospital or at the time of discharge. A review of the information indicated that distribution of quality information was often haphazard, sometimes non-existent, and at best, inconsistent from one site to the next.

In response, The Raise Foundation formed the Outreach to Parents Team (OPT) made up of professionals from a variety of disciplines. The OPT committee began a 1-1/2 year process of developing a comprehensive parenting manual for at-risk parents. The title is A Guide for New Parents: That Set of Instructions Your Baby Didn’t Come With. What is perhaps unique about this guide is that a volunteer or social worker will personally deliver it to the parent and explains how to use it. The information is divided into two and three-month (0-2 months, 3-4 months) sections. Included in each section is age specific information on parenting, health, safety, nutrition and community resources. Distribution sites include 12 Orange County hospitals, in-home counseling programs, five public health sites, and family resource centers, etc. The target population for this project, at this point, is high-risk parents of newborns.  The guide is given at no-cost to mothers who have been assessed as "at risk" and is distributed through hospitals, clinics, in-home visitation programs, etc. (to see a list of distribtion sites click on the link below).   The guide is currently available in it's 3rd English Edition and Spanish Translation of this 3rd Edition is already underway.