How does it feel to be a kid in today’s world? How can we help children and teens manage new 21st-century realities — from the impact of online bullying to LGBTQ issues to the tragedy of rising suicide rates among youth? Earlier this month, we gathered in Arlington to discuss this new “Culture of Kids” with our Allies in […]
When we first launched our Kids Need Connections child abuse prevention campaign in 2014, our “Children’s Stories That Build Resiliency” was a huge hit. We have presented at various conferences and given several workshops throughout Virginia highlighting not only the 15 stories but also resiliency theory and how to build resiliency in children. We were asked […]
The family reunification experience is a growing challenge for child welfare advocates, school districts and other service providers here in Northern Virginia and across the country. In the United States, 20% of children are growing up in immigrant homes and a large number of these children joined their parents after years of separation. They come to escape gangs, […]
One year ago this week, SCAN published its first white paper. In an effort to provide a deeper understanding of some of the complex issues we address in prevention and advocacy work, we continued to develop more in-depth tools for resource providers and child welfare advocates in our community. Since last fall, we’ve published two more papers. SCAN’s current […]
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 […]
A report recently published in Pediatrics and funded by the National Institutes of Health spotlights a troubling statistic: 20 percent of new moms said they did not receive advice from their doctors regarding current recommendations on issues like safe sleep and breastfeeding. This reflects a greater challenge we’ve noted in our community — new parents often feel isolated, […]
We were thrilled to hear about Lainie Morgan’s experiences during her first volunteer experience with SCAN. Enjoy her story — we hope it inspires you to volunteer, too! As someone who used to teach children and families in Baltimore but now supports educators from a national office and misses being in the classroom, I sought […]
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, […]
Volunteers in our CASA Program are one of the most powerful examples of a positive adult connection in a child’s life we can think of. Our Kids Need Connections campaign celebrates the nurturing, transformative power of positive adult relationships in the lives of children. For abused and neglected children who already find themselves in the system, a CASA volunteer might be one […]
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 […]
We’re wrapping up the first full week of Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time filled with planting pinwheel gardens to raise awareness, providing prevention trainings with partners in Alexandria and sharing our Kids Need Connections campaign materials with thousands across the region. But it’s important we pause in our hectic schedules to remember why we do […]
March 23, 2015 On March 25th, before its 13th Annual Allies in Prevention Awards, SCAN will host a morning workshop led by special guest LaMar Henderson, MSW, LICSW. The workshop, which is at maximum capacity, is titled: ”Beyond Biological: Preserving the Emotional Connection Between Fathers and their Children.” Mr. Henderson will also give the Keynote Address at the […]
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 […]