“When a child misbehaves, remember—kids are having a problem, they’re not being a problem.” At this week’s Allies in Prevention Coalition meeting, SCAN hosted 30 local child welfare professionals to hear from parenting expert Rachel Bailey as she shared insight from her work coaching parents in hundreds of local families. Why do children throw tantrums, hit a […]
July 10, 2018–The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth has awarded a three-year, $150,000 grant to SCAN of Northern Virginia to support parent education and engagement that facilitates youth tobacco use prevention in the city. SCAN of Northern Virginia, Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) and Alexandria Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) will work together […]
On March 8th, SCAN’s Allies in Prevention Coalition hosted its quarterly meeting with a focus on the Importance of Routines for Children. Dr. Amy Parks from The Wise Family and Dr. Kelly Henderson from Formed Families Forward joined us to lead a fantastic discussion about why routines are important, how they affect children, and how […]
“Our family is facing financial issues at home, discipline issues with our middle child at school, and an overwhelming schedule. It’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. What can I do?”* SCAN’s Parent Education team hears a lot of questions from local parents in our classes, support groups and workshops. They […]
Since the launch of the Parenting Can Be Tough campaign, we continue to consider this theme through the eyes of different parents in our communities. The challenges of parenting can be universal—consider topics like discipline, behavior, stress management—but they can also be unique for different groups of families. This month, we invited a panel of […]
As children head back to school, some of their biggest concerns often involve making friends, “fitting in” and navigating relationships. But when a child has good, healthy friendships, the benefits can include increased self-esteem and appropriate emotional growth. So how can parents better understand social development and its impact on their children? There’s a fact sheet for that! Our “Making […]
For those of us who work with children and families, summer can bring fun — but also a lot of season-specific challenges. Families are on unusual schedules, parents are juggling the demands of new childcare arrangements and children are spending more time alone / on-screen or online / with new adults / outdoors and in pools. This week, we’ve gathered […]
SCAN is pleased to be partnering with Smart Beginnings Prince William County to offer valuable Workshops on Safe Sleep to the Greater Prince William community. The first workshop will be offered on Tuesday, February 21st at 4 pm at the Hylton Education Center at Sentara Hospital. The FREE workshop is ideal for service providers, health care providers, […]
This week we once again welcome Gretchen E. Downey, Prevention Expert and Best-Selling Author, as she shares her expertise on preventing suicide in – and strengthening our communication with – the teenagers in our lives. This is the second post in a two-part series: Ruling out genetics and specific pathologies related to mental health and suicide, there still […]
This week we welcome Gretchen E. Downey, Prevention Expert and Best-Selling Author, as she shares her expertise on preventing suicide in – and strengthening our communication with – the teenagers in our lives. This is the first post in a two-part series: Our hearts ache when the tragedy of teen suicide occurs in our community. Is it preventable? […]
It’s a new school year and we’re excited to launch a new menu of workshops for the community! We encourage ALL groups of people to consider a workshop — from nonprofits, schools and government agencies to parenting groups, employers and faith groups. Our workshops are based on SCAN’s existing child abuse prevention and advocacy programs as well as the […]
Back-to-school season can be a time of changes and challenges for families with school-aged children. Sharing information and tools like these can be a great way to connect with parents when they need it most: Advocating for Your Child in School: Help parents connect with teachers and school staff in constructive ways at the beginning […]
It has only been 20 years since the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) began recommending U.S. babies always be placed on their backs for sleeping to reduce the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Many have caught on to the NICHD’s “Back to Sleep” campaign, but there is so much […]
We talk a lot about families and technology – how to deal with things like sexting, creating family tech rules and unplugging together to make time to connect with each other. But the reality today is that the average person spends about 8-10 hours a day consuming digital media and between 4-5 hours a day using […]
Parenting a new baby is not a perfect science, but we do know that parents who have positive support around them are better equipped to manage the stress, exhaustion and fear that often accompanies that first year with a new child. Just in time for Mother’s Day, we’ve been gathering stories from our partners […]
SCAN’s work with immigrant families in our Parent Education Program often involves the issue of reunification — when children and parents are reunited after long periods of time living apart in different countries. Jessica Gutierrez Foster, one of SCAN’s Parent Education facilitators, was recently interviewed for a special report on Univision covering unaccompanied immigrant youth and the challenges they face […]
Last month, SCAN held its second facilitator training for the Strengthening Families Program, this time with a focus on the curriculum for elementary aged children (6-11). Heather Eshleman and Larry Williams, from the Strengthening Families Foundation, led the two-day training, sharing their expertise and extensive experience with the program. Here are our three main takeaways […]
So much of what we do at SCAN is about prevention, before child abuse or neglect begins in a family. As child welfare professionals, we know that education and support of parents is key to empowering caregivers to ask for help, improve their skills and nurture children in the healthiest ways. But connecting parents with the resources they […]
Here they are — our 5 favorite tips from around the web to help parents manage stress this holiday season: Pay close attention once per day. “Parents find themselves scattered over the holidays. Sometimes we forget that children need our time more than ever when things become hectic. We can give the gift of attention every day, without […]
Earlier this week, a group of local service providers gathered in SCAN’s Community Training Room to learn about Operation Safe Babies. Although many come in to these events with some knowledge on safe sleep and abusive head trauma, there are always new issues discussed and important ideas shared. Everyone walks away with valuable information and resources to share as they work with the […]
Since SCAN began offering fee-for-service workshops, we have held more than 26 of them and trained more than 525 people across Northern Virginia. The topics have been varied (everything from Darkness to Light [Child Sexual Abuse Prevention] to Positive Parenting to Operation Safe Babies to Using Children’s Stories to Build Resiliency to Child Care Workers as Mandated Reporters.) The audiences have […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]