Los Angeles County Community Child Abuse Prevention Councils

1. Los Angeles County Community Child Abuse Prevention Councils Sara La Croix, MSW/MPA Child Abuse Council Coordinator

2. Introduction • The Los Angeles County Community Child Abuse Councils (LACCCAC) consist of 12 community-based councils. • The membership of the Councils includes professionals working in the fields of child welfare, education, law enforcement, health and mental health as well as parents and anyone concerned about issues surrounding child abuse and family violence. • The purpose of the Councils are to reduce incidences of child abuse and neglect, and to educate the public about child abuse and family violence issues. • Children’s Bureau was awarded the DCFS Council contract in 2015 to support the work of the Councils, coordinate service efforts, provide technical assistance and encourage and facilitate trainings ($100,000 per year).

3. Who are the Councils? Geographically Based Councils Population Specific/County-Wide Councils Advocacy Council for Abused Deaf Children Asian & Pacific Islander Children, Youth & Family Council Family, Children, Community Advisory Council (African American Child Abuse Prevention Council) LGBT Child Abuse Prevention Council • Eastside Child Abuse Prevention Council (El Monte) • End Abuse Long Beach • Foothill Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Prevention Council • Council for Child Abuse Prevention Serving the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valley (SPA 2) • San Gabriel Valley Child Abuse Prevention Council • Service Planning Area 7 Child Abuse Council • AFFIRM - Antelope Valley Child Abuse Prevention Council • Westside Anti-Violence Authority (WAVA)

4. Interesting Facts… • The Long Beach Area Child Trauma Council (now End Abuse Long Beach) was founded in 1975—the first such Council in California and the second in the United States. They spearheaded the creation of the California Consortium of Child Abuse Councils and earned a strong reputation as a leading voice in child abuse prevention. • The Department of Children and Family Services along with FCCAC (African American Council) established the Central Los Angeles Sexual Abuse Unit in 1983 to respond to the disproportionate number of AA children being sexually abused and untreated.

5. Joint Council Projects The Los Angeles Community Child Abuse Councils are involved in the following joint projects: • The Blue Ribbon Campaign which recognizes April as child abuse prevention and awareness month. • Publication of The Children's Advocate Newsletter (2x per year) • The Report Card Insert Project • Training and Technical Assistance to the Community Relating to Child Abuse and Family Violence Issues • Monthly Meetings of the Council Chairs • Special Projects for Individual Councils

6. Special Projects • The Councils this year have $3500 to spend on their projects and most are implemented in April during Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. • Examples of past special projects include: • Mandated Reporter Trainings to the Community • Caregiver workshop: “Grandparents Raising Grandchildren” • Monthly trainings to service providers (CEU’s often available) on topics such as DV and Family Law Basics & Understanding Human Trafficking • Understanding & Combating Institutional Racism in Child Welfare • Transformational Leadership Development of Adolescents and Young Adults • Cultural Awareness and Child Protective Services

7. Collaboration with ICAN • A large part of the Coordinator role is to collaborate with and cross-share information between the Community Child Abuse Councils and the Interagency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN). www.ican4kids.org • Meetings attended include: the ICAN Child Death Review Team Meetings, ICAN Child & Adolescent Suicide Review Team Meetings, ICAN Operations Meeting, ICAN Data Meetings and the annual ICAN Policy Meeting. Case review meetings aim to learn from tragic loss and make prevention focused local/state policy recommendations. • The Community Child Abuse Councils annually staff a resource table at the ICAN Nexus Conference. Nexus attendees are able to learn about the work of the Councils and many sign up to join their local Council.

8. CHILDREN’S BUREAU Outcome Measures • Establish a forum for interagency cooperation and information sharing. • Provide trainings to increase the knowledge of child welfare professionals and community participants on preventing, identifying and addressing family violence issues. • Provide public awareness campaigns to increase professional and community recognition of child abuse and family violence issues (primary prevention). • Manage and distribute funding for Child Abuse Councils.

9. Data & Evaluation • The LACCCAC are contributors to the annual ICAN State of Child Abuse Report for LA County (see ican4kids.org) • Data collected includes: families/children/total adults served, distributed prevention materials throughout LA County, universal survey questions (piloted in 2016-17), participant demographics, qualitative data from each group, areas for growth, applying the protective factors, CEU’s provided and in-kind contributions.

10. Challenges • The majority of the Council members are volunteers and thus have other job or personal responsibilities which can limit their ability to regularly participate. • Several of the Councils have lost members for a variety of reasons and are thus in the process of trying to rebuild their groups. • Annual funding is very limited and some Councils have more resources than others. Thus, some are working with only the $3500 per year while others raise substantially more.

11. Questions, suggestions, ideas and an ask… SoCal Learning Community: Join a council, attend a spring Child Abuse Awareness Month Training or Event and tell a colleague or friend about the work of the Los Angeles County Community Child Abuse Councils! Visit our website to subscribe to our bi-annual newsletter (www.lachildabusecouncils.org) Want free primary prevention materials in multiple languages? Connect with me to pick up at our El Monte storage location. For more information feel free to contact me at saralacroix@all4kids.org

12. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” ~Margaret Mead