Fifty-nine percent of Kentuckians report experiencing at least one adverse childhood experience, such as child maltreatment. These traumatic events can have a negative impact on the health and social wellbeing throughout someone’s lifespan.   In a safe, stable and nurturing environment, children can adapt and build resilience in response to these negative experiences. This workshop will explore current research regarding the impact of toxic stress, evidence informed practices designed to mitigate the effects of toxic stress on children and strategies for supporting families.   

Connect the Dots highlight 4 easy-to-remember steps to address challenging behaviors. The 4 steps encompass both the “well-being” and the “well-doing” of children to ensure strong social and emotional skills needed for success in school and life. Connect the Dots resources and trainings are for anyone who works with children ages one to five years old. This universal tool can be used in any setting serving families and children by teaching children how to recognize and express their emotions appropriately.

Fathers are instrumental in the healthy growth and development of children. This workshop reviews research on the positive and negative outcomes which are directly influenced by the involvement of fathers in children’s lives. Attendees are provided with tools to assess the “father-friendliness” of their organizations and service delivery models. Discussion surrounds changes in practice which, when instituted, may impact the engagement of fathers in the lives of children.

The overarching goal of the Family Thrive framework is to achieve positive outcomes by mitigating risk and enhancing healthy development and well-being of children and youth. The guiding premises provide the foundation for Kentucky Strengthening Families (KYSF) and Kentucky Youth Thrive (KYYT). This approach can be used in any setting serving families, youth and children typically without making huge changes in daily practice.

The Internet Safety training provides strategies to EDUCATE, MONITOR and COMMUNICATE internet safety.  As a result of this training, participants will understand risks and learn how to keep children protected both from unsafe material as well as from predators who are unyielding in their efforts. This training has been designed to support parents and other caregivers in their efforts to assure the safety of children in their care.

Supporting families is a key strategy for promoting school readiness and preventing child abuse and neglect. Attendees will learn how to apply the KY Strengthening Families Protective Factor Framework in their community, organization, or program through the following training objectives: (1) Ability to list and explain each of the six Protective Factors; (2) Recognizing the importance of strengthening families based on research; (3) Identifying  strategies for how your program can align current program practices with the Protective Factors; and  4) Developing a plan for how you will promote the protective factors in your workplace so every interaction you have with families is strength-based and high impact.

Kentucky Strengthening Families (KYSF) represents a multi-disciplinary partnership of over 20 national, state and local, and public and private organizations dedicated to embedding six research-based Protective Factors into services and supports for children and their families.  Supporting families is a key strategy for preventing child abuse and promoting school readiness.

Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky is excited to be able to deliver the KYSF Training of Trainers curricula to those interested in delivering this training in their communities.  This curriculum will enable trainers to provide the three-hour training for interested community members.  They will be able to share the importance of Strengthening Families based on the research behind the movement.  Trainers will also be able to help participants develop a plan for how they will promote the six Protective Factors in the workplace so every interaction with families will be strength-based and high-impact.

Participants will receive an individual set of training materials including the PowerPoint presentation, access to videos, evaluation documents as well as other materials. 

HB 285, legislation passed during the 2010 General Assembly, mandates and encourages education on the identification and prevention of Pediatric Abusive Head Trauma. Check with us to see if your profession is part of the mandate, or whether you and your colleagues are merely encouraged to receive this training. In partnership with experts in child maltreatment, PCAK has developed curricula to meet the needs of a variety of professionals impacted by this legislation. Train the Trainer workshops are also available.

Everyone has a role to play in keeping children safe and ensuring they reach their full potential. Through lecture and group work, participants are empowered to take action to end the tragedy of child death and near death at the hands of those charged with caring for them.

Using film clips of interviews with various types of sex offenders, participants will understand the techniques perpetrators use to target, seduce and exploit children.  Topics addressed include descriptions of “grooming” tactics such as how offenders: 1) target certain children, families and youth serving agencies: 2) seduce child victims and adult caretakers; and, 3) inhibit disclosure, detection and reporting.  This workshop will challenge common misconceptions about children’s ability to protect themselves, and promote the idea that all adults must be informed and take an active role in promoting child safety.  Participants will learn effective prevention strategies for use in a variety of settings.

Summer camps, colleges/universities, athletic organizations, the faith community, and other youth-serving organizations all have a duty to ensure the children and youth they serve are safe while under their care. This training is suitable for athletic personnel, Title IX administrators, summer camp counselors/staff and others. The training covers topics including recognizing and reporting child abuse, strategies for screening and selecting employees and volunteers, strategies for ensuring safe environments and other strategies for protecting children. A planning tool for organizations is included in the training.

Through lecture, video, injury identification and group work, attendees are prepared to recognize, report, and prevent child abuse and neglect within their role as child and/or family-serving professionals. This workshop reviews Kentucky mandated reporting laws, definitions of abuse and neglect, what to expect after a report has been made to the authorities, and outlines specific action steps which prevent child maltreatment.

The way we talk about social problems affects how people understand their causes and solutions. Each of us has beliefs and values we use to help us decide the meaning of messages received. Intentional framing is needed to understand complex issues and build support for programs and policies. Research and analysis have shown Prevent Child abuse Kentucky there is work to do in how we frame child sexual abuse and its prevention. We want our messages to promote action and move individuals to intervention and prevention. This workshop will summarize the work already completed around reframing child sexual abuse in Kentucky, as well as the importance of adequate message frames moving forward. Participants will leave with understanding of proper framing for difficult topics, and the tools to create new appropriate messages for difficult social issues, specifically child sexual abuse. 

Participants will screen a 60-minute documentary produced by James Redford. This documentary summarizes the science behind the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study and provides an in-depth look at how toxic stress can trigger hormones that wreak havoc on the brains and bodies of children, putting them at a greater risk for disease, homelessness, and early death. Resilience, however, also chronicles the dawn of a movement determined to fight back. Trailblazers in pediatrics, education, and social welfare are using cutting-edge science and field-tested therapies to protect children from the insidious effects of toxic stress. A question and answer session will follow the film, allowing participants the opportunity to bring this national movement into a local context for implementation.

PCAK staff, and many PCAK Partners in Prevention are credentialed by the Darkness to Light organization as an Authorized Facilitator of the Stewards of Children curriculum. Stewards of Children is an evidence based workshop, documented to “increase knowledge, improve attitudes and change child-protective behaviors.” The 2-3 hour workshop is conducted in small group settings and is geared toward all adults interested in preventing child sexual abuse.  Our Partner in Prevention, The Family Nurturing Center, is a regional expert in the Stewards of Children curricula and are familiar with statewide training resources. Feel free to reach out to them:  http://familynurture.org/programs-of-the-family-nurturing-center/stewards-of-children/

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) impacts the entire family and is found in approximately 55% of KY households with substantiated cases of child maltreatment; when looking at cases of child fatalities or near fatalities, this increases to 65%.  Attendees will learn about common dynamics of IPV, how children are impacted by the violence, how these dynamics often go hand in hand with child maltreatment, and techniques for preventing child maltreatment when working with families impacted by IPV.

Traumatic events can have a significant impact on an individuals' health and life, and can lead to a sense of powerlessness, fear, hopelessness, and a constant state of alertness within an individual. Trauma-Informed Care is an approach to engaging people that recognizes the potential presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role that trauma may play in an individual's life. When a human service agency becomes trauma-informed, every part of its organization, management, and service delivery system is assessed and potentially modified to include a basic understanding of how trauma affects the lives of individuals. 

Understanding typical child sexual development is critical to keeping children safe. Often parents do not understand when and how to discuss sexual abuse. Training participants will understand the typical stages of child development and learn how to help caregivers talk to their children about healthy sexual development as a tool to prevent child sexual abuse.

Substance abuse is commonly present in cases where child maltreatment has been substantiated. Through lecture and group work, attendees will become familiar with the continuum of prevention, the connection between substance abuse and child maltreatment, and specific techniques to prevent child maltreatment in families impacted by substance abuse.