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SFTS News

Safe from the Start Criminal Justice/ P.O.S.T. Training
Supported by a grant from the U.S. DOJ, the CA Attorney General's Safe from the Start initiative has completed four training days for criminal justice professionals on "Children and Domestic Violence." The POST-certified course was recently held in Sacramento and in Oroville. Three more dates are scheduled: September 26th in Anaheim (Orange County), October 11th in Fresno and March 13, 2007 in Hayward. If you are a law enforcement agency interested in bringing the free-of-charge training to your region, contact Arlene.Greene@doj.ca.gov or call (916) 327-9722.

Senate Bill 1745 - Domestic Violence Model Protocol
In 2003, the legislature recognized the connection between child abuse and domestic violence and passed Senate Bill 1745 (Chapter 187, Statutes of 2002), which requires law enforcement, child protective services, prosecutors, child abuse and domestic violence experts, community based organizations serving abused children and victims of domestic violence to develop a protocol in their response to incidents of domestic violence in homes in which a child resides.

In response to this legislation and with funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Safe from the Start formed a working group consisting of all the agencies impacted by the legislation to develop a model protocol for law enforcement’s response to children exposed to domestic violence. The protocol is currently going through the review process and is to be finalized in the next few months.

SCHOOL READINESS INFORMATION

20 Skills Every Child Needs to Know Before Entering Kindergarten
A School Readiness Pamphlet containing activity ideas for math, reading, social and healthy habits is available via http://www.jdfamilycenter.org/Schoolreadiness.html.

University of Wisconsin, Madison School of Human Ecology Develops a School Readiness Project
This School Readiness Project helps communities provide optimal environments for young children and their families, especially in the areas of health, parenting, early education and care, and school entry. See http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/ready/indexold.html.

RELATED RESEARCH

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study
Childhood traumas are prevalent and can cause harm that lasts well into adulthood. There is a strong correlation between childhood trauma and serious adult health problems, including tobacco use, substance abuse, obesity, cancer, heart disease, depression and a higher risk for unintended pregnancy. These are the key findings from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study.

For more on this subject, go to http://www.endabuse.org/newsflash/index.php3?Search=Article&NewsFlashID=762 as well as http://www.acestudy.org.

The Effects of Domestic Abuse on Children
Approximately 3.3 million children witness domestic abuse each year. When one parent abuses the other, between 30-60% of the time the children are also actual, physical targets of abuse by the abusive parent.

For additional information and suggestions for how to respond to children living with domestic violence, check out http://www.familyviolenceproject.org/children.php.

Project Helps Reduce Negative Impacts of Violence on Children
As we know, children who are exposed to violence can experience negative social and psychological effects both at the time of the exposure and throughout their life. The Safe Start Evaluation Project, a new RAND Corporation project funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), strives to find effective programs to improve children’s chances of future well-being.

For more on this project, go to http://www.rand.org/multi/safe_start/.

RELATED RESOURCES

The First Years Last Forever
California Children & Families Partnership, a partnership of First 5 California and the First 5 County Commissions, presents a booklet on what to expect for each age of a child from birth to five, and how you can help your children grow and learn.

For more information, click on http://www.ccfc.ca.gov/PDF/Kit/57805_TheFirstYears.pdf.

The Legal System’s Response To Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
Nancy K.D. Lemon, J.D., a lecturer in domestic violence at Boalt Hall School of Law in Berkeley, wrote this article addressing the legal system and how it has responded to the large numbers of children involved in domestic violence cases.

For more information, check out http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/vol9no3Art5.pdf.

Study Shows How Kids' Media Use Helps Parents Cope
Electronic media is a central focus of many very young children's lives, used by parents to help manage busy schedules, keep the peace, and facilitate family routines such as eating, relaxing, and falling asleep, according to a new national study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. This new report, The Media Family: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Their Parents, is based on a national survey of 1,051 parents with children age six months to six years old, and a series of focus groups across the country.

For more information, check out http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia052406pkg.cfm.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

David and Lucile Packard Foundation
The Children, Families, and Communities Program of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation focuses on access to quality health care, the development of children and youth, the economic security of families and the reduction of violence in homes and communities. The foundation is committed to building the capacity and will to support children in the local community and the nation, to enable them to thrive and grow into responsible, productive, and happy individuals. Information on grant/Funding provider: 300 Second Street, Suite 200, Los Altos, CA, 94022, (650) 948-7658.

For more information, check out http://www.www.packard.org.

UPCOMING TRAINING AND CONFERENCES

Safe from the Start Criminal Justice/ P.O.S.T. Training
Orange County - September 26, 2006
Fresno County – October 11, 2006
Hayward - March 13, 2007
Children and Domestic Violence -8-hr. POST-certified Training for Criminal Justice Professionals (law enforcement, probation, parole, prosecutors, judges) with trainers Dr. Linda Chamberlain and David Love, MFT
Contact: arlene.greene@doj.ca.gov or barbara.thorsen@sonoma.edu

Sonoma County's 1st Annual Family Violence Conference
October 19-20, 2006
Location: Santa Rosa
Keynote: Lt. Mark Wynn (retired)
Cost: $225
Contact: Detective Armando Jauregui ajauregui@srcity.org or
Detective Tamara Warner twarner@srcity.org

Domestic Violence and Children Conference
October 20, 2006
Location: Bakersfield
Keynote: Linda Chamberlain, Ph.D., MPH
Contact: Lupe Perez perezg@co.kern.ca.us

Merced County 3rd Annual Responding to Family Violence Conference
October 26, 2006
Location: Merced
Keynote: Dr. Bruce Perry
Contact: Betty White betty.white@doj.ca.gov

Child, Family, Consumer Sciences - Imperial Valley College Conference
October 27, 2006
Location: El Centro
Keynote: Dr. Bruce Perry
Contact: Becky Green becky.green@imperial.edu