Prevent Child Abuse Oregon

PCAO was fully chartered by PCAA in July, 2022. An in-depth evaluation by PCAA determined that PCAOs current practices align with the national office's Nine Required Criteria for standards of a sound and stable organization with the ability to implement a board spectrum of effective prevention strategies, creating healthy, nurturing environments for children and their families. The nine criteria include: Mission; Structure, Accountability & Stability; Common Identity; PCAA Involvement; Statewide Scope of Prevention Leadership, Influence & Activity; State Level Advocacy & Education Efforts; Public Awareness; Information Resource; and Promotion of Promising Prevention Strategies. 2018: PCAO founded and continues to facilitate the Community Leadership Council (CLC). PCAO launched and continues to grow the Child Abuse Prevention Collaborative which represents 21 statewide organizations. 2020: PCAO trained 1,504 teachers and students in Grant and Harney counties on beginning community conversations about childhood trauma and learning tools to build resiliency for vulnerable families. The CLC surveyed 400 parents during the COVID-19 pandemic to determine how parents could best be supported when school attendance was remote from home. They requested PCAO offer parenting support as parents (especially with younger school-aged children) reported they were feeling in crisis with financial stress, job loss, trying to support virtual schooling, dealing with technology issues, challenging their mental health and creating more at-risk environments for children. The Dr. Amy King training was developed and delivered to address critical parenting issues. This series provided connections for parents. 2021-22: PCAO and Dr. Amy provided 6-week Trauma-Informed Parenting Education to 118 parents in four cohorts. After training parents directly, PCAO and Dr Amy shifted to pilot an 8-week Trauma Informed series for professionals, to have a greater system-wide impact. In partnership with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the pilot included 26 providers from child & family serving disciplines. With Oregon Department of Human Services funding, PCAO and Dr. Amy trained 36 additional child and family serving providers in in the Baker, Malhuer, and Wallowa county region. This pilot resulted in a model that equips providers with trauma-informed knowledge and tools to improve the quality of care that children and families receive. Providers noted the power of connection across disciplines to learn together, build supportive relationships, and problem solve complex cases. These providers collectively served 1,400 families in Oregon at the time they were trained. They continue to serve many more families as caseloads change. One participant said " this is so valuable and important for people working with families to have this training and support. If we want to see a shift in our society, we have to shift our approach. Dr Amy is helping professionals understand how to be more impactful in their work and their own lives. Please keep supporting this work." Providers report that it improves the quality of services provided and the wellbeing of service providers. 80% of participants feel more skilled in engaging and training families, and 90% want ongoing support.