On Monday, March 31, 2025, Terry County Judge Tony Serbantez, City of Brownfield Mayor Eric Horton, and City of Meadow Mayor Natalie Howard signed two proclamations for the month of April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month and National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 6–12, 2025.
April is recognized as National Child Abuse Prevention Month (NCAPM), highlighting the importance of communities coming together to support families and prevent child maltreatment. Throughout the year, communities are encouraged to raise awareness about the well-being of children and families, and collaborate to implement effective strategies that prevent child abuse and neglect.
NCAPM activities are implemented in partnership with our National Child Abuse Prevention Partners, the Federal Inter-Agency Work Group on Child Abuse and Neglect, and families with lived expertise.
NCAPM and other Federal child abuse-related activities are authorized by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). CAPTA provides funding to States to support the prevention, assessment, investigation, prosecution, and treatment of child abuse and neglect. It also provides grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations, including American Indian/Alaska Native Tribes and Tribal organizations, for demonstration programs and projects. About CAPTA: A Legislative History provides more information about this important legislation.
Protective Factors, ACEs, and the Social-Ecological Model
Understanding protective factors and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), along with the social-ecological model, can help in reducing the risk of maltreatment and preventing the recurrence of abuse or neglect. This approach emphasizes the importance of utilizing family strengths and recognizing the effects of traumatic events.
Protective factors are conditions or attributes that enhance the well-being of children and families while reducing the risk of maltreatment. Recognizing these protective factors helps parents discover resources, support systems, or coping strategies to maintain the strength of their families, even during challenging times.
- Nurturing and attachment
- Knowledge of parenting and child and youth development
- Parental resilience
- Social connections
- Concrete supports for parents
- Social and emotional competence of children
Adverse childhood experiences. ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur before a child reaches the age of 18 and can include the following:
- All types of abuse and neglect
- Parental substance use or mental illness
- Parental incarceration
- Domestic violence
- Divorce
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are classified into three main categories: abuse, neglect, and household challenges. Each category includes several subcategories. Demographic information about participants is available based on sex, race, age, and education. The prevalence of ACEs is presented according to these categories.
Abuse:
- Emotional abuse: A parent, stepparent, or adult living in your home swore at you, insulted you, put you down, or acted in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt.
- Physical abuse: A parent, stepparent, or adult living in your home pushed, grabbed, slapped, threw something at you, or hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured.
- Sexual abuse: An adult, relative, family friend, or stranger who was at least 5 years older than you ever touched or fondled your body in a sexual way, made you touch his/her body in a sexual way, attempted to have any type of sexual intercourse with you.
Household Challenges:
- Mother treated violently: Your mother or stepmother was pushed, grabbed, slapped, had something thrown at her, kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, hit with something hard, repeatedly hit for over at least a few minutes, or ever threatened or hurt by a knife or gun by your father (or stepfather) or mother’s boyfriend.
- Substance abuse in the household: A household member was a problem drinker or alcoholic or a household member used street drugs.
- Mental illness in the household: A household member was depressed or mentally ill or a household member attempted suicide.
- Parental separation or divorce: Your parents were ever separated or divorced.
- Incarcerated household member: A household member went to prison.
Neglect:
- Emotional neglect: Someone in your family never or rarely helped you feel important or special, you never or rarely felt loved, people in your family never or rarely looked out for each other and felt close to each other, or your family was never or rarely a source of strength and support.2
- Physical neglect: There was never or rarely someone to take care of you, protect you, or take you to the doctor if you needed it2, you didn’t have enough to eat, your parents were too drunk or too high to take care of you, or you had to wear dirty clothes.
Social-ecological model. A social-ecological model recognizes the various factors that affect caregivers’ ability to nurture and protect their children. These factors operate at five levels: 1. **Societal** (e.g., federal and state policies, societal norms regarding parenting) 2. **Systems** (e.g., collaborations within a community or jurisdiction to support families) 3. **Organizational** (i.e., the programs and policies of individual agencies) 4. **Community** (i.e., incorporating the voices of community members and leaders with lived experience) 5. **Family** (the dynamics and circumstances of the family unit itself)To effectively prevent maltreatment, it is often necessary to address multiple levels simultaneously.
