April is “All About Children” Month/abril es mes “Todo sobre los niños”
Help Stop Child Abuse
pril is Child Abuse PreA vention Month. Here are some important tips to
consider: 1. Be a nurturing parent. Children need to know that they are special, loved and capable of following their dreams. 2. Help a friend, neighbor or relative. Being a parent isn’t easy. Offer a helping hand take care of the children, so the parent(s) can rest or spend time together. 3. Help yourself. When the big and little problems of your everyday life pile up to the point you feel overwhelmed and out of control – take time out. Don’t take it out on your kid. 4. If your baby cries… Learn what to do if your baby won’t stop crying. Never shake a baby – shaking a child may result in severe injury or death. 5. Get involved. Ask your com-
munity leaders, clergy, library and schools to develop services to meet the needs of healthy children and families. 6. Help to develop parenting resources at your local library. 7. Promote programs in school. Teaching children, parents and teachers prevention strategies can help to keep children safe. 8. Monitor your child’s TV and video viewing. Watching violent films and TV programs can harm young children. 9. Volunteer at a local child abuse prevention program. To volunteer call 1.800.CHILDREN. 10. Report suspected abuse or neglect. If you have reason to believe a child has been or may be harmed, call family services or the police department.
importantes a considerar: 1. Ser un padre que nutre. Los niños necesitan saber que son especiales, amados y capaces de seguir sus sueños. 2. Ayuda a un amigo, vecino o pariente. Ser padre no es fácil. Ofrezca una mano amiga para cuidar a los niños, para que los padres puedan descansar o pasar tiempo juntos. 3. Ayúdate a ti mismo. Cuando los problemas grandes y pequeños de tu vida cotidiana se acumulen hasta el punto en que te sientas abrumado y fuera de control, tómate un descanso. No lo desquites con tu hijo. 4. Si su bebé llora ... Aprenda qué hacer si su bebé no para de llorar. Nunca sacuda a un bebé: sacudirlo puede provocar lesiones graves o la muerte. 5. Involúcrate. Pida a los líderes de su comunidad, al clero, a la biblioteca y a las escuelas que desarrollen servicios
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TX Must Make A Transformative Change In Child Protection And Foster Care
he Texas winter freeze and power T outages are once-in-a-lifetime events that qualify as collective trauma for
promise and will require from our legislature this session an investment to the tune of $126 million — significant, all of us. However, for Texans who were yet worth every penny to protect already in need or disproportionately the safety of our children. However, affected by COVID-19, these events compliance with the lawsuit will not are compounding record-high levels bring about transformational change. It of stress. is just the foundation and floor we must This crisis reminds us there is a clear build upon. and urgent need to put children and their An investment of $126 million to families first this legislative session. address the many issues in the lawsuit para satisfacer las necesidades We need to ensure the immediate will not erase the trauma children in the de niños y familias sanos. safety and protection of children who foster care system have suffered. It will 6. Ayuda a desarrollar recursos are survivors of child abuse and neglect. not support and protect children and para padres en tu biblioteca lo- While events like the winter storm do not families from reaching critical tipping cal. define families already under stressful points caused by unaddressed trauma 7. Promover programas en la circumstances, nor lead to child abuse, and stress. escuela. Enseñar estrategias de they do draw attention to the fact that According to the Texas Department of prevención a niños, padres y thousands of children and families need Family and Protective Services, nearly maestros puede ayudar a man- our help and support more than ever. 80 percent of child abuse in Texas is tener seguros a los niños. And we must work with the legislature severe neglect often caused by a lack of 8. Controle la televisión y la on smart solutions to invest in upstream basic supports or skills, unhealthy coping visualización de video de su programs that prevent child abuse and mechanisms, or underlying mental health hijo. Ver películas violentas y neglect and mitigate the negative impact challenges. Parents and caregivers can programas de televisión puede of events like these. be equipped to combat all of those issues dañar a los niños pequeños. We are encouraged to see Gov. Greg if provided access to needed support. 9. Ser voluntario en un pro- Abbott’s vow to bring the state of Texas Child Protective Services involvement grama local de prevención de into compliance with the longstanding on the back end of a crisis should not be abuso infantil. Para ser vol- lawsuit against the Texas Foster Care our go-to solution. We must consider untario, llame al 1.800.CHIL- system, recognizing that it is fundamental additional actions we can take to prevent DREN. to ensuring the immediate safety and such occurrences. The proven, most 10. Reporte cualquier sospe- protection of the nearly 50,000 children effective way to prevent abuse and cha de abuso o negligencia. Si who are survivors of child abuse and neglect or crisis from tipping the scale tiene motivos para creer que neglect and come through the state’s for families is to invest in community un niño ha sido o puede sufrir foster care doors every year needing networks and prevention programs that daños, llame a servicios para help and protection. However, we know get to root causes. la familia o al departamento de the foster care system has caused trauma Transformative change requires that we policía. that is on par, if not more significant, stop expecting our child abuse pandemic than what initially launched them into to disappear with more investment in a foster care. CPS system. Combating child abuse in a The governor’s vow is a substantial transformative way requires us to invest Visit us online at www.latinolubbock.net
Conciencia de abuso infantil y prevención
bril es el Mes de la PreA vención del Abuso Infantil. Aquí hay algunos consejos
Child Abuse In Texas
in equitable access to what families need to provide nurturing, safe and stable homes. It means getting to what parents need so they can give their children what they need in return. And what parents need is access to health care, high-quality childcare and early learning environments so parents can work and provide support within their communities, and reduce economic barriers, particularly those with infants and toddlers. The legislature has life and death decisions to make and a difficult job, no doubt. We need legislators to invest financially to comply with the lawsuit. And if we want to prevent more children from entering foster care, we need to be investing more than 5% on prevention efforts in a $2 billion child protective services agency. That is not transformative change. The solution to child abuse is not funding a CPS system; it’s funding what parents and families need and what they need now. We must treat it with urgency because many families are struggling and are on the brink of a crisis at any given moment — that taxpayers will likely pay for. There should not be an either-or when it comes to protecting our state’s most vulnerable. Lawmakers need to look at the data in front of them, listen to what their constituents need, and learn from what has not historically worked when it comes to combating child abuse. Sophie Phillips is chief executive of TexProtects. She wrote this column first for The Dallas Morning News.
