Understanding that there is no “one size fits all” approach for supporting Texas communities, PEI created the Community Toolkit to offer a range of resources to support a collaborative approach to developing strategies that align the prevention of child maltreatment and the promotion of positive outcomes for Texas children, youth, and families and help answer the question of "What can I do?"
Each sector of the community has a role to play in developing a comprehensive plan for child abuse prevention. The following highlights examples of sector-specific or community activities:
- Include the voices of parents and youth, who will be most impacted by the community prevention plan, at the table from the very beginning to help guide the development and implementation of any community strategy.
- Become involved in local collaborations and advocacy activities aimed at strengthening families and developing solutions to local challenges.
- Learn about and promote early brain development and language-nutrition practices and approaches.
- Increase your awareness about evidence-based prevention strategies.
- Understand and promote safe sleep, firearm safety, and water safety practices and policies.
- Increase knowledge and awareness of the incidence of and long-term impact of childhood abuse and neglect, as well as how to accurately recognize and report suspected cases.
- Learn about the prevalence and impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adverse community environments, jointly referred to as the "Pair of ACEs".
- Encourage policy leaders to adopt policies and practices that are supportive of children and families, including father engagement and nontraditional families, such as kinship families.
- Work collectively to support families during and after natural disasters and public health crises and to provide families with resources to quickly recover.
- Actively participate in prevention programs and efforts (e.g., mentoring opportunities, basic needs support drives, and volunteering) to promote positive outcomes for families in community.
- Learn what supports are available in the community and create community strategies that encourage help seeking behavior and reduce the stigma associated with seeking support.
- Participate in and provide access to trainings that are trauma- and poverty-informed.
- Partner with the public sector in the provision of social services, especially programs and services for:
- the prevention of child abuse and neglect,
- parents who are “returning citizens” (i.e., formerly incarcerated adults),
- adult literacy,
- father engagement,
- evidence-based or research-informed parenting skills and support programs and practices,
- increasing food sufficiency,
- and evidence-informed afterschool, out-of-school, and summer programs.