Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota

Awareness and Education Prevention Education and Outreach: MCCC produces and distributes thousands of pieces of prevention education and outreach materials throughout the year. MCCC also raises awareness online through our website, social media, and an annual webinar series. Currently MCCC has over 3,100 followers on Facebook, and in FY19 MCCC offered a 4-part webinar series featuring Teri Barila, a leader of community resilience initiatives in Walla Walla, WA. MCCC staff members are also present at community events statewide to share information about prevention and to facilitate dialogue about child maltreatment through regional training workshops and cafe conversation events. In FY19, MCCC staff facilitated six community cafe conversations. ACE Interface Training Program: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study and subsequent research studies demonstrate that exposure to adversity early in life can lead to negative health and social outcomes in adulthood. Using the national ACE Interface curriculum, MCCC develops the capacity of individuals as certified ACE Interface Trainers and Presenters so that they can raise awareness about the effects of trauma and the promise of prevention in their communities. In FY19, MCCC trained 279 ACE Interface Presenters, adding to 407 previously trained ACE Interface Trainers and Presenters statewide. Of those trained, 241 have completed certification requirements. ACE Interface Trainers and Presenters provided more than 430 educational presentations to nearly 8,400 individuals across the state. MCCC also held two gatherings of ACE Collaborative Partners, reaching a total of 250 attendees with information about building community resilience.A FY19 survey of 4,055 presentation attendees showed that 89% of respondents reported that they will incorporate their new knowledge about adverse childhood experiences and resilience into their actions at work; 82% said that they will incorporate this knowledge into their actions at home/in their families; and 76% said that they will incorporate this knowledge into their actions in their communities.Tribal Community Wisdom Project: In partnership with The Blue Cross Blue Shield of MN Center for Prevention, the Tribal Community Wisdom Project began in 2015 with the aim of building the capacity of tribal communities to address challenging health and social issues related to childhood trauma. This project has three stages: 1) raising awareness about trauma and resilience by providing ACE Interface presentations, 2) training presenters in the ACE Interface curriculum to build capacity and broaden community awareness, and 3) facilitating community-driven action planning to identify key strategies that the community will leverage to support healing and building resilience. In FY19, MCCC continued partnerships with five tribes on this project - White Earth, Fond du Lac, Lower Sioux, Leech Lake, and Mille Lacs. Across tribal communities more than 60 people have been trained as ACE Interface Presenters. Communities are at various stages of developing and implementing community action plans that leverage the existing resources within each community to strengthen individual and community resilience. Note that due to changes in funding priorities, funding for this program from the Center for Prevention ended effective January 1, 2019. MCCC continues to provide limited support to our network of Presenters and partners despite this change in funding.

SupportCircle of Parents: As the Minnesota chapter of Circle of Parents, MCCC partners with communities to offer peer-led, mutual self-help support groups for parents and children throughout the state. At group sessions, parents support each other and develop leadership skills that transfer to their families and communities. Participants meet in a supportive environment to share their concerns and frustrations, and to identify and commit to their own personal parenting goals. Participants are guided by volunteer facilitators that are trained by MCCC staff. In Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19), Circle of Parents served over 900 parents in 42 parent groups and over 500 children in 26 children's groups. More than 200 referrals to resources including community education, mental health, job training, health care, crisis nursery, social services, WIC, ECFE/Head Start, mentoring programs, and food shelves were made to parent participants. Multiple research studies show that Circle of Parents successfully increases protective factors - attributes that strengthen families and reduce the likelihood that child abuse will occur. In a FY19 survey of participants, nearly all respondents (99%) reported that they have gained additional supportive contacts as a result of participating in the program. The vast majority also reported that they have become more aware of local family resources, better understand childhood development, and interact more positively with their children (85%-94%) as a result of Circle of Parents.