Prevent Child Abuse Oregon

Form 990, Part III, Line 4a Program Service AccomplishmentsPCAO's 2024 programmatic investments increased by 50% over 2023, providing the opportunity for the following accomplishments:Increased Staffing: Two additional staff were hired mid-year - Collaborations Coordinator and Strategic Initiatives Coordinator. This tripled PCAO staff bandwidth, greatly increasing our capacity.Our Strategic Initiatives Coordinator is focused on co-designing, implementing, and evaluating programmatic and policy initiatives that are aligned with PCAOs mission, vision, and values. They hold a Masters in Social Work and bring experience from mental health and substance use treatment, suicide prevention, harm reduction, and transformative justice.Our Collaboration Coordinator is focused on managing, supporting and growing our statewide Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Collaborative. They hold a Masters in Education and bring experience from Early Childhood and Child Care Resource & Referral, where they developed and delivered education for children, adults, and childcare providers.Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Collaborative: PCAOs CAP Collaborative Coordinator convenes statewide partners to support Oregons cross-sector Ecosystem of Prevention. PCAO has expanded this group to include more than 60 diverse statewide members, representing 49 organizations as well as 7 individuals who participate outside their professional role. Our CAP Collaborative includes a wide array of perspectives and people doing this important work across sectors, geography and more. With the onboarding of our Collaboration Coordinator in 2024, the CAP Collaborative underwent a revamp to align more intentionally with the Theory of Change from Prevent Child Abuse America. We are utilizing the Ecosystems of Prevention framework in this space to help shape our efforts to center learning, connection, partnership and care in our collaborative work. The focus of this work in 2024 was to steep our new Coordinator in the group - building important relationships, expanding this group, and creating new structures for information sharing and collaboration within the group.Emerging Family Resource Network: In collaboration with a private funder, Prevent Child Abuse Oregon (PCAO) launched an exploratory effort to adapt the nationally recognized Family Resource Center Network (FRCN) model to Oregons needs. Director and staff conducted extensive research into the National Family Support Networks (NFSN) Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening & Support and examined how the FRC model has been adapted across different states and communities.This work is part of a broader, innovative effort to coordinate and streamline local primary prevention services, with the goal of building a cohesive Ecosystem of Prevention across Oregon.In 2024, PCAO engaged with key partners across the country to assess the models effectiveness and flexibility. This included (but was not limited to):1)Meeting with leadership at the National Family Support Network (NFSN) to deepen understanding of the models core principles and infrastructure;2)Visiting and touring Family Resource Centers in Colorado to observe diverse implementation strategies;3)Consulting with Prevent Child Abuse Arizona to learn from their experience building and sustaining a statewide FRC network;4)Connecting with leaders from Washingtons FRC Network to understand how their FRCs programmatic efforts are linked to broader policy advocacy in their state.In Summer 2024, we reconnected with several Oregon-based leaders who were instrumental in shaping the national FRC model and who are eager to collaborate on adapting this approach to Oregons unique context. Their involvement represents a valuable bridge between national expertise and local relevance.To support the design and early implementation phases, the project team engaged a consultant in late 2024 who has deep experience leading state agencies and foundations in Oregon. This strategic support has helped ensure that planning efforts are grounded in systems knowledge and informed by state-level dynamics.Trauma Informed Training and Consultations: The need for trauma-informed training for social service providers has never been more evident than in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. The World Health Organization produced a study that found the US spends $748 billion on health care costs and related lost productivity caused by adversity. If our nation, state and systems had trauma-informed policies and practices in place to prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), the federal government could save $219 billion annually.PCAO has been partnering with licensed psychologist Dr. Amy King since 2020 to improve access to this critical education and support. Dr. Amy is a licensed psychologist in Oregon who promotes resilience across families, healthcare, schools, businesses, and individuals. She trains locally and nationally and is endorsed by experts in early childhood, mental health, and pediatric care. We hosted an in-person, two-day trauma-responsive training in May 2024 to adapt our virtual training series into an online course. 14 providers from diverse service sectors, from both urban and rural areas participated in the recorded training that was used to create a 9-module asynchronous course. This major project allows expanded training access for providers - enabling a far greater impact for both providers and the families they serve. 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. Another participant said Dr. Amy is helping professionals understand how to be more impactful in their work and their own lives.We also continued offering our ongoing Monthly Consultation with Dr. Amy that becomes available when a provider completes the training. 120 trained providers from diverse geographic and cultural backgrounds had access to Monthly Consultations with Dr. Amy to continue learning and refreshing their trauma-informed skills receiving expert guidance, and real-time problem-solving of complex cases. Consult topics have included drug use and overdose; child abuse reporting; teacher safety at home visits; complex student behavior; and suicidality. Participants achieve increased understanding and knowledge of individual, historical and intergenerational trauma in children; identifying how neurobiology and trauma are interconnected, cultivating a more trauma sensitive environment; building resilience and discussing how resilience mitigates trauma; and accessing greater resources throughout the state to better address the needs of children and families.These providers have noted the power of this connection across disciplines to learn together, build supportive relationships, and problem solve cases. This group serves as a critical resource for creativity and community healing, promoting provider wellbeing and critically reducing provider burn-out statewide. One participant noted it is so helpful to discuss challenges and barriers we face within the work we do during the consultation hour. Dr. Amy provides us with tips, language, and exercises that can help us with whatever we need extra support on. I have seen the impact of her with our staff. Providers encouraged PCAO to continue this support for providers. Providers report that it improves the quality of services provided and their own wellbeing as service providers. 80% of participants feel more skilled in engaging and training families, and 90% want ongoing support. Equally as important, participants have reflected that this training offers them space to address their own trauma, strengthening their empathy for others and building their tools to respond to complex family and behavioral needs.Most importantly, the increased knowledge and skills gained by the social service and education providers has a systemic benefit for the families served. These providers serve over 2,700 families and will serve many more families in subsequent years. Parents especially with younger school-aged children have reported these improved services help mitigate their feelings of being in crisis with stress that often challenges their mental health. Trauma informed providers help create more resilience in at-risk and vulnerable families. These 120 trained providers have an exponential impact by not only serving 2,710 families currently, but also by supporting future families over their career. By strengthening the skills of the existing service providers, families will receive more appropriate trauma-informed services that better address their needs and increase their resiliency.This cohort of 120 trained providers includes 26 child and family serving providers from The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde who worked with Dr. Amy to develop the 8-week trauma-informed training, and providers from eight counties: Baker, Clatsop,