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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

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Elena Cohen, MSW, MEd, Safe Start Center, JBS International, Inc., 8630 Fenton Street, Suite 1200, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3803, Donna Gardner, MSW, MA, Artemis Center, 310 West Monument Avenue, Dayton, OH 45402, Kristen Kracke, MSW, US Department of Justice, Officeof Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 810 7th Stree, NW, Washington, DC 20531, and Joie D. Acosta, PhD, Association for the Study and Development of Community, 444 N. Frederick Ave., Suite 315, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, 310-519-0722, Ext. 110, jacosta@capablecommunity.com.

Children's exposure to violence is considered a public health issue because of its long-term impact on the health and well being of children and families. A public health approach has had significant implications for the prevention, early intervention and treatment of childhood exposure to violence.

Home visitation programs have demonstrated long-term effects on the prevention of child maltreatment and a reduction of children's criminal and antisocial behavior. But these programs have not been as effective in households living with domestic violence. Barriers confronted include the high prevalence of domestic violence in families, safely and systematically addressing exposure when there are crises,and training of home visitors. This workshop will describe strategies developed by the Safe Start Promising Approches sites--a partnership between the Artemis Center for Alternatives to Domestic Violence and a home visitation program. Artemis provides ongoing training on domestic violence to nurses who perform home visits with the goal of building nurses' capacity to identify, assess, and respond to the needs of young mothers of children who are at risk of or exposed to domestic violence. The program also provides case management and dyadic psychotherapy in the home. Safe Start is a national initiative designed to reduce impact of children's exposure to violence in the home and community. Fifteen Safe Start Promising Approaches communities are funded to implement and measure the effectiveness of strategies to reduce the negative impact of exposure to violence.

Learning Objectives:

• Articulate the strategies implemented by Safe Start communities to address children’s exposure to violence in a variety of settings.
• Identify how the Dayton OH program is working with home visitors to address exposure to violence, current victimization, and the impact on child development and parenting.
• Describe staff development program for home visitors; domestic violence staff and advocates; as well as other community stakeholders to address issues related to children’s exposure to violence during home visits.
• Discuss strategies for addressing the challenges of implementing and sustaining home visiting programs with families living with domestic violence

Keywords: Family Violence, Children

Related Web page: www.safestartcenter.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

• Slides (pdf) or Handout