Prevention is the first goal, and a necessary component, of any community’s response to child abuse and neglect. This responsibility is not just in the hands of parents or individual agencies—collaboration among service providers at all levels is also essential.

Local agencies, as liaisons between refugees and community services and laws, are in a frontline position to support such families, as well as to identify possible indications of harm to children. This month BRYCS shines our spotlight on an impressive example of collaboration at the local level, between the International Institute of Metropolitan St. Louis and the Missouri Department of Social Services, Division of Family Services (DFS), Child Abuse Investigation and Assessment Unit in the city of St. Louis. It blends commitment to inter-agency collaboration, child protection, and support for refugee parents during abuse and neglect investigations. Click here for more information on the partnership, and find more details about International Institute’s associated operations in the sidebar on the right.

in BRYCS

Check out our new materials:

• Announcing free, on-site refugee parent services consultation, to be guided by the BRYCS manual Strengthening Services for Refugee Parents
• Public child welfare workers: Connect to the BRYCS public child welfare online assessment tool which addresses service challenges.
• BRYCS is making plans to hold a Refugees and Foster Care Roundtable this summer.

in the Clearinghouse

• The clearinghouse has a number of different types of resources that are relevant to child abuse prevention. From program descriptions to articles, reports to information sheets...you can find a ready list of them here.