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Programs and services of the Center focus on prevention, intervention and treatment of child abuse and neglect, sexual victimization of children, and children who are witnesses to domestic violence. Over the years, the Center has implemented the following programs:
- Direct mental health treatment projects: The Child Maltreatment: Victim Service Center operated at the Center's community base site in Southeast, DC. Services included: intakes, case management, clinical assessments, evidence-based mental health treatment, coordination with other provides, victim advocacy, and referrals. From 1997-2011, services were provided to child victims of physical abuse, neglected children, sexually abused children, and children who witnessed domestic violence.
- Parent Education and Skills Building Projects: With the support of public and private funding, we implemented ten parent education projects such as: Improving Methods for Prevention of Addiction in Children and Teens (1989-1994); Families Organized for Coping under Stress (1989-1992); and Male Adolescent Positive Parenting (1992-1994), served as the foundation for working with parents who are high-risk. These efforts were followed by new projects that focused on early childhood, school readiness, and needs of school-aged children, such as Bridging Early Childhood and Family Support (2001-2003;) and Families and Schools Together (2005). Evaluations conducted on the Balancing Employment and Parenting Project (2001-2006); Discovering Every Parent's Positive Image (2004-2007); and Family Interventions to Support School Readiness (2007), documented the positive outcomes and effectiveness of the model. Other projects such as Children and Parents Learning about Prevention (2006-2008); Revitalizing Effective Parenting after Childhood Trauma (2008); and Balanced and Restorative Justice; Parent/Caretaker Engagement Training (2008-2012) focused on the difficulties of parenting juveniles and older youth. Recent parenting group program was linked the juvenile justice system, and probation department. The Trauma Informed Positive Parenting (2012-present) is designed to work with parents who are survivors of domestic violence and women reentering the community after incarceration.
- Youth Development Projects: The Center offers community-based prevention violence programs to adolescents. These project included: School-based Prevention, Intervention and Resources Including Treatment Services (1997-2000); Youth Empowered for Success (1999-2001); Juvenile Mentoring Program (1999-2002); Youth Violence Prevention Coalition (2000-
2003); Mentoring and Support Each Youth (2004-2007); SINAR Tobacco Compliance to PL-262 (2004-2005); Family and Schools Together (2004-2006);
- Family Support Projects: Ward Eight Family Support Project (2000-2003); Serving Communities and Reaching Families (2001-2004); Integrated Nutrition & Food Services (2000-2003); A Coordinated Community Response (2000-2002); and Family Interventions To Support School Readiness (2007-2009).
- Research/Evaluation/Technical Assistance Project: Cultural Competency Technical Assistance Project (1994-1999); Child Victim Model Project- Phase I & Phase II (2006-2008); Service to Science Evaluation Project (2002-2011).
Current Projects: Our decades of hands on experience include the implementation of federal grants, foundation projects, and fee-for-service trainings designed to promote safety and protection of children at-risk of child abuse and neglect. Our projects are based on evidence-based models, and we have extensive experience in conducting therapeutic models designed for interventions with at-risk children and families. Current projects are:
Trauma Informed Positive Parenting (TIPP) focuses on the parenting needs of persons who are survivors of domestic violence, and women reentering the community after incarcerations. This grant funded program uses adult learning techniques for group discussions that focus on understanding the impact of trauma on, brain development of children, decision-making, positive parenting practices and co-parenting. Structured sessions use the evidence-based curriculum Riding the Parenthood Wave : Trauma Informed Positive Parenting (TIPP) that was established in 2001 and evaluated in 2006. Each training sessions is two-hours in length, and consists of small groups of participants. A certificate of completion is provided to each parent/caregiver that completes the program.
The following is case scenario of a parent in the program:
A Parent in Need of Support
Tina, a 23-year old mother was referred to the Center for Child Protection and Family Support by a social worker from the child protection agency. Tina has a three-year old pre-school child and she is currently separated from her child's father. Tina indicated that she was concerned about being "a good mother "to her child.
We find that more and more parents who are known to be victims of domestic violence struggle to answer challenging questions about how to communicate with their children. Attending parenting group sessions provided an opportunity for Tina to get support from other parents, and learn how to improve her parenting skills.
Understanding and dealing with stress is an important first step as a parent, because stress can lead to frustrations and negative child rearing practices.
After several sessions, the group trainer was able to see positive signs of changes. Tina talked about her daily activities with her daughter, how she uses positive parenting approaches, and how she is better able to meet the developmental needs of child.
After Tina completed all of the parenting sessions, she demonstrated positive signs that her parenting practices have improved. She became very active in her daughter's child development center and she appeared to be more comfortable in making important decisions for her daughter care. She told the group trainer, "I liked the TIPP program because it gave me new perspectives and positive options to use".
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