The Alabama Department of Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention joined local and state leaders on Tuesday to present a check in the amount of $1,521,900 to local grantee organizations in Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District.
“The Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention looks forward each year to participating in our annual district check presentations. These events provide opportunities to highlight the outstanding work of our agency’s funded programs in each of the state’s seven congressional districts. These community-based entities implement evidence-based programs to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect in Alabama.” said Sallye Longshore, director of the Alabama Department of Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention.
The Alabama Department of Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention, also known as the Children’s Trust Fund, provides annual funding to community-based programs across the state that are dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect. This year, the agency awarded a total of 175 grants statewide to a range of prevention efforts, including parent education, home visiting, fatherhood, mentoring, respite care, and community awareness programs.
This check presentation includes 21 grants to local organizations working throughout Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District. The organizations funded include: Jasper Area Family Services Center, The Link of Cullman County, Family Success Center of Etowah County Inc., United Cerebral Palsy of Northwest Alabama, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast AL, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Shoals, Inc., Sheffield City School, Gadsden City Schools, United Way’s Success By 6, Hospice of Marshall County- Shepherd’s Cove, Family Services of North Alabama and Gadsden State Community College.
Donna Kilgore, executive director of the Jasper Area Family Services Center, said they are appreciative of the funding.
“We are grateful for continued funding through the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention,” she said.
Kilgore said the grant funding will be used by the following programs at the JAFSC.
The Family Initiative:
The Family Initiative is a secondary prevention program for parents working to prevent child abuse and neglect, address need for parents to be emotionally and financially supportive, stressing the importance of parents bonding/being involved in their children’s lives. The program supports families by providing coaching/case management to active participants to reach their Hopes and Dreams for the families through education and workforce investment to bring them to a more stable economic level.
Supporting Parents, Strengthening Families (Parent Project):
Supporting Parents, Strengthening Families (Parent Project) provides educational classes to strengthen protective factors for parents, teens, and youth along with Family Centered Coaching for participating families. The program originated as a community resource to provide support for families through collaborations with other community agencies to address out of control behavior including truancy and behavioral problems at home and in the community. Additionally, the program focuses on teaching resiliency using the Why Try curriculum.
Baby TALK:
Baby TALK is a nationally recognized program. It encourages and instructs parents in proven methods to establish a nurturing relationship with their children, supplies infant development information in an anticipatory manner to help parents understand children’s behaviors as they occur. It suggests developmentally appropriate activities for family bonding and reinforces parenting skills with reduces the threat of child abuse and neglect.
“All these programs provide supportive services from birth and up for families throughout the Walker County area,” Kilgore said.
