U.S. Resources: Prevent Child Abuse

Child abuse is illegal and should not be tolerated. If you believe that a child is being abused and in danger, do not hesitate and call your local law enforcement immediately. For most locations in the USA, you can dial 9-1-1.

The following are intended to be helpful resources. The information listed below was sourced on the internet and accurate at the time it was listed, but may change over time.  Bring Humanity Together, LLC is not responsible for the current accuracy of the information below.

The following resources were sourced from the Prevent Child Abuse America website: https://preventchildabuse.org/resources/

Crisis and support contacts for child abuse

Child Welfare Information Gateway

Children’s Bureau/ACYF

A listing of state toll-free numbers for specific agencies to receive and investigate reports of suspected child abuse and neglect.


Hotlines

Childhelp

800-4-A-CHILD

Operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call or text the hotline for crisis intervention, information, literature, and referrals.

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

24-hour Hotline and CyberTipline (for reporting child sexual exploitation)

800-THE-LOST (843-5678)

If you think you have seen a missing child, contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. The Congress-authorized Cybertipline is a means for reporting crimes against children. Reports may be made 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, online at www.cybertipline.com.

National Runaway Safeline: Help for Runaway and Homeless Youth

National Runaway Safeline is a 24/7 hotline that serves as the national communication system for runaway and homeless youth (RHY) providing crisis intervention, information and referrals, and other resources. The RHY hotline can be reached:


Parent Resources


Prevent Child Abuse America®

800-CHILDREN (244-5373)

A resource for tips, referrals, and parenting materials. In participating states, calls will be connected to the state chapter. For non-participating states, the national office.

Healthy Families America®

312-663-3520

An innovative initiative designed to support and educate new parents through voluntary home visitation.

National Children’s Advocacy Center

256-533-KIDS (5437)

The National Children’s Advocacy Center is a non-profit organization that provides training, prevention, and treatment services to fight child abuse and neglect.

Circle of Parents

804-308-0841

A family support program offering free weekly meetings for anyone in a parenting role wanting to discuss issues related to raising children.

Family Resources

Grandparent Information Center

800-424-3410

For grandparents raising grandchildren, professionals, support groups, researchers, and policy makers to discuss issues related to raising children.

Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect

The Child Welfare Information Gateway is a service of the Children’s Bureau, the Administration for Children and Families, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The following is helpful information from their website: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/

The 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act requires the child welfare field to continue building on its knowledge and implementation of evidence-informed prevention practices to help mitigate and end the devastating consequences of child abuse and neglect. Due to the long-term effects child abuse and neglect can have on a child’s physical, psychological, and behavioral health, providing quality primary prevention programs and services is vital. Programs and services that focus on the overall health and well-being of both children and families and that are designed to promote resiliency and parent capacity are key to preventing child maltreatment. To increase the likelihood that children are safe from maltreatment, communities should move beyond efforts solely built on public awareness campaigns to an approach that emphasizes the vital role of community, early intervention services, and collaboration and acknowledges that all parents need support. 

The following resources offer information on decreasing the risk of maltreatment and supporting and strengthening families, including protective factors, public awareness, community activities, positive parenting, prevention programs, and more. You can also find additional information on the National Child Abuse Prevention Month website.

Overview
Understanding child abuse prevention and what to do when children are at risk. Includes frequently asked questions and links to related Federal and national organizations and State contacts that work to prevent child abuse.

Promoting child & family well-being
Information on well-being and ways programs and systems can support it. Includes resources on protective factors, marriage, fatherhood, and parenting.

Public awareness & creating supportive communities
Tools for sharing a child abuse prevention message with your community and building community support.

Prevention programs
Standards for prevention programs, research on what works, information on the role of related professionals, and resources for specific types of programs.

Developing & sustaining prevention programs
Considerations for managing a prevention program, including community needs assessment, collaborating with community partners, family engagement and retention, cultural competence, training, and funding.

Evidence-based practice
Child abuse prevention programs and strategies supported by scientific research.

Evaluating prevention programs
Evaluating program effectiveness and conducting cost analyses. Features the Evaluation Toolkit and Logic Model Builder.

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