The CASA – or Court Appointed Special Advocate – Program just celebrated a big anniversary in Virginia: 30 years of giving children a voice in the court systems of our commonwealth. Based on a national model through the National CASA Program, CASA began in Virginia in 1985, when three programs launched in Roanoke, Norfolk and Newport-News. SCAN added its […]
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and last week, on October 22nd, we wore purple to promote awareness. The color purple signifies “courage, persistence, honor, and the commitment to ending domestic violence” (NRCDV). Domestic violence is violence or physical abuse directed toward one’s spouse or intimate partner, and it causes more injuries each year to […]
September was Kinship Care month and also the first annual Kinship Symposium sponsored by the Northern Virginia Kinship Group. And like all other awareness months, it is more than that to those 2.7 million children that are cared for by relatives and close family friends. What is kinship care? Child Welfare Information Gateway defines it […]
This past week, SCAN’s Allies in Prevention Coalition hosted a Darkness to Light supplemental training and panel discussion at Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library in Alexandria. More than 40 service providers came from around Northern Virginia for the meeting. What subject drew so many people? The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. The short video training from Darkness […]
Anyone can report suspected child abuse or neglect, but if you are identified in the Code of Virginia (§ 63.2-1509) as a mandated reporter or you have received training in recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect – then you are a mandated reporter. Over the summer, we have trained mandated reporters everywhere from summer camps to childcare […]
Twelve people recently stood up in a local courtroom to be sworn-in as new volunteers in the Alexandria/Arlington CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Program. They speak different languages, come from different ethnic communities, and work in very different professions. They are medical professionals, attorneys, human services professionals and government workers. They are highly qualified, motivated, multicultural […]
For two years, we’ve been talking about the power of connections in the lives of children. (#kidsneedconnections) When children have healthy relationships with positive adults in their lives, their resiliency grows and our ability to prevent abuse does too. But what if we also focused on the connection between adults and organizations, and the impact […]
Volunteers in our CASA Program are one of the most powerful examples of a positive adult connection in a child’s life we can think of. Our Kids Need Connections campaign celebrates the nurturing, transformative power of positive adult relationships in the lives of children. For abused and neglected children who already find themselves in the system, a CASA volunteer might be one […]
In the Greater Prince William County area, there is a unique organization called The Child Protection Partnership. It is a group of human service workers, non-profit organizations, county employees, early childhood educators, parks and recreation staff, school employees, and concerned citizens that meet monthly. SCAN is fortunate to be a part of it as well. At these monthly meetings, we […]
We’re wrapping up the first full week of Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time filled with planting pinwheel gardens to raise awareness, providing prevention trainings with partners in Alexandria and sharing our Kids Need Connections campaign materials with thousands across the region. But it’s important we pause in our hectic schedules to remember why we do […]
Later this month, SCAN will kick off a new CASA volunteer training: many days (and nights) of classes, courtroom visits, panel interviews and more. As staff members work hard to prepare for the training, they often consider how other volunteers who have gone through the training have impacted families and given a voice to children. Want […]
Children’s issues are proving to be a major concern for The Virginia General Assembly 2015 session, which convened on January 14th. Over 150 pieces of legislation related to children and family issues have been introduced, and SCAN’s Legislative & Advocacy Committee is reviewing these bills and will follow them as they move through the legislative […]
Observed annually on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, National Adoption Day was celebrated this year on November 22, 2014. SCAN’s Alexandria/Arlington CASA Program was able to support the adoptive families celebrating in Alexandria and Arlington. The City of Alexandria celebrated 7 adoptive families with a total of 11 children, ages 1 to 17. Four of those […]
On Tuesday over 50 professional and community members who wish to be stronger advocates for children attended SCAN’s advocacy training event, Speak Up For Children!, a partnership between SCAN and Prevent Child Abuse Virginia. Christie Marra from the Virginia Poverty Law Center gave an engaging presentation about the legislative process and how advocates can influence […]
Our Alexandria/Arlington CASA volunteers are intimately aware of the local foster care system, its challenges, and its impact. As they work closely with families here in our community, we also keep an eye on foster care and adoption trends around the country, which is why this recent post from National CASA CEO Michael Piraino caught our eye. […]
Men and women who work directly with children and parents in our community often experience very different perspectives of the families they serve. Some work in the schools, others at health organizations, government agencies or any number of nonprofits. Yet many are serving families in crisis because of the same complex and tangled list of […]
The research on child abuse and neglect continues to develop every year. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) and National Research Council (NRC) recently released an update to a 1993 report on the state of child welfare research. The new report, New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research, focuses on child abuse and neglect as […]
Many of us support pre-kindergarten programs because they help children enter kindergarten more prepared and give parents the flexibility to work and support their families. But there is another reason child abuse prevention advocates should support pre-k: The research shows that a high-quality pre-kindergarten (pre-k) program with a strong parent coaching component can actually help […]
April 9, 2014 SCAN’s CASA Program Director Carrie Cannon was honored by the Family and Children’s Trust Fund of Virginia during Prevention Child Abuse Virginia’s annual conference in Richmond. The awards recognize individuals like Carrie whose prevention, intervention and treatment efforts in the area of child abuse and neglect have shown exceptional merit. Carrie was celebrated […]
One Decade. One Volunteer. One Amazing Impact. Ten years ago, Tyra Hunt was sworn-in as a CASA volunteer with SCAN’s Alexandria/Arlington CASA Program. Today she stops by the blog to reflect on the challenges of being a CASA, her favorite memories and why she remains committed to advocating for abused and neglected children in our local […]
Just a year ago, Kiesha Boney stepped into her very first volunteer opportunity with SCAN’s Parent Education Program. Since then she’s volunteered 40+ hours, working alongside SCAN’s Children’s Program Coordinator and helping children learn and grow in a structured children’s program while their parents participate in weekly educational support group sessions. We asked Kiesha to share […]