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Tag: Child Abuse Prevention 

The Reality of Family Separation: Children, Trauma, and What We Do Next

As a leader in the prevention of child abuse and neglect in Northern Virginia, SCAN is dedicated to educating the community about the scope, nature, and consequences of child abuse and neglect. The separation of immigrant parents from their children after they have crossed the U.S. border “is a form of child abuse,” said Dr. […]

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SCAN’s New “No Hit Zone” Initiative

“Hands are not for hitting” is a common phrase used by parents and caregivers to help teach young children appropriate social interaction skills. We want children to have healthy relationships as they grow older, but what message do we really send to them when they are being told not to hit others, but then experience […]

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Baby Boxes: Questions & Answers As We Launch a New Program

This fall, SCAN of Northern Virginia is expanding its Operation Safe Babies program to include baby boxes and education through the Baby Box Co. and Baby Box University. We’ve explored the topic of baby boxes in the past, researched safe sleep and devoted much energy to our Operation Safe Babies program. And we know you […]

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Nominations OPEN for 2017 Allies in Prevention Awards

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. This will be the 15th year we celebrate the heroes who work passionately for the children, families and communities of Northern Virginia. Who will we […]

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A Year-End Thank You from SCAN

Friends, When we sat down to write this note, it began with three simple questions: 1. Why are we calling for change in our community? Every day the children in our community are experiencing abuse and neglect – reports of heartbreaking cases are in the news daily. Unfortunately, more than 40,000 children in Virginia were involved in […]

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7 “Take Action” Tips from Advocacy Day

Last month, SCAN hosted its 5th Annual Speak Up for Children Advocacy Training, bringing together more than 40 attendees for a day of public policy education and advocacy training. Partners from Prevent Child Abuse Virginia and Voices for Virginia’s Children along with a diverse group of child welfare experts and elected officials led discussions during the day-long, interactive workshop. The […]

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New Workshops with SCAN!

It’s a new school year and we’re excited to launch a new menu of workshops for the community! We encourage ALL groups of people to consider a workshop — from nonprofits, schools and government agencies to parenting groups, employers and faith groups. Our workshops are based on SCAN’s existing child abuse prevention and advocacy programs as well as the […]

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27 Children: A must-read on keeping kids safe in cars

Twenty-seven. 27 children in the U.S. have died from being left in a car this year alone. There is record heat in many parts of the country with more than one month of summer ahead of us, and the arrival of fall does not automatically mean cooler temperatures. As service providers and those who advocate for children […]

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Letter to the Editor: It’s Time We All Became a Part of the Solution

[This Letter to the Editor was first published 4/20/16 in LoudounNow.] Last week, I spent time with Loudoun County Public School staff providing a Stewards of Children training on how to recognize, react and respond to child sexual abuse. April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, so the timing couldn’t have been better. But we’ve actually been […]

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For Every Child: A Thank You Note

During 2015 SCAN remained steadfast in our mission to promote the well-being of children, improve parent-child relations and prevent child abuse and neglect. Through new initiatives such as Operation Safe Babies, our continued dedication to CASA, and our increasing outreach of parenting classes and workshops, we are making sure that EVERY CHILD in Northern Virginia […]

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What Have You Done for Children During Domestic Violence Awareness Month?

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 […]

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One Year. Three White Papers. What Next?

One year ago this week, SCAN published its first white paper. In an effort to provide a deeper understanding of some of the complex issues we address in prevention and advocacy work, we continued to develop more in-depth tools for resource providers and child welfare advocates in our community. Since last fall, we’ve published two more papers. SCAN’s current […]

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SCAN Workshops: We’ll Bring Prevention to You!

Since SCAN began offering fee-for-service workshops, we have held more than 26 of them and trained more than 525 people across Northern Virginia. The topics have been varied (everything from Darkness to Light [Child Sexual Abuse Prevention] to Positive Parenting to Operation Safe Babies to Using Children’s Stories to Build Resiliency to Child Care Workers as Mandated Reporters.) The audiences have […]

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Mandated Reporters: Who are they and what is their role in reducing child abuse?

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 […]

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No Better Place to Start

We say it over and over: Parenting can be tough. From the first day a child comes home from the hospital, parents face decisions and schedules and subjects they most likely have never even thought about before. It’s a time when parents — especially those in high-risk families with few community connections — need all of the support they […]

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Consider This Moment

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 […]

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Heroes Among Us

Every spring, SCAN celebrates five individuals from each region of Northern Virginia at its annual Allies in Prevention Awards Luncheon. The award winners (there have been more than 60 since the awards began in 2003!) have come from all walks of life — from social workers and foster parents to judges and doctors — and each have […]

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With Intention: Great ways to work at connecting with kids

This month SCAN’s Allies in Prevention Coalition held a quarterly meeting with one question in mind: How can we be more intentional about making the time and effort to connect with the kids in our lives?  As discussion continued, it became clear that as resource providers, we think about this almost constantly. But we’re thinking […]

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He Wrote It Down

This excellent post was shared most recently on the Darkness to Light blog (as well as Momastery’s Facebook page and originally appearing here), and it’s one that needs to be shared as many other places and with as many other people as possible:  My beautiful cousin, who I’d not seen in 35 years, and I […]

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New Work = New Opportunities with Mandated Reporters

SCAN’s work in Public Education has been expanding its reach to include child care workers. These newly formed relationships are a perfect example of how we connect with the communities in which we live. Through our involvement with the Child Protection Partnership of Greater Prince William, we have received funding and administrative support from the […]

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