Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America) announced this week that its chapters in 10 states — Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin — successfully completed the organization’s strength-based chartering process, helping to extend the organization’s efforts to ensure the safe, stable and nurturing relationships and environments that enable children, families and entire communities to thrive.
Children’s Trust once again was chartered as the Prevent Child Abuse South Carolina affiliate.
“Our nationwide state chapter network is integral to the work we do,” PCA America President and CEO Dr. Melissa Merrick said. “The substantial experience and expertise of chapter leadership and staff, as well as the partnerships they foster and nurture in their communities, help to amplify our primary prevention efforts across the country.”
Here is what PCA America said about the work of Children’s Trust in its news release.
“PCA South Carolina leads the Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) and Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs in the state and is well respected by a wide variety of public and private partners for evidence-based, evidence-informed and innovative prevention strategies. The organization also serves as a national voice for increasing the number of evidence-based programs for the Family First Prevention Service Act (FFPSA).”
Sue Williams
Children’s Trust CEO Sue Williams welcomed the renewed partnership with PCA America and what the relationship means for South Carolina’s children and families.
“Prevent Child Abuse America is the nation’s oldest and largest organization committed to preventing child abuse and neglect before it happens,” Williams said. “With a common mission, we have been the South Carolina state affiliate since 2008 and are proud to be part of their network, learning from other states and sharing our great work with them – all so we can achieve thriving children, families and communities across South Carolina and the nation.”
Children’s Trust is the statewide organization focused on the prevention of child abuse and neglect. We provide funding, resources and training to help local program partners build strong families and positive childhoods. Children’s Trust leads the state’s coordinated efforts for the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program; Strengthening Families Program (SFP); Triple P (Positive Parenting Program); S.C. Adverse Childhood Experiences Initiative; Child Abuse Prevention Month; and the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT project.
During the Building Capacity Chartering process, PCA America chapters demonstrate a statewide sphere of influence that is supported by a strong mission, brand identity, infrastructure and public awareness, advocacy and evidence-based/informed prevention strategies.
“These criteria establish a comprehensive but focused framework that maintains the integrity and quality of the chapter network,” Anita Odom, PCA America’s chief operations officer for chapters, said. “They also allow us to identify what resources are needed to build capacity in a thoughtful and strategic way and combine them with peer-to-peer learning opportunities.”
To learn more about these state chapters, visit the PCA America chapter network page.
