Military Projects updates U.S. Army “Victim Advocacy Program Manual”

The U.S. Army in collaboration with other government and non-government agencies is committed to addressing domestic/ partner abuse with a comprehensive response to soldiers, victims, and their families. Army victim advocates have the crucial role of providing non-clinical advocacy services and support to victims. Their effective crisis intervention, on-going risk assessment, safety planning, and collaboration with other first responders is essential to communicating the seriousness of domestic abuse to both the victim and the offender.

The Military Projects was recently awarded NIFA (USDA) funding to update the U.S. Army Family Advocacy Program “Victim Advocacy Program Manual” that standardizes the information and training provided to victim advocates in order to optimize the advocacy services they provide to military members and their families. The training manual will be converted in to a user-friendly self-guided tutorial that will serve as an orientation for new victim advocates on policy guidance and relevant Army protocols about domestic/partner abuse prevention and intervention. However, it will also serve as a refresher for experienced advocates with the inclusion of specialty topics that advocates use in their work with victims of domestic/partner abuse such as lethality assessments, safety planning, domestic abuse reporting options, male victims, children and domestic abuse, and provider self-care. The tutorial also informs advocates about the many additional resources found within Army culture that emphasize strengthening and maintaining resilience and readiness.

Income inequality linked to higher rates of child abuse and neglect

Eckenrode

BCTR director John Eckenrode is lead author of a new article, Income Inequality and Child Maltreatment in the United States, published in February in the journal Pediatrics. Eckenrode, who also serves as director of the BCTR's National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN), co-authored the article with NDACAN researchers Elliott Smith, Margaret McCarthy, and Michael Dineen. The article reports findings from a study comparing substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect with nationwide county-level data on income equality and poverty, covering 3,142 U.S. counties. The study concluded,

Higher income inequality across US counties was significantly associated with higher county-level rates of child maltreatment. The findings contribute to the growing literature linking greater income inequality to a range of poor health and well-being outcomes in infants and children.

In a Cornell Chronicle article on the findings, Eckenrode is quoted, saying,

... reducing poverty and inequality would be the single most effective way to prevent maltreatment of children, but in addition there are proven programs that work to support parents and children and help to reduce the chances of abuse and neglect – clearly a multifaceted strategy is needed.

Support for the study came from the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Income inequality and child maltreatment in the United States - Pediatrics
Child abuse and neglect rise with income inequality - Cornell Chronicle
Child abuse rises with income inequality, Cornell study shows - Ithaca Journal
More kids struggle where the income gap widens - Christian Science Monitor
Rising child abuse linked to rising income inequality, study reports - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Kids may suffer in gaps between haves and have-nots - Reuters

How to identify emotional abuse and neglect in preschoolers

"The evidence is clear that developing skills early-on – especially before children enter kindergarten – is essential for success later in life. Unfortunately, children face consequences throughout their lives when they do not get the support they need as babies and preschoolers. Physical and behavioral problems and delays in social and communication skills are just some of the poor outcomes.

"For young children who experience neglect and emotional abuse, there are intervention programs proven to work. But first educators and health care providers must identify which children need help."

Read the rest of the post on the BCTR's Evidence-Based Living blog:

How to identify emotional abuse and neglect in preschoolers

The Military Projects announces funding for multiple projects

The Military Projects announce new and continued funding for multiple programs to design and implement evaluation studies, develop common reporting metrics, and create research informed training materials. These projects support the military Family Programs’ goal to sustain the well-being and readiness of military service members and their families, in all branches worldwide. Details on each are below.

Army Family Advocacy Program

The Military Projects within the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research were recently awarded new funding by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Defense under Agreement No. 2011-48581-31017 to develop Army Family Advocacy Program (FAP) prevention and educational materials and design and implement evaluation protocols for selected programs.

Prevention campaign materials will be developed for Army Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month, which are sponsored Army-wide. A self-guided training module on the Transitional Compensation Program will be developed to inform commanders about this important benefit program for victims of abuse. Program evaluation will be underway for the New Parent Support Program (NPSP) Home Visitation program and the Victim Advocacy Program.

Leidy, Enroth, and Thomas

This is an annual renewal of work begun more than twenty years ago for the Army Family Advocacy Program which provides programs for Army families to thrive in challenging situations such as deployment and frequent relocation. The program also provides prevention education and intervention for child and domestic/partner abuse and offers home visitation services to Army families worldwide to promote positive parenting and reduce stress. This work will be carried out between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013 and will be led by Brian Leidy, Cindy Enroth, and Marney Thomas.

Department of Defense’s Office of Community Support for Military Families with Special Needs Performance and Outcome Metrics

Leidy and Trochim

The Military Projects within the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research were recently awarded funds by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Defense as a continuation of Agreement No. 2010-39562-21770 to assist the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of Community Support for Military Families with Special Needs in developing common reporting metrics among the four Branches of the Military for their Exceptional Family Member Program activities and outcomes. This work will be carried out in partnership with the Cornell Office for Research on Evaluation (CORE) between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013 and will be led by Brian Leidy at BCTR and William Trochim at CORE.

United States Air Force Family Advocacy Program Violence Prevention Campaign Materials

The Military Projects within the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research were recently awarded funds by Kansas State University as a sub-agreement of their award from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Defense, Agreement No. 2012-39575-20317 to assist the Family Advocacy Program of the United States Air Force (USAF) to develop and implement a set of standardized prevention campaign/marketing materials as the initial phase of a toolbox which would be utilized by their base outreach coordinators around Teen Dating Violence Month (February 2013); Child Abuse Prevention Month (April 2013) and Domestic Abuse/Violence Prevention Month (October 2013). This work will be carried out between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013 and will be led by Marney Thomas, Cynthia Enroth, and Brian Leidy.