ACYF Administration on Children, Youth and Families	U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families
	1. Log No. ACYF-IM-HS-96-06	2. Issuance Date: 03/27/96
	3. Originating Office: Head Start Bureau
	4. Key Word: Child Abuse

INFORMATION MEMORANDUM

TO: Head Start Grantees and Delegate Agencies

SUBJECT: Child Abuse Prevention Month

PURPOSE: The purpose of this memorandum is to inform all Head Start and Early Head Start grantee and delegate agencies about Child Abuse Prevention month, and to encourage them to take an active role in their community to prevent child abuse.

INFORMATION:

April is designated as Child Abuse Prevention Month. During this month, the Administration for Children and Families redoubles its ongoing efforts to raise awareness of the scourge of child maltreatment and to support programs that prevent and treat it.

In your everyday work, you may encounter children who have been or are being abused, families that are in distress, people who are living with the long-term effects of childhood abuse, others who are at risk of abuse. While we know that all children are at risk of abuse and neglect, children whose families experience poverty, lack of jobs and education, substance abuse, domestic violence, disability and other stressors are at greater risk. Although abuse may not be the primary focus of your attention in Head Start, it is likely that you can take steps to address it in the context of your ongoing activities, and thereby improve the service you render to the families that we serve.

If we apply our resources collectively as partners with other community programs serving children and families, we can marshal a powerful force against child maltreatment. Therefore, I am urging you this month, and every month, to recognize your role as a partner in the prevention of child abuse, and to translate your outrage into action. To help you do this, I have enclosed a package of materials designed to lead you to the information you need to make a difference--manuals on a variety of subjects, lists of suggested activities and programs, and more. I encourage you to order these materials and to use them, not only during April, but throughout the year. Together we must use our knowledge, our experience, and our concern to make a difference in the lives of children.

I appreciate your help in this important effort

/S/
Helen H. Taylor
Associate Commissioner
Head Start Bureau

cc: Regional Administrators American Indian and Migrant Programs Branches