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PREVENT
CHILD ABUSE - ORANGE COUNTY RECEIVES $34,000 GRANT
FROM THE BAXTER INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION
Grant Supports Parenting Skills Education for Mothers of Newborns in Irvine
TUSTIN, Calif., December
10, 2002 - With a $34,000 grant from The Baxter International Foundation,
the philanthropic arm of Baxter International Inc., Prevent Child Abuse
- Orange County (PCA-OC) recently launched the Irvine Parent Education
Program, which is an outreach program for parents of newborns living in
Irvine, Calif. The program will serve approximately 1,300 women per year
and offers a parenting guide, home visits and workshops. Collaborative
partners in the project include a transitional home called Families Forward
and an agency Human Options, offering alternatives for abused women and
their children.
Prevention is the
strategy behind the project, since most forms of child abuse are entirely
preventable, and the cost of child abuse to society in both human and
financial terms is enormous. In 2000, more than 27,000 Orange County children
were reported as abused and neglected. Five died as a result of their
injuries. The county spends nearly $200 million each year to directly
assist victims, yet the true cost to the community is much higher as child
abuse leads to long-term social problems. For example, abused children
are 53 percent more likely to be arrested as juveniles.
With The Baxter International
Foundation grant, PCA-OC was able to reproduce in Irvine a successful
parenting education and support program that is underway in other areas
of Orange County. PCA-OC staff and volunteers instruct nurses and social
workers at a hospital in Irvine on how to present the PCA-OC parenting
guide to new mothers. The target population is about 20 percent of the
hospital's post-partum patients, including teen mothers, single parents,
women with a history of substance abuse or domestic violence, and women
with limited resources or social support. Similar training is given at
Families Forward and Human Options. A parent educator, employed by PCA-OC
collaborates with both agencies on the workshops. The parent educator
also consults with new mothers on the parenting guide and is available
for follow-up home visits to assess the basic health needs of the mother
and child.
"We believe that
the majority of parents want to do well with their children, but if they
have flawed beliefs about parenting, they won't do the job they want to
do. We want to build on the desire of parents to raise their children
well," said Barbara Oliver, executive director, PCA-OC. "We
realize we needed to take a holistic approach - not just addressing discipline
but talking more broadly about health, safety and development."
The centerpiece of
the program is a guidebook, "A Guide For New Parent's: That Set of
Instructions Your Baby Didn't Come With!" that was created by a team
organized and facilitated by Prevent Child Abuse-Orange County and first
published in 1999. It covers basic child care information from birth to
age 2 with listings of community resources, all written at a sixth grade
literacy level and available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. The guide
is designed specifically for women who are not likely to have access to
other parenting resources.
"The guide doesn't
just tell parents what to do, it tells them why," said Oliver. For
example, information about shaken baby syndrome is preceded with a discussion
of why babies cry since parents can get extremely frustrated and shake
a crying baby due to the mistaken belief that babies cry to manipulate.
"Prevent Child
Abuse - Orange County understands that the cost to prevent child abuse
from ever happening in the first place is only a fraction of what it costs
to intervene after a child has been hurt," said Patricia Morgan,
executive director, The Baxter International Foundation. "Their practical,
preventative approach targets women who need support, and in the process,
protects countless children."
Established in 1974,
Prevent Child Abuse - Orange County aims to eliminate child abuse in its
community through leadership, education, advocacy and service. Virtually
every program it operates is a collaboration with other Orange County
agencies to help serve families and children in preventing and eliminating
child abuse. In addition to its outreach to parents of newborns, PCA-OC
is a leader in providing these programs and services: the South Orange
County Family Resource Center in Mission Viejo serving over 5,000 people
per year, a Blue Ribbon Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Campaign in April
that reaches more than a million people, and an annual conference on child
abuse prevention and intervention attended by 600 health and social services
professionals per year. For information about volunteering at the Prevent
Child Abuse - Orange County, call (714) 258-2272 or visit their website
at www.pcaoc.org
As the philanthropic
arm of Baxter International Inc., The Baxter International Foundation
helps to increase access to health care in the United States and other
countries. In 2001, foundation grants totaling $4.8 million improved access
to care for children, the uninsured and the elderly, helped prevent child
abuse and neglect, promoted health education, expanded education opportunities
for health-care providers, and helped victims of global disasters.
Baxter International
Inc. is a global medical products and services company that, through its
subsidiaries, provides critical therapies for people with life-threatening
conditions. Baxter employs nearly 2,000 people in California at its facilities
in Duarte, Glendale, Hayward, Irvine, Los Angeles, Ontario, Thousand Oaks
and Van Huys.
FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION:
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- Media Contacts:
- Tanya Tyska, Baxter, 847-948-3256
Renee Ebert, PCA-OC, 714-258-2272 ext. 16
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