Circle of Parents
Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee serves as the Tennessee network member of the National Circle of Parents. The Circle of Parents provides groups in a friendly, supportive environment led by parents and other caregivers. It’s a place where anyone in a parenting role can openly discuss the successes and challenges of raising children. Where they can find and share support.
How? By sitting down and really talking. Circle of Parents groups foster an open exchange of ideas, support, information and resources. These kinds of groups serve those parenting children of all ages and families of all types. If you are interested in joining or starting a Circle of Parents group please contact Kristen Rector at 615-383-0994 or email her at Kristen.Rector@pcat.org .
If you would like additional information about other states involved in the Circle of Parents program please visit the circle of parents website by clicking here.
Strengthening Families
Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee participates in the Tennessee Strengthening Families Initiative, to help build protective factors in families that prevent abuse and neglect:
- Parental resilience: The ability to cope and bounce back from all types of challenges
- Social connections: Friends, family members, neighbors, and other members of a community who provide emotional support and concrete assistance to parents
- Knowledge of parenting and child development: Accurate information about raising young children and appropriate expectations for their behavior
- Concrete support in times of need: Financial security to cover day-to-day expenses and unexpected costs that come up from time to time, access to formal supports like TANF and Medicaid, and informal support from social networks
- Children’s social and emotional development: A child’s ability to interact positively with others and communicate his or her emotions effectively
Goals of this initiative include building conversations between child care staff, parents, and community members through use of the Community Café. Community Cafés are a series of guided conversations based on the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework leadership development and parent partnership. To find out more about the Strengthening Families Initiative in Tennessee or the Community Café, contact Carla Snodgrass by emailing her at Carla.Snodgrass@pcat.org . To learn more about the National Strengthening Families Initiative, visit their website at www.strengtheningfamilies.net.
