Denver, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/14/2020 -- A proposal calling for collaboration among researchers, policymakers and practitioners has been selected as the winner of the National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect's (EndCAN) call for disruption papers on training. The research team headed by Associate Professor Lisa Schelbe, PhD, MSW, at Florida State University College of Social Work says collaboration across these sectors is critical to closing the gap that exists in ending child maltreatment.

"EndCAN was so inspired by the team's collaborative approach as we know that the only way to impact the rates of abuse in this country is to break down the silos that exist in this field and work collectively," said EndCAN co-founder and executive director Lori Poland.

"Bridging the Gaps between Research, Policy, and Practice in the field of Child Maltreatment through Cross-Sector Training and Innovation" makes the case that harnessing the individual strengths of these three sectors in a collective manner could solve the challenging social problem of child maltreatment. Authors include Lisa Schelbe, Ph.D., MSW associate professor Florida State University College of Social Work; Donna L. Wilson, Ph.D., LPC, program director, Children and Families, National Conference of State Legislatures; Wade Fickler, group director, Children and Families, National Conference of State Legislatures; Nina Williams-Mbengue, senior fellow, Child Welfare, National Conference of State Legislatures; and J. Bart Klika, Ph.D., MSW, chief research and strategy officer, Prevent Child Abuse America and research faculty Florida State University College of Social Work.

"So often, policy is created in the absence of local data and without input from those who will eventually implement or be the recipients of those policies. A new structure is needed whereby researchers, practitioners, and policy makers collaborate upfront to define research questions that have direct implications for practice and policy," said Klika.

According to Wilson, "Barriers to cross-sector problem-solving reflect an accumulation of cultural, structural and systemic factors. It will take an intentional and sustained effort like the one we have proposed to bridge the gaps between research, policy and practice in the field of child welfare and child maltreatment prevention."

The team's disruptive idea is to use the principles of Design Thinking to train cross-sector collaborators at the state level to how to acquire and use state-specific data to make decisions related to child maltreatment prevention. The concept involves training policymakers how to use data to make decisions related to child maltreatment prevention; training researchers how to develop and present their research so that it is useful to policymakers and practitioners; and training practitioners how to implement practices that align with current research and policy.

Schelbe explained that the plan is to test the concept described in the paper, "Our next step is to pilot the proposed model. It is our hope that through the unique collaborations, we can harness the skills and strengths of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to produce policy and practice relevant research which meaningfully contribute to the creation of effective state-level child maltreatment prevention policies and practices."

EndCAN issued a call for disruption papers addressing four areas of child abuse, clinical, prevention, research and training. Winners in the first three categories were awarded last year. The national nonprofit values and wishes to recognize disruption papers on training submitted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and researchers at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. All three papers will be published in an upcoming issue of the International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice.

About EndCAN
EndCAN works to change the way child abuse and neglect is addressed by focusing on the health, mental health and public health issues of abuse. EndCAN helps survivors, thrivers and transcenders of abuse by uniting voices. The Foundation works with others to expand funding for research, training, prevention and advocacy. Learn more at endcan.org.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Denver, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/01/2020 -- A new article published in the International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice highlights the disruptive approach that the National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (EndCAN) is taking to address the lack of progress in our country's effort to fight child abuse. EndCAN co-founders Lori Poland, MA, LPC, and Richard Krugman, MD, wrote "Can We Have a "Do-over"? Disrupting a Half-century Old Approach to Child Abuse and Neglect" to highlight the limited progress that has been made over the past 40 years to significantly reduce the rates of abuse and to highlight how EndCAN hopes to change a field that has seen little change in more than four decades.

EndCAN aims to bring change by:

* Creating a community of survivors who speak openly and without shame about their survival and ability to thrive.
* Increasing research on child abuse and neglect.
* Raising awareness about the health, mental health and public health impacts of abuse.
* Helping victims, perpetrators, or even bystanders of abuse overcome the shame and stigma associated with abuse.

Authors Poland and Krugman state, "It is abundantly clear that the status quo is inadequate." They then challenge others in the field to see if "whether we can begin to climb out of what feels to some who have been doing this for a long time, a 40-year rut.

The article is a compilation of the national nonprofit organization's work to stimulate innovation and discussion for the field. The goal is for readers to appreciate the effort and to begin to think "outside the box" in their own community or legal jurisdiction.

Wrap up Child Abuse Prevention Month and learn more about EndCAN by joining a national Live YouTube presentation on April 30, 2020. EndCAN's Louder than Silence No Dinner Dinner will broadcast at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. If interested, email jacquemontgomery@endcan.org to receive the link.

EndCAN works to change the way child abuse and neglect is addressed by focusing on the health, mental health and public health issues of abuse. EndCAN helps survivors, thrivers and transcenders of abuse by uniting voices. The Foundation works with others to expand funding for research, training, prevention and advocacy. Learn more at endcan.org.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Denver, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/30/2020 -- The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect is proud to recognize the support of national organizations working to end child abuse and neglect. The Children's Hospital Association (CHA) has engaged in a new effort that aims to unite work across the country by giving seed funding to the CAN National Partners Collaborative.

The CAN National Partners Collaborative will spotlight programs across the United States that take a multi-disciplinary approach and effectively focus on care and services that work to measurably reduce child abuse and neglect and create a supportive and nurturing environment for children and families. The collaborative aims to bring the field of national child abuse and neglect organizations together for inter-community collaboration and partnership.

"Our collective focus on expanding care and services will afford agencies to be more impactful as they share resources, information, messages, and support for all providers working and interacting with children and families," said Lori Poland, executive director for the National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect. "A united and partnered vision of a more cohesive field will create the momentum needed to move the needle to end child abuse and neglect."

EndCAN will serve as a convener of the collaborative. The national foundation held its first convening in 2019. The funding from CHA supports the collaborative's continuing work. The collaborative recognizes the vital role children's hospitals have in not only treating those children who have been harmed but in ensuring their return to safe and supportive family environments.

"Through peer convening and learning, children's hospitals have long shared and implemented best practices for the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect," said Mark Wietecha. "The CAN Collaborative will enable national organizations to have even greater impact on the rates of abuse and neglect in our country."

While uniting an industry, the CAN Collaborative will work with other fields that have impact, presence and connection with children and families.

About EndCAN
EndCAN works to change the way child abuse and neglect is addressed by focusing on the health, mental health and public health issues of abuse. EndCAN helps survivors, thrivers and transcenders of abuse by uniting voices. The Foundation works with others to expand funding for research, training, prevention and advocacy.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Denver, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/18/2019 -- The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (EndCAN) marks its first anniversary getting ready to receive top honors from the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC). EndCAN will receive the society's 2019 Prevention Award which recognizes a practitioner or researcher, an agency, or an institution that has made outstanding contributions to the field of prevention of child maltreatment and to the advancement of APSAC's goals. APSAC holds its annual conference starting tomorrow in Salt Lake City, Utah when it will present EndCAN with the award.

EndCAN was founded with the guiding principle of bringing a new approach to addressing the rising rates of child abuse and neglect in our country. The nonprofit organization, with headquarters in Denver, aims to disrupt the field by focusing on the public health, mental health and health impacts of such trauma.

EndCAN's first year was filled with significant milestones including:

* Recognizing researchers for outstanding disruption papers focused on treatment, prevention and research of child abuse and neglect.

* Hosting a national conference that brought the country's leading child welfare organizations together.

* Participating in some of the country's most well-respected conferences on child abuse and neglect.

EndCAN's launch and successful first 12 months could not have been possible without the support from individuals and many organizations including: the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Haruv USA, Casey Family Programs, Ogilvy, Fortnight Collective, the Kempe Foundation, and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper's Office.

"EndCAN joined an impressive network of organizations answering the call to do more for children in our country and around the world," said Lori Poland, executive director of The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect. "We know child abuse is a social, legal and health issue we can change just by talking about it."

Co-founder and Board President Richard Krugman, MD, is one of the country's leading child abuse experts. The pediatrician has watched other pediatric health issues nearly disappear when research funding supports treatment, prevention and training.

"Child abuse and neglect is the one field overlooked, which means children continue to die at the same rates as 50 years ago. Five a day," said Krugman. "We can do better. Recognition such as the Prevention Award from the APSAC and support from other organizations committed to this work certainly indicates to us that we are on the right track. We couldn't be more grateful."

About National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect
The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (EndCAN) is working to end child abuse and neglect in our lifetime by changing the perception of child abuse and neglect in our country as social and legal problems, to also being health, mental health and public health problems that can be treated. EndCAN helps survivors, thrivers and transcenders of abuse by uniting voices. The Foundation works with others to dramatically expand funding for research, training and prevention.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Denver, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/01/2019 -- The first step in solving any problem is to talk about it. Today, The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (EndCAN) takes a new step toward breaking the silence that holds us back from ending child abuse.

This April, for National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we are going to break the silence around child abuse and neglect by launching "Louder than Silence." Our goal is to ignite a movement embracing survivors, neighbors, family and friends even those who have abused. Your voices can be a whisper or a roar, but can no longer be silent. We encourage you to speak up and let others hear you so the suffering stops.

"When someone learns of EndCAN, they instantly acknowledge a story that they couldn't forget, or a person or situation they know touched by abuse and neglect." said Lori Poland, executive director of The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect. "Louder than Silence helps unite those voices behind something they know is wrong and should be stopped."

Help us post, tweet, like, share and comment - and include #SpeakUp - so those touched by abuse know there is support. Uniting voices sends the message that more must be done.

EndCAN founders Survivor Lori Poland and nationally-recognized Child Abuse Expert Richard Krugman, MD, are available for media interviews as you look to promote and cover Child Abuse Prevention Month.

The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (EndCAN) is working to end child abuse and neglect in our lifetime by changing the perception of child abuse and neglect in our country as social and legal problems, to also being health, mental health and public health problems that can be treated. EndCAN helps survivors, thrivers and transcenders of abuse by uniting voices. The Foundation will work with others to dramatically expand funding for research, training and prevention.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Denver, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/26/2019 -- The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (EndCAN) is bringing a new approach to addressing the rising rates of child abuse and neglect in our country. EndCAN announced today its support of three disruptive research projects that focus on helping us better understand the public health, mental health and health impacts of child abuse and neglect.

EndCAN received more than 50 applications in its call for disruption paper ideas, and 22 papers were accepted and were blindly reviewed by 18 qualified peers throughout the United States. Grants were awarded in three key focus areas: clinical, prevention and research.

"The response to our first ever call for papers tells us that many in our country want to do more for children hurt by abuse and neglect," said Lori Poland, executive director of The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect. "These disruptive ideas will bring fresh approaches and unite more champions dedicated to reducing rates of child abuse in our country."

The award for the Clinical Category of Disruption went to Florida State University's Patricia Babcock and her project entitled "What if Child Maltreatment was Childhood Leukemia?: Lessons from the Halls of the Hospital." This paper aims to examine the aspects of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) prevention, research, training and clinical treatment that can be applied to child welfare. Since the 1960s, childhood cancer researchers have been able to reach a 98 percent remission rate and 90 percent five-year survival rate with limited research, training and treatment dollars. In contrast, child welfare fatalities and maltreatment incidences have continued to increase.This paper will focus on utilizing childhood cancer research and treatment as the catalyst for disrupting or re-creating a child welfare system that is preventive in nature and better equipped to treat the multitude of family and community issues that contribute to maltreatment.

A team of researchers received the award in the Prevention Category of Disruption. Heather Risser and Alexandra Morford of Northwestern University, Kimberly Svevo-Cianci of Changing Children's Worlds Foundation and Elba Jung Karim with Roots and Wings Counseling Consultants entitled their project "Achieving Comprehensive Prevention of Child Abuse & Neglect." Its goal is to create a shared mindset where people feel entitled to resources to build and maintain a web of healthy social relationships, displacing the current paradigm in which parents fear child welfare involvement and the stigma associated with asking for support; and non-parents question their role in preventing child abuse and neglect. To achieve ubiquitous access and promote feelings/beliefs of entitlement to child abuse and neglect prevention, they propose one option for implementation by leveraging existing infrastructure, increasing system collaboration and engaging experts in a population-based public health campaign to inoculate society against child abuse and neglect.

The award in the Research Category for Disruption went to a team of scientists and their paper entitled "Heed Neglect, Disrupt Child Maltreatment: A Call to Action for Researchers." Lindsey Bullinger of Georgia Tech; Megan Feely and Kerri Raissian from the University of Connecticut; and William Schneider from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign say the disruption of child maltreatment must prioritize neglect prevention. Moreover, a new approach of focusing on macro-level factors — such as economies, labor markets and governmental affairs — should be investigated. To inform new directions for child protection, they propose shifting the focus of research away from individual- and family-level factors of indicated populations. Instead, they suggest focusing on macro-level factors that, while receiving far less attention from researchers, show initial promise for understanding the causal pathways of neglect and identifying policies for universal prevention.

Three additional submissions received honorable mention:

- Clinical Category for Disruption: Craig Cline on "The application of a social justice theory to the well-being of substance exposed infants."

- Prevention Category for Disruption: Debangshu Roygardner, Vince Palusci and Kelli Hughes on "Advancing Prevention Zones: Implementing Community-Based Strategies to Prevent Child Maltreatment and Promote Healthy Families."

- Research Category for Disruption: Sharon L. Christ, and Laura M. Schwab Reese on "Shedding the Constraints of Formal Systems in Research on Child Maltreatment through High Quality Measurement and Broad Population Surveys ."

The researchers will present their projects at next month's Summit on March 13 and March 14 in Denver. Media are invited to attend the event, which is being held at the Denver Renaissance Stapleton Hotel. A pre-conference session features a panel of Denver-area and national reporters who have covered child abuse for their news organizations. The researchers will join the media panel, along with conference attendees, for a discussion on child abuse news coverage. The conference is EndCAN's first national summit, focused on collaboration and a united voice to end child abuse and neglect.

About The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect
The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (EndCAN) is working to end child abuse and neglect in our lifetime by changing the perception of child abuse and neglect in our country as social and legal problems, to also being health, mental health and public health problems that can be treated. EndCAN helps survivors, thrivers and transcenders of abuse by uniting voices. The Foundation will work with others to dramatically expand funding for research, training and prevention.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm