ACT in the Communities

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From the May 2008 issue of DHS News, an Allegheny County Department of Human Services Newsletter:

The Safe Start Program within the DHS Office of Community Services, Bureau of Outreach and Prevention, is collaborating with Family Resources and numerous other providers of prevention services for children, to bring the concepts of ACT—Adults and Children Together Against Violence: Parents Raising Safe Kids—to Allegheny County. ACT is a national, anti-violence research-based program that mobilizes communities and educates families and caregivers to help protect children and youth from violence before it occurs. The program achieves its goals by establishing partnerships with organizations, coalitions, colleges, hospitals and agencies and by training professionals and other adults who work with, or are in regular contact with, families. It is designed to prevent violence by teaching adults to be positive role models for young children and to create environments that teach nonviolent problem-solving skills. A two-day ACT training took place in April to teach professionals who work with families and others responsible for the care of young children the principles of ACT. This training prepared those who took part:

• to train future ACT trainers, both locally and nationally;
• to effectively teach the full eight-week ACT course to
people responsible for the care of young children; and
• to act as evaluators of the ACT program.

The training is built on child development research, the influence of numerous risk factors for aggressive or violent behavior, the pathways to nonviolent behaviors and the effectiveness of early preventative interventions. It includes how to work with diverse groups of adults, how to disseminate information on child development and how to design an action plan. The training also addresses core violence prevention skills – anger management, social problem-solving, discipline and media literacy. ACT is developed and sponsored by the American Psychological Association through funding by MetLife and in partnership with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Other organizations involved in the planning to bring ACT to Allegheny County are:

• The Homeless Children’s Education Fund;
• Family Resources;
• Hilltop Community Children’s Center;
• Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh;
• Communities in Action for Peace; and
• Child Watch.

The ACT website is www.actagainstviolence.org. For more information about upcoming trainings and ACT Against Violence locally, contact Glenna Wilson at 412-350-2770 or Glenna.Wilson@alleghenycounty.us .

DHS NEWS

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