Another Road to Safety
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Too often in our history societies attempts to prevent child maltreatment have led to unnecessary disruption of the only world those children have ever known. And research has shown that the wrong approach to prevention can itself be a cause of child suffering and trauma – often causing more harm than good.
A Better Way is committed to helping prevent Child Abuse every day of the year by strengthening and supporting the caregiver networks that children depend on. We partner with birth families, resource families, Child Welfare services, and other professional providers to address the underlying factors that lead to a family’s struggle.
One example of our prevention services is Another Road to Safety (ARS). This innovative Differential Response program – operated through a contract and partnership with Alameda County Social Services Agency – improves outcomes for families who are at risk of child welfare involvement. Our ARS staff engage families who have come to the attention of Child Welfare, and learns about the challenges they face. Many of our ARS staff have their own lived experience navigating Child Welfare related services.
Last year our program was introduced to a family that had nowhere to live. In another time or place, the children might have been removed and placed in Foster Care as an attempt to prevent child maltreatment and neglect. And statistically speaking, they would have faced the strong possibility of suffering traumatic stress while placed out of their homes. Thanks to Another Road to Safety, this family remained together. They received parent education, short term material supports, and service linkages. Our staff helped them secure a place of their own after years of being unhoused. Now, one year later, it is clear that this basic security of having housing stability has transformed the family’s story. In their new home, the children are surrounded by love, and they have everything they need.
As we celebrate Child Abuse Prevention Month, let’s all remember that for the most part, the causes of Child Abuse are systemic and that most caregivers simply need a village to help them through tough times. A Better Way is proud to be part of that village.