TRENTON,
NEW JERSEY – A Cape May County program was among
28 recognized for outstanding child abuse prevention programs
by
Human Services Commissioner Gwendolyn
Harris and Paulette Moore Hines, chair of the Child Life Protection
Commission, at a State
House ceremony
on May 20.
Among the 2003-2004 grant recipients of
the Children’s Trust Fund was the Exchange
Club Center
for the Prevention of Child Abuse.
Their Caring for Kids Family Center & Parents as Teachers
Project will receive a second year of funding in the amount
of $44,375. This child
abuse prevention
program works with teen and non-teen moms who have a child
that is birth to 3-years-old. The goal is to the help parents
take an active role in their child’s physical, intellectual
and emotional development. Through home visits and a parenting
support group
, parents learn ways
to strengthen the parent-child relationship.
Commissioner Harris thanked the programs for their dedication
to the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Commenting on
the benefit of the
Children's Trust
Fund grants, she noted, “I am especially pleased to see that
most of the money for these grants has come from citizens
who
generously checked off the donor
box on their
New Jersey
tax returns.”
Each year CTF selects innovative programs structured
to prevent child abuse and neglect among high-risk populations.
This year, a majority of
grantees
are utilizing widely recognized standard curricula that have
proven to be successful, like Parents As Teachers, Families
and Schools
Together and the Strengthening
Families Model. Most
focus on parent involvement -- a key element for effective
child abuse prevention
programs as
outlined in the New Jersey Prevention Standards.
The Children’s Trust Fund provides funding on a three-year
basis with a step down process in the grant amount. During
the course of three years
, programs
must procure additional funding to meet the original amount
granted in their first year.
The goal is for programs to work towards
independence from CTF funding in order to carry on their program
beyond the first three years. Over the past 16 years, $11.3
million have been awarded
to agencies within every county of the state. In the 2003-2004
grant year, ten first year programs will receive a
total
of $449,306, ten second year programs will receive a total
of $345,168 and eight third year programs will receive a total
of $176,756,
for a total
of $971,230.
For more information on The Children’s Trust Fund, go to the
New Jersey State
website at
http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/cap/njcap2.html.
