Newsletter – Spring 2016







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FACT Newsletter, Issue 3, May 2016

Calendar
 
May is Mental Health Month and Children’s Mental Health Awareness Month.

May is also National Foster Care Month. Additional information is online at: https://www.childwelfare.gov/fostercaremonth/. More information about foster care in Virginia is available on the VDSS website at: https://www.dss.virginia.gov/family/fc/index.cgi.


Give Back
You can support FACT by purchasing a specialty license plate or contribute all or a portion of your state income tax refund. Additional information about how to get involved can be found on the FACT website under “Get Involved.”

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A Message from Our Executive Director
 

Connecting the Dots
“Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” ― J.K. Rowling

Hello! I’ve been in the position of Executive Director for two months. I’m honored and excited to be here. Prior to joining to the organization, I worked with FACT in a variety of capacities over the years that resulted in creative and positive outcomes. FACT is unique in its focus to strengthen efforts to prevent and treat family violence across the lifespan.
This perspective provides an opportunity to bring service providers and stakeholders together to work collaboratively on systems of care on individual and community levels.  

Historically, approaches to the prevention and treatment of family violence (including: child abuse and neglect, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and older adult abuse, neglect and exploitation) were established and operated within a singular focus.  FACT’s vision “to reduce incidences of family violence in Virginia through support of community-based initiatives, public awareness and collaboration” sets a stage to holistically address the complexities of intergenerational trauma caused by family violence.

In addition to the direct financial support that is provided through competitive grants focused on systems of change and direct services, FACT provides support through ad hoc grants to conduct statewide activities, an on-line data portal, and annual publications focused on data and best practice trends related to family violence.  FACT also serves as a convener of the Virginia Advisory Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. 

I look forward to working with the Broad of Trustees to continue and expand FACT’s reach across the Commonwealth for years to come.

In the Spotlight:
Using the FACT Research Portal to Identify and Target Program Needs 

Rebecca Hjelm, Senior Research Associate, presenting at 5th Annual CSA Conference

FACT presented at the 5th Annual  Commonwealth of Virginia CSA Conference on April 28th. The session was “How to Use the Family and Children’s Trust Fund (FACT) Research Portal to Identify and Target Program Needs” and was presented along with Joyce Moran from the Southern Virginia CAC. Slides from the presentation are available online at: http://www.fact.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/CSA_April2016.pptx.

This presentation offered a live demonstration in how to create customized data reports. The presentation also offered concrete examples for how this information can be applied, as well as tools that can be used to undertake a data-driven approach.  Additional training materials about the Family Violence Indicator Data Tool and other related data and research materials are available on FACT’s website at: http://www.fact.virginia.gov/family-violence-indicator-locality-data-tool-2/ under “Support Documents”.

2016 Child Welfare Award Recipients Announced! 

Congratulations to the 2016 Child Welfare Certificate of Appreciation Awardees!  Certificates were presented on April 4th during the luncheon of the Child Abuse Prevention Conference in Richmond. Additional information about the awards and this years awardees can be found online at: http://www.fact.virginia.gov/child-welfare-awards/

Nicole Poulin, Betty Wade Coyle, Lisa Specter-Dunaway, Beth Girone, Florence Martus, Kathleen Lee, Beth Hartung, Kelly Young, Ford Flannagan, Kathryn Jesse, Lisa Wright, Rebecca Hjelm

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The Resource Corner
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Family Violence Indicator Data Tool In 2014, the rate of founded investigations of abuse and neglect by a family member was 2.04 per 1,000 children under the age of 18. That rate has ticked up slightly from 1.85 in 2013. Local statistics such as these, about child abuse and related family violence indicators, can be found in the Family Violence Indicator Data Tool.  These statistics include information about arrests for sexual assault.
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Events & Information is a new addition to the FACT website. Information is continuously updated to highlight upcoming conference and training events.
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ACEs Connection Network is a social network focused on recognizing the impact of adverse childhood experiences in shaping adult behavior and health, and reforming all communities and institutions — from schools to prisons to hospitals and churches — to help heal and develop resilience rather than to continue to traumatize already traumatized people. The network creates a safe place and a trusted source where members share information, explore resources and access tools that help them work together to create resilient families, systems and communities. A companion site, ACEsTooHigh.com, provides news to the general public as part of the ACEs Connection Network.
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SCAN of Northern Virginia  launched a new app. The SCAN Parent Resource Center App provides information at your fingertips on more than 75 parenting topics. Topics covered include positive discipline, anger management, co-parenting and family stress and resiliency.    

Who We Are:
The Family and Children’s Trust Fund (FACT) was created by the General Assembly in 1986 as a public-private partnership to raise funds for the prevention and treatment of family violence. This includes child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.  FACT is governed by a Board of Trustees, appointed by the Governor, to raise and distribute funds for family violence prevention and treatment efforts, as well as promote public awareness of family violence issues across the Commonwealth. 

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The Family and Children’s Trust Fund of Virginia (FACT)
801 E. Main Street, 15th Floor – Richmond, Virginia 23219-2901
Phone: 804.726.7604 | Fax: 804.726.7088 | Email: familyandchildrens.trustfund@dss.virginia.gov