The Personal Safety Intitiative is made possible by a MD Children's Trust Fund Grant administered by the Garrett County Local Management Board/OCYF.

 

The overall goal of the Personal Safety Initiative is to mobilize community resources to: 1. Facilitate parent-child dialogue about personal body safety  2. Inform the public about child abuse reporting protocols  3. Prevent child abuse & neglect.  The Personal Safety Initiative is an example of COLLABORATION IN ACTION and has expanded way beyond the original parameters of the project as each community partner has added to the momentum.

 

 

PARTNERS IN COLLABORATION

Garrett County Local Management Board (LMB) 

1. Approved PSI grant application for MD Children's Fund Trust. 
2. Administers and coordinates PSI activities through the GC Office for Children, Youth and Families, Inc. 
3. Evaluates and monitors a continuum of local programs designed to promote family preservation while at the same time protecting the safety of children and the community.

 

 Garrett County Family Violence Coalition (FVC)  

1. Principle collaborators in all aspects of the PSI. 
2. FVC Public Awareness Team assisted with the April 1998 Family Violence Prevention Forum and created the Silent Witness Exhibit. 
3. FVC Zero Tolerance Web Site posting fees for 1 year and a Continuning Education class in web page development for FVC members was made possible by the PSI. 
4. FVC was an active sponsor of the June 1998 Family Violence Advocacy Week. 
 

Family Education Team 

1. Coordinates entire project, acts as a liaison to other community groups involved in PSI 
2. Developed job description for Family Educator; assisted with selection of Family Educator 
3. Delegated task assignments for working sub-teams 
4. Works with Family Educator to select and develop curriculum for Safety Safaris. 
5. Coordinated April 1998 Family Violence Prevention Forum in collaboration with Family Violence Coalition's Public Awareness Team 
6. Coordinated June 1998 Family Violence Advocacy Week in collaboration with many other community groups 
 

Pandora's Box: Garrett County Health Department's Teen Health Theater 

1. Youth designed 3 skits for the PSI covering the topics of verbal, physical and sexual abuse. 
2. In addition to giving many performances in the community, Pandora's Box has been invited to perform at the Spring 1999 state-wide conference on Child Abuse and Neglect. 
 

PSI Billboard Team 

1. Original project goal was to work with the Ecumenical Youth Ministry (EYM) to create and display two billboards on the topic of Family Violence. Billboard materials and rental are supported through PSI funding. 
2. Group is seeking sponsors for additional billboard rental fees. 
3. EYM Director expanded the initial project by adding the production of the play Runaways to activities scheduled for Family Violence Advocacy Week. 

 

Parent Network 

1. Administered a special Youth Mini-Grant Writing Contest. Weekly prizes and a mini-grant for a parent-child outing for a local 4-H group were made possible by PSI. 
2. Granted funding to purchase the RAP Curriculum that will be utilized in the PSI Safety Safaris. 
3. The Parent Network awards Mini-Grants to support parent-child activities and parenting programs. Call OCYF at 301-334-1189 for an application. 

Garrett County, Maryland, located in the Far Western end of the State has a population of approximately 30,000 and a geographic area second largest in the State. The principle sources of income are service sector jobs followed by retail and manufacturing. In 1995 only 59.3% of the population 16 and above were in the labor force resulting in a 15% unemployment rate. The median household income for a family of 2.6 individuals in current dollars is $31,400 (Garrett County Census Data). 

Garrett County, because of size and rural isolation, is in many ways one of Maryland's "best kept secrets." Communities are close-knit, often with a family atmosphere of everyone knowing everyone else as well as their business. Even so, the community as a whole is a proud one and residents take pride in the ability to handle one's own problems. Consequently, issues such as child abuse and family violence are often treated as a "private family matter" not to be discussed with an outsider such as a service provider. The downside to this phenomenon is the secrecy associated with issues of child/adult abuse, neglect, incest, family violence and sexual assault. In order to address these widely held community values, parents will be asked to participate alongside their children in a Family Safety Safari curriculum that addresses personal body safety, child abuse and neglect and domestic violence issues. The intent is to partner with parents to give children basic information about personal body safety, etc. in an non-threatening, non-stigmatizing manner. 

In Maryland, between FY ‘91 and FY ‘95, investigations of child abuse and neglect increased by 9.3% from 26,603 to 29,065. The Garrett County Department of Social Services investigated over 143 cases of child abuse and neglect for FY ‘96 and investigated 149 cases of child abuse and neglect for FY ‘97. Although there has been increased efforts in community education and collaboration, child abuse/sexual abuse and neglect continues. Much more work is needed to ensure all children and families have the right to a home environment that is free of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. However, all of the community needs to be an integral player to assure that a) children who are at risk have a reliable level of safety and care and b) to enable parents to achieve an adequate level of competence and responsibility. 

This proposal attempts to address community education, involvement and collaboration, training for professionals and life skills training. In the context of the community, child abuse/sexual abuse and family violence cannot be tolerated.