Volume 10, Issue 4
Co-Editors: Theresa Glasheen & Daniel Whitaker
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MCCHD 10-Year Celebration
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Leadership, faculty, and staff at The Mark Chaffin Center for Healthy Development (MCCHD) came together to celebrate its 10-year anniversary with Georgia State University's School of Public Health. The three centers which comprise MCCHD include: The Center for Leadership in Disability, The National SafeCare Training and Research Center, and Prevent Child Abuse Georgia. This event was also the opportunity to celebrate the retirement of Dr. John Lutzker, Founder of SafeCare. The Dean of Public Health, Dr. Michael Eriksen, bestowed Dr. Lutzker with the honor of being named a GSU Professor Emeritus.
MCCHD is a university-level research center at Georgia State University committed to promoting the health, safety and well-being of children, adults and families through research, service, education, training and advocacy. The center emphasizes bringing scientific innovation into the everyday lives of people and their communities through translational and implementation research.
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Inaugural Lutzker Lecture Series
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October 29, 2018 marked the inaugural lecture for the newly-established Lutzker Lecture Series. Sponsored by an anonymous donor, this Georgia State University School of Public Health annual event will honor the career of lifelong academic Dr. John Lutzker while will bringing together Public Health professionals through a visiting scholar. The first lecture welcomed Dr. Gregory Aarons, a clinical and organizational psychologist, whose many products and findings are regularly used by the SafeCare model. Dr. Aarons' presentation was entitled "Evidence-Based Practice Implementation and Sustainment through Leadership and Partnership."
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Agency Spotlight: Wesley Mission
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Wesley Mission, a social services network located in New South Wales, Australia, recently shared several success stories from their Providers. Wesley Mission has been delivering SafeCare to families since 2015 and has 12 certified Providers and Coaches. We hope you enjoy reading excerpts from these inspiring stories.
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Leoni & 8-month son
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When Leoni joined Brighter Futures she was unable to identify her son’s needs and how to respond to him in a positive and effective manner. She lacked confidence in responding to medical situations, was unable to identify hazards in the family home, and was unaware of future hazards that could confront her son as he reached new milestones. When closing from services, Leoni could identify milestones confidently and knew how to positively encourage her son to develop age appropriate behaviors, respond, and identify his needs.
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Jenny & 2-year old son and 8-month daughter
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Jenny had been referred to Brighter Futures because of neglect and the state of her home. The safety module therefore proved very significant and beneficial. Her living room was cluttered, and Jenny was proud that the clutter was removed after undertaking just a couple of sessions.
SafeCare provided a wonderful, natural opportunity to address some serious concerns in the home. The concerns were addressed in a non-judgemental way because they were simply part of the program. At the end of SafeCare, Jenny asked the provider if there were any other similar courses as she was keen to learn more. She highly recommended the program to all parents.
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Blake & 2-year old son
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Blake completed all three modules in SafeCare. Blake is a newly single father who wants the best for his son. He was motivated to complete SafeCare because he wanted to grow into the father he desired to be and to provide a safe and happy home environment for his child. Blake embraced all suggestions regarding Safety in the home, making changes to allow a safe space for his son.
SafeCare was an appropriate and practical program for Blake because it was clear, simple, and helped him to develop and retain new skills. He was delighted to receive his certificates. It provided him with a sense of mastery and proved to him that he was a good father. Blake considered the completion of SafeCare to be a high accomplishment in which he took pride and gained satisfaction.
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Naomi and Jake & 1-year old son
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This family completed all the three modules. Naomi and Jake participated and completed the Health Module together. Naomi took great pride in completing homework and learning from the Health Care Manual. She reported that the information in the Health Care Manual was easy to read. It also filled gaps in Naomi’s knowledge about various health issues.
Naomi actively changed the home in the Safety Module. After realising that the television cabinet was not safe with sharp edges, Naomi sold the television cabinet and bought a new one with rounded edges. Naomi was prepared to complete all homework tasks by removing and installing cupboard locks and a safety child fence and gate to the kitchen. Both Jake and Naomi fully engaged in the program and the experience proved to be a positive interaction between them which was evident in the results of their Parent Satisfaction Survey.
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NSTRC Training Specialist Clorinda Merino featured above with Providers and Coaches in a new international implementation in San Sebastian, Spain.
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All three centers within The Mark Chaffin Center for Healthy Development were represented at the 2018 Home Visiting Institute: The Center for Leadership in Disability, The National SafeCare Training and Research Center, and Prevent Child Abuse Georgia. Taking place in Peachtree City, Georgia, this annual event brings together home visitation models from across the state.
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Professor Dan Whitaker was a presenter at the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) XXII: International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect. The 2018 conference was held in Prague and Dr. Whitaker's presentation was entitled, "Using Technology to develop a decision support data system for SafeCare, a behavioral parenting program."
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Dr. Shannon Self-Brown was featured in an article by The Atlantic magazine about how to help kids cope during and after natural disasters, such as hurricanes. Full article available:
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Four Corners, an Australian television program, aired a series of episodes called “Parenting 101” which highlight parents determined to learn how to change the way they raise their children. One of these inspiring episodes exclusively features mothers involved in SafeCare. Full episode available:
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Feder, L., Niolon, P. H., Campbell, J., Whitaker, D. J., Brown, J., Rostad, W., & Bacon, S. (2018). An Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Intervention in a Nurse Home Visitation Program: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Women's Health. doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2017.6599
Weegar, K., Moorman, J., Stenason, L., & Romano, E. (2018). Perspectives on the implementation of an evidence-based neglect program within child welfare. Children and Youth Services Review, 93, 474-483.
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