Be Smart. Don’t Start.
Our goal with the BE SMART DON’T START Opioid Prevention Initiative is to educate, empower, and equip Alabama’s youth, teens, parents/guardians, educators, and others in the community about the dangers of opioid use and addiction and connect them with resources in the community that will strengthen the family and help youth and teens lead drug free lives.
We want to provide resources to help parents protect their children in this ever-changing digital age. This series of videos and resource guides discusses topics related to digital safety, awareness, and prevention. These are effective tools for increasing public awareness or as tools to support training for educators, law enforcement, service providers, lawmakers, engaging parents and other community members in a dialogue on the importance of prevention and digital safety.
Safe Sleep
It is important to keep your baby safe while sleeping. We’ve outlined some safe sleep resources below, including simple guidelines to help you create a safe sleep environment for your baby. Additionally, our agency supports two safe sleep initiatives that are available to Alabama parents: Cribs for Kids and Baby Box.
Resources:
Mandatory Reporting/Erin’s Law
The agency served a vital role in the passage and implementation of Erin’s Law in Alabama, which provides students, school personnel and parents with skills to reduce vulnerability and encourage them to report the suspected sexual abuse. Erin’s Law mandates that school personnel complete Mandatory Reporter training annually.
Resources:
DHR Mandatory Reporter Training Online
Erin’s Law Guidelines for a Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Instructional Program
Strengthening Families
Strengthening Families™ is a research-based, cost-effective strategy to increase family stability, enhance child development and reduce child abuse and neglect. The five protective factors are the foundation of Strengthening Families™ and have been shown to make positive outcomes more likely for young children and their families, and to reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect.
Resources:
Children’s Trust Fund Alliance
Moving ACEs to Hope using the Strengthening Families Framework PowerPoint
Supporting Families through bringing the Protective Factors into your Life and Work
Prevention
As the state chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America, a member of the Children’s Trust Fund Alliance, and the state lead agency in CBCAP, we are dedicated to promoting resources and services that prevent all types of child abuse and neglect and improve overall child well-being in our state.
Resources
Reports
2019 Child Maltreatment Report
The Cost of Child Maltreatment to the Alabama Economy in 2018:
Alabama Kids Count Data Book 2021:
2021-2022 CTF Evaluation Report
ACEs & Resilience Resources
ACEs Fact Sheet from CTF and VOICES:
ACEs Connection Alabama State Profile:
Prevent Child Abuse America ACEs Infographic:
CDC: Adverse Childhood Experiences Infographic:
Additional Resources:
CDC: Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences Online Training