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Organization: Exchange Club CASTLE Program Name : Safe Families Funder: Children' s Services Advisory Committee RFP# 2006061 B. PROGRAM NEED STATEMENT (Entire Section B not to exceed one page) 1 . a) What is the unacceptable condition requiring change ? b) Who has the need? c) Where do they live? d) Provide local, state, or national trend data, with reference source, that corroborates that this is an area of need. What: The unacceptable condition requiring change is child abuse and neglect. Child abuse and neglect has well-documented, long term, harmful effects on children, including permanent physical injuries, chronic low self esteem, developmental delays, difficulty in forming attachments and relationships, mental illness, aggressive behavior, and a cycle wherein an abused child is much more likely to, in turn, abuse his or her own children. ' Who : Parents who pose a risk to their children, because of identifiable risk factors such as poverty, a lack of parenting knowledge/skills, or a parent' s own history of abuse or addiction. Where: Last year, parents were served in all parts of Indian River County. Provide Data: The overwhelming majority of families that abuse or neglect their children can, with the proper support, learn to parent in a manner that is non- abusive (research shows that home based parent education is the most effective way to prevent abuse and neglect" ") . This allows the family to remain intact and avoid the trauma of an out of home placement for the child . Research indicates that 96-98% of families who engage in home-based parent education programs such as Safe Families, do not re-abuse their children. This reduces by almost two- thirds, the number of children who face further abuse at the hands of their caretakers . " Locally, Indian River County has a child abuse rate of 12. 6 children per 1 ,000 . This is much lower than the state rate of 29. 6 children per 1 ,000, and, for the first time is as low as the national rate ( 12 .4 children per 1 , 000 .)" Clearly, the emphasis Indian River County has placed on prevention is paying a dividend. In conclusion, the data show that 1 ) home based parent education prevents abuse; 2) home based parent education helps children stay out of foster care; 3 ) prevention efforts, when supported by the local community, result in fewer children being abused. 2. a) Identify similar programs that are currently serving the needs of your targeted population ; b) Explain how these existing programs are under-serving the targeted population of your program . Safe Families serves a population that is not served by the other abuse prevention programs in Indian River County. However, in concert with two other programs, there is a seamless system of prevention efforts that spans all age levels and all risk levels . * CASTLE' s Safe Families serves : Children ages 0- 18, primary and secondary risk levels. Accepts referrals from all agencies and accepts self-referrals . *Healthy Families serves : Pregnant mothers and newborns (up to 15 days old). *Hibiscus (Hope) program serves : Families who are at imminent risk of having their children removed (tertiary risk level) . Accepts only DC&F referrals. These eligibility differences help each program specialize in a particular target population. Duplication is avoided by stringent adherence to the eligibility requirements of each provider. The intake process of all three providers assesses all services in the home, and this acts as another barrier to duplication of services . Safe Families is a program that is in high demand throughout the four county area, with referrals outnumbering available slots by an almost 2 : 1 margin. 5