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| Expert panel from a RESILIENCE screening, hamming it up. |
Each April, the Santa Barbara County Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC) promotes Child Abuse Prevention Month to raise awareness of child abuse and neglect, and the actions that community members can take to prevent and mitigate it. This year's campaign may be the most successful and important one yet.
This April, CAPC's efforts centered on free screenings countywide of the one-hour documentary film "RESILIENCE: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope." RESILIENCE chronicles the birth of a new movement among pediatricians, therapists, educators and communities, who are using cutting-edge brain science to help parents and children disrupt the cycle of violence, addiction and disease. Each screening was followed an expert panel discussion or a facilitated community dialogue.
The screenings, promoted largely to professionals who work with children and families (such as social services agencies, schools, clinics, churches, and law enforcement), enjoyed strong turnout. About 70 people saw the film in Santa Ynez (photos), 125 in Santa Maria (photos), 300 in Santa Barbara (photos), and 85 in Lompoc (photos). The film was also shown to 53 people at the Child Development Conference on April 8 in Santa Maria, and another 52 at the Santa Barbara Unified School District's Cradle to K Summit on April 27 in Santa Barbara.
Other activities traditionally associated with CAP Month in our County also took place, including "Wear Blue" events at various organizations including DSS (photos), brief CAPC appearances to receive local governmental proclamations recognizing Child Abuse Prevention Month in Goleta and Solvang, and Pinwheel Planting events in Santa Maria (photos) and Lompoc. CAPC Director Barb Finch also spoke at a luncheon to honor law enforcement officers for the work they do with Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People to intervene in crisis situations and support victims of domestic violence and child abuse.
The promotional campaign for Child Abuse Prevention Month and the RESILIENCE film included print and broadcast media, social media, and targeted email marketing. Links to the media coverage can be found on our Media Monitor.
CAPC is a community council that coordinates efforts to prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect. DSS provides CAPC with administrative support, and DSS Children & Adult Networks Director Barb Finch serves as CAPC Director.