Indiana Child Abuse and Deliquency Prevention Programs
Healthy Families
Healthy Families is a voluntary home visitation program that supports and educates new parents beginning at or before their baby's birth. This program has 3 main goals:
- To promote positive parenting
- To promote and encourage positive child development and health
- To prevent child abuse and neglect
Through the coordinated efforts of hospital maternity wards, prenatal clinics, and other local agencies, Healthy Families systematically identifies families that could benefit from these education and support services either before or after birth. There are 56 Healthy Families sites in Indiana that serve all 92 counties.
Kids First Trust Fund
The Kids First Trust Fund is a fund whose capital is generated by public contribution through the purchase of a Kids First License plate, a portion of the divorce filing fees, and private contributions. The purpose of this fund is to support statewide child abuse prevention efforts. To make a contribution or to learn more about the fund, go to the website:
Community Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP)
CBCAP is federally funded for the purpose of child abuse prevention. Indiana uses the CBCAP funds to enhance the development and support of community agencies that deliver services for parenting classes, community education, fatherhood programs, services to children with disabilities and their families. It also supports the coordinated collaboration efforts of community based prevention agencies to network and strengthen prevention programs statewide.
Youth Service Bureau (YSB)
Youth Service Bureaus are funded with state funds for the purpose of providing administrative support to those bureaus that deliver services aimed at the prevention of juvenile delinquency. The primary statutory purpose is to provide information and referral to youth and their families, delinquency prevention, community education, and advocacy for youth. There is at least one YSB in every DCS region of the state. For more information, go to the website:
Project Safe Place
Project Safe Place is funded with state funds for the purpose of providing a community outreach network that delivers emergency services, temporary shelter, and counseling for troubled youth in crisis situations. The triangular signs found in business establishments throughout the state that say "Safe Place" is provided through the efforts of this funding. These signs let youth in crisis know that this is a safe place to ask for help. Staff working in these businesses are trained to assist in offering appropriate referral to these youth.
Family Planning
Family Planning services are offered through a network of medical facilities that provide family planning health care services to allow individuals to voluntarily limit family size, to space intervals of child-bearing, or to postpone the first pregnancy. Funding is made available through federal and state funding sources. Appropriate family planning assists families in the prevention of child abuse and neglect through the management of family size. Other information about family planning can be found at the Indiana Department of Health website:
