Children exposed to violence experience difficulty concentrating, higher rates of chronic illness, and trouble forming healthy emotional attachments. These are only a few of the obstacles faced by the estimated 1 in 10 children exposed to family violence and 1 in 16 who are sexually victimized. As we learn more about the harmful long-term effects of exposure, we are beginning to address the vital gaps in our communities' ability to respond to families in need through early identification and linkages to quality supportive services.

The Alliance of Local Service Organizations (ALSO) is proud to present Protection through Partnership, a film showcasing one community's efforts to serve, protect, and heal young children (ages 3-5 years) exposed to sexual and domestic violence. Told through the voices of clients and staff from three core partnership agencies in Long Island, New York (Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk; Long Island Head Start; and Suffolk County's Family and Social Service's Child Protection and Preventative Services Divisions), the film explores key lessons learned during implementation of a grant from the United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

(Film Transcript)
This film captures the impact of violence exposure on young children and the challenges faced by their non-abusing caregivers and the systems charged with helping them. It follows mental health and advocacy services staff from the Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk (VIBS) as they travel to provide services within area Head Start centers. Core lessons from this innovative collaborative effort include the need for:

• Proper planning time for developing cross-agency interventions among non-traditional partner agencies,
• Safety-informed, early identification,
• Creative outreach to at-risk families, especially those not normally seeking services through traditional domestic and sexual violence service agencies,
• Co-located, specialized victim intervention services housed within existing child-friendly, community settings (like Head Start centers) where families naturally congregate,
• Comprehensive and flexible advocacy services to address the complex needs of non-abusing caregivers and adult victims of domestic violence,
• Well-trained and well-supported clinical intervention staff who use evidence-based intervention models and strong supportive advocacy, and
• Creative problem solving to address existing structural and environmental barriers.

Please join us in congratulating this partnership team for its tireless efforts to enhance outreach to victimized children and families.  

To learn more, contact:

ALSO: Carlee Taggart ([email protected])

VIBS: Clarice Murphy ([email protected]) 

Long Island Head Start: Kimberly Hart ([email protected])

youtu.be/tjgR5-JA1r8

This film is a product of the Alliance of Local Service Organization's Children Exposed to Violence Technical Assistance Project and was produced in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).