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ABOUT CHICAGO SAFE START

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Project Overview

There is an ever-increasing body of research showing that young children who are exposed to violence in their homes and/or their communities often experience significant psychological and behavioral challenges as a result of their exposure to violence. Safe Start seeks to ensure that all children are given what they need to have healthy, safe environments in which to grow up.

Chicago Safe Start is a federal demonstration project funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, to address the needs of children ages five and younger who have been exposed to violence. The total grant is for up to $3.35 million over 5½ years, and the project is actively seeking co-funding sources, long-term partnerships and private support for all policy and program initiatives to ensure sustainability.

Chicago Safe Start is a collaboration of community residents and organizations, city and state agencies working together to serve young children and those responsible for their care by preventing violence before it occurs and minimizing the consequences when it does. Chicago Safe Start is located in the Office of Violence Prevention in the Chicago Department of Public Health. The project is advised by the Chicago Safe Start Council and the Implementation Advisory Board.

VISION

  • Children who are at risk of or who have been exposed to violence are supported by caregivers, families and communities to ameliorate the effects of such exposure.
  • Caregivers, families, system and community service providers are aware of the impact of exposure to violence on young children, know the signs and symptoms, and how to help or get help.
  • A full continuum of coordinated services is available at the community level to address the range of needs that children and families may have.
  • The government and private sector institutions and systems that interact with children recognize their role in serving children exposed to violence and collaborate with other organizations to provide a seamless system of care.

KEY FINDINGS

  1. Violence is chronic in the target communities.
  2. In the designated Chicago Safe Start communities, Englewood and Pullman, of the 18,992 children under age 5, approximately 13,000 children (68%) have heard a gunshot, 2,600 (14%) have witnessed
    someone attacked with a knife, and 1300 (7%) were present when someone was shot.
  3. Alcohol and substance abuse is chronic in the target communities and frequently linked to violence.
  4. Most service providers are not aware of the impact of exposure to violence or how to identify children who have been exposed.
  5. Few providers who come into contact with children are currently equipped to intervene with children exposed to violence.
  6. There are limited intervention and treatment resources addressing children's exposure to violence.
  7. The issue of children's exposure to violence has had limited focus as a public policy priority.

CHICAGO SAFE START GOALS

GOAL I: Children who have been exposed to violence or are at risk of exposure will be identified by any organization (formal or informal) that interacts with or serves children.

GOAL II: Child-serving systems and service providers will implement a formalized and coordinated response for initial intervention and referral for children exposed to violence.

GOAL III: The intervention and treatment system will have sufficient capability and capacity to seamlessly serve children who have been exposed to violence and their families.

GOAL IV: The issue of children's exposure to violence will be the subject of sustained attention and action by policy-makers.

GOAL V: Safe Start will partner with violence prevention and reduction initiatives to reduce overall exposure to violence for at-risk children.

CHICAGO SAFE START STRATEGIES

  1. Increase awareness by the public, first responders (police, fire department, emergency room personnel, etc.), child- and family-serving organizations (public and non-profit), community-based organizations, and policy-makers of the impact of exposure to violence on young children.
  2. Establish a Training Institute for professionals who work with children on how to identify and intervene with children exposed to violence and to serve as a general resource on the issue of exposure to violence in Illinois.
  3. Establish expectation and provide training to enable first responders and others who work with children and families to identify children who have been exposed to violence.
  4. Develop capacity of the Domestic Violence Helpline to serve as a referral link for first responders working with families exposed to violence.
  5. Focus policy and funding streams and provide training in the child welfare, domestic violence, substance abuse, and child care systems to provide initial intervention services for children exposed and to make appropriate referrals for family support and/or mental health services as needed.
  6. Create a Family Support Services Network in the target communities to provide a non-threatening, asset-based approach to intervene for families whose children have been or are at risk of exposure to violence.
  7. Target Safe Start resources toward and advocate to expand mental health service capacity for children in need of services.
  8. Develop data collection and analytic capacity to understand the impact of children's exposure and families' access to services and to widely disseminate findings among key policy-makers.
  9. Partner with violence prevention and reduction efforts and other efforts system-wide that enhance services for children at risk of or exposed to violence.

CHICAGO SAFE START STAFF

  • Marlita White , Director
  • Ebony M. Dill, Implementation Coordinator
  • Erica B. Davis-Robinson, Education Coordinator
  • Paul Schewe, PhD, Evaluation Consultant
  • Dylan Livingearth, Technology Consultant
    (Site Administrator)
  • Brittany Russell, Assistant Technology Consultant
  • Anne Parry, Director, Office of Violence Prevention

For more information, please call Erica B. Davis-Robinson at 312-747-9406 or Marlita White at 312-747-9396.