The NYSPCC Receives $1.65 Million in Grants for Programs that Advance Agency's Mission to Prevent Child Abuse

Grants Include $1 Million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Trauma-Focused Therapy for Foster-Care Children; $550,000 from the Office on Violence Against Women to Strengthen Services for Domestic Violence Survivors; and $100,000 from the National Institutes of Health to Test Efficacy of Agency's "Safe Touches" Program

NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC), the world's first child protection agency, has received $1.65 million across three grants to help fund critical programs and services that further the agency's mission to respond to the complex needs of abused and neglected children.

The grants come from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). For nearly 150 years, the NYSPCC has worked to protect children and those involved in their care by providing best-practice counseling, legal and educational services.

"To have been awarded such significant grants from key federal programs speaks volumes about the critical work the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children does on behalf of children's safety. We take our mission to protect children to heart, and this funding will go a long way to help us continue to offer the most impactful and effective clinical services and training," said Muna Heaven, interim executive director at the NYSPCC.

HHS, which was created to improve the health, safety and well-being of Americans, has awarded $1 million over 3 years to the NYSPCC for trauma-focused therapy services for children in foster care. Physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and domestic violence can have lifelong impacts on victims, and survivors may have intense trauma symptoms long after the experiences have ended, such as anxiety, depression, poor self-esteem and trust issues.

"Trauma-focused therapy can support healing and strengthen protective factors for both children and their caregivers. Funding from HHS will allow the NYSPCC to build upon its comprehensive services for foster care children and families, including training and support programs for foster parents, evidence-based clinical services for children and positive engagement services with birth families," said Dr. Jacqueline Holloway, the NYSPCC's interim director of special projects.

OVW, which provides federal funding to reduce violence against women and strengthen services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, has awarded $550,000 over three years to the NYSPCC to bolster services for victims of domestic violence and their children. The funding will help underwrite and expand the agency's intensive and effective bi-lingual Therapeutic Supervised Visitation Program, which provides safe, victim-focused services for court-ordered supervised visitation. The grant will also support the development of a training curriculum for court-related staff that addresses the dynamics of domestic and sexual violence, and the needs of victims mandated to visitation services. The trainings will help provide coordinated support across systems, to help empower children and families.

"Around 80% of visitation cases received by the NYSPCC report instances of domestic violence, and most include orders of protection against an abusive partner. It can be extremely difficult for a parent to navigate mandated visitation in the wake of family violence, in addition to managing the needs of their children. The NYSPCC's expanded and enhanced victim support program will provide parents with tools and resources to recognize the impact of trauma on themselves and their children and support their long term success. There's a lack of similar services both city- and nation-wide, and we're thankful to the Office on Violence Against Women for supporting this essential service for children and parents," said Dr. Holloway.

The NYSPCC has also been awarded $100,000 over two years by the NIH, the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting biomedical and behavioral research, to test the efficacy of the agency's Safe Touches virtual model. Safe Touches is an evidence-based child sexual abuse prevention program designed for children in kindergarten through third grade. NIH funding will enable a randomized controlled trial between the in-person classroom-based workshop and the virtual model, developed by the NYSPCC during the pandemic due to demand from schools for continued sexual abuse prevention education. This 'gold standard' study design will reach 180 classrooms across two states and diverse geographic and socioeconomic populations and complement the existing evidence-based research on the in-person model.

"We are grateful for our partnerships on these grants with Dr. Kate Guastaferro at New York University and the Integrated Domestic Violence Part of the Supreme Court, without whom this work would not be possible. The NYSPCC's Training Institute is dedicated to equipping children, their caretakers and others involved in the care of children with the knowledge and tools to help keep children safe from abuse. These grants will help us continue to train, teach and influence not only New Yorkers but other individuals and organizations across the country and the world," said Jessica Trudeau, director of the NYSPCC Training Institute.

About the NYSPCC
The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC) is one of the oldest and most highly respected child protective agencies in the world. Founded in 1874, the NYSPCC helps the most vulnerable children of our community recover from trauma. And, more importantly, it helps prevent child abuse through its work with parents, teachers, children, and foster care agencies. The NYSPCC has investigated more than 650,000 cases on behalf of over two million children and has educated over 53,000 professionals working with children on child abuse and neglect issues. Read more about the NYSPCC at http://www.nyspcc.org/.

SOURCE The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children