April is Child Abuse Prevention Month – a time to remind our community that every child deserves to grow up feeling safe, happy, and loved. As we work together this month to champion children and highlight the realities of abuse and neglect, it’s also important we celebrate the resilience of children and families and the programs in our communities that keep families whole. Prevention is not just about identifying warning signs – it’s also ensuring families have access to the tools, resources, and support they need to stay happy, healthy, and together.
Nearly three years ago, DePelchin launched to Together and Safe program to help prevent repeated occurrences of child maltreatment. This program partners with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and Child Protective Investigations (CPI) to offer mental health services and resources for families with cases that are pending closure. When DFPS and CPI find that no further involvement is needed, families are referred to DePelchin and are eligible to enroll and receive support free of charge.
Families who are referred to Together and Safe are often distressed after navigating their investigation, facing behavioral challenges at home, struggling to meet basic needs or are experiencing barriers to mental health services; these stressors increase the risk of repeat involvement with DFPS and CPI. Some families also have a history of trauma such intimate partner violence and are seeking safety.
Together and Safe stabilizes families using evidence-based, trauma-informed practices. Ashley Maynard, DePelchin’s Clinical Case Supervisor, says, “Our families receive access to multiple types of counseling including individual, family, child, and couples counseling in both English and Spanish. They also have access to [our] parenting curriculum and case management with resource linkage. If there is something our families cannot access here at DePelchin, our case managers do a wonderful job of connecting the family with another organization.”
“Without Together and Safe,” Maynard notes, “many of these families would fall through the cracks.”
Success often shows up in meaningful breakthroughs. Maynard shares, “We are lucky to have had many success stories through Together and Safe”, referring to a parent who was able to de-escalate a conflict between siblings after using techniques they learned in their sessions with DePelchin. By talking openly with each other, the family was able to get to the root of the issue and resolve it on their own. Maynard continues, “These are spaces where we can see parents being empowered to know they can handle a difficult conversation, they can regulate their own emotions and help the child regulate as well.”
DePelchin’s Together and Safe team works hard to uplift families that are facing some of the most difficult challenges in their lives. Without judgement, families receive swift, targeted support and resources so they can heal, grow, and thrive – and their children are kept happy and safe.
To parents and caregivers who may be struggling at home, Maynard says, “Baby steps are still progress. Any movement you make towards bettering yourself and your family is effort and we thank you for making that effort.”