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Each month, PEI shares a variety of information for professionals, families, parents and children to support strong and thriving families.
For more information about PEI and its programs visit us online.
 These free family resources are filled with helpful tips for parents and caregivers of children of all ages. Our calendar is available in English and Spanish, and endorsed by The Texas Pediatric Society.
The Activity Book features 25 pages of fun for every child. Download a copy here or order a box for the children in your community below.
Order while supplies last! Activity Books and Calendars are shipped for free and available in quantities of 100/box. Questions? Contact us.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and we sent out a social media toolkit to help empower communities with resources to support Texas children, youth, and families where they live, work, and play!
We encourage you to promote child abuse prevention awareness this month with your networks to equip families with knowledge and resources to support child abuse prevention practices in Texas.
Governor Abbott's Child Abuse Prevention Month Proclamation includes a call for unity in keeping every child safe, and lifts up the many organizations across Texas whose tireless work is key to achieving this goal.
Webinar: Prevention During a Pandemic: Pivots, Innovations, and Lessons Learned
Date: April 20th
Time: 3:00 P.M. - 4:30 P.M. CST
Register
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose challenges, concerns, and stress to Texas families and the organizations that serve them. Join Prevention and Early Intervention Assistant Commissioner Sasha Rasco and panelists as they discuss on-going prevention strategies in the context of the pandemic, what we’ve learned from efforts in Texas over the past year of navigating the pandemic, and what they envision for the road ahead.
Webinar: Protecting Our Children: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect
Join Voices for Children of San Antonio on Saturday, April 17th, 9:00 AM-1:00 P.M. for a discussion around inappropriate expectations and abusive injury.
The session will discuss common triggers for abusive injury in children, how parental expectations can be changed and other forms of behavior modification to increase safety for children.
Registration is open to the public and closes April 16th at 12:00 pm. Professional development hours are available. Click here for more information.
Funding Opportunity: Preventing Violence Affecting Young Lives (PREVAYL)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released RFA-CE-21-005, The CDC National Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention (YVPCs): Rigorous Evaluation of Prevention Strategies to Prevent and Reduce Community Rates of Youth Violence. CDC intends to commit up to $30 million dollars over the next five years to fund up to five sites.
Funded YVPCs will partner with at least one community with high rates of youth violence and establish a youth advisory council to inform the implementation and evaluation of prevention strategies. Professional development and training activities for early career and junior researchers will be integrated into center activities. Funded YVPCs will rigorously evaluate at least two prevention strategies to address at least two research areas, including:
- Social and structural conditions that reduce racial and ethnic inequities and community rates of youth violence.
- Homicide and severe violence-related injuries experienced by youth.
- Hospital-based youth violence prevention strategies.
- Leveraging online platforms for youth violence prevention.
The Notice of Funding Opportunity can be found at grants.gov. Applications are due April 21, 2021.
 ACH Child and Family Services in Fort Worth has provided a century of services to the residents of the DFW region. One of their newest efforts centers around developing a Kinship Navigator program that will benefit families raising grandchildren, nieces, or nephews in Tarrant, Parker, Palo Pinto, Johnson, and Hill Counties.
It's a passion project close to the heart of Chantel Bedlington, Kinship Navigator Support Specialist with ACH and a Kinship parent.
"I didn't know there was anything like this that was possibly existent for people like me," said Chantel, who has been raising a niece and nephew over the past two years. The project is in the early phases; with ACH as one of four organizations working through a planning grant for DFPS.
"Eventually we know this is going to be a full-fledged program," Chantel says, "But ACH has tons of resources, and even now we're providing ways to connect kinship families to resources and something that will continue on, talking about events and new things going on as it grows," she said. The program will ultimately offer assistance to kinship families, connecting them to legal aid, clothing and food services, counseling, or support groups.
One of the greatest challenges of any project is letting people know about it.
"When the three of us on the Kinship Team talked about ways to reach out, like posters, flyers...the questions were 'how do we find and identify families like this, who may not even know they're a kinship family, and ways to reach out to schools, and counselors and teachers to let them know?" Chantel said. "Ultimately we thought, "maybe we should do this through social media?"
That idea resulted in a pair of YouTube videos in English and Spanish about what it is to be a Kinship Family, and how to get involved.
When the time came to record the video, Chantel was ready for the challenge.
When we were talking about this - I was the one who was a Kinship Parent, and I've walked this path. So it just kind of snowballed that I was gonna be the one on video!" she said.
The Kinship Program at ACH is hosting an engagement meeting on April 15th to help develop and implement strategies for the project. The meeting is open to caregivers, legal professional, child welfare worker, educators, or in law enforcement who would like to participate. Register online or call 817-886-7135.
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Documentary Screening and Panel Session on Human Trafficking
The HHSC Family Violence Program has partnered with the National Crime Victims' Rights Week-Austin Chapter to offer a screening of "Be Relentless" which will be followed by a Human Trafficking Panelist Session. The screening and session is Sunday, April 18th, from 5:30 P.M. - 7:30 P.M. CDT
"Be Relentless" follows Norma Bastida's grueling journey capturing a record-breaking expedition across two countries, as she tells her own story as a commemoration to the National Crime Victims' Rights Week, April 18-24th. Panelist names include: Survivor advocate and star of the film, Norma Bastidas; Rachel Alvarez from TABC; and Allison Franklin from The SAFE Alliance.
Register now.
Save the Date - 21st Annual Partners in Prevention Conference
The 2021 theme is Forging Forward Together: Nurturing Communities and Families. We seek to recognize the challenges of the past year and the power of coming together, carving out paths towards a future that supports prevention and early intervention professionals and the communities they support and partner with.
This year's conference will blend virtual and in-person opportunities for presentations, and will take place at the Renaissance Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas on November 2-4, 2021.
Feel free to share this message with others. Bookmark the Partners in Prevention Conference Page and start the conversation on your social media accounts!
#pipcon2021
Texas WIC: What you need to know
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, popularly known as WIC, is a nutrition program for pregnant, breastfeeding women and families with children younger than 5. WIC provides the support and inspiration to eat right, have a healthy pregnancy, breastfeed successfully, and raise healthy, happy kids.
To see if you are eligible for WIC, start an application online, or call 800-942-3678.
Baby Day Resource: Ages and Stages
Babies and young children undergo incredible development within their first three years of life. While all children are different, most reach certain milestones at similar ages. In the first three months alone, a baby will:
- Begins to smile at people
- Coos, makes gurgling sounds
- Turns head toward sounds
- Begins to track objects with eyes
- Begins to act bored (cries, fussy) if activity doesn’t change
- Can hold head up and begins to push up when lying on tummy
- Makes smoother movements with arms and legs
- Opens and shuts hands and bring hands to mouth
- Grip objects in hands
- Take swipes at or reaches for dangling objects
Baby Day and First3Years offer an Ages and Stages resource page for all parents to view both milestones and red flags to look out for as their little ones grow and change.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Kids Programs
2021 is the Year of the Great Outdoors for Texas kids. From camping, hunting, fishing and archery, to bugs, blossoms and bunkbeds, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Division has something for every child in every corner of Texas. And there's more; kids under 12 get free admission to over 90 state parks in Texas.
Visit the Kids Page at the Texas Parks and Wildlife website to learn more.
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Do not show up at a vaccine hub without first signing up or checking the provider’s instructions for scheduling. Visit the DSHS COVID Vaccination webpage for more information.
Even after you get a dose of the vaccine, continue to wear face masks, practice social distancing and regular handwashing to slow the spread.
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