April is Child Abuse Awareness
Month. Home Start, Inc., a San Diego-based nonprofit agency specializing in the
prevention and treatment of child abuse, is celebrating its 35th anniversary
by promoting Child Abuse prevention with a fundraiser on Friday April 4th, 2008 at
downtown’s El Cortez.
The masquerade-themed gala will raise
funds for Home Start programs, which provide critical assistance to the
region’s most vulnerable children and families. Genie Cavitt of KGTV Channel 10
News will assist as MC in honoring QUALCOMM Inc., The Jacobs Family Foundation,
and Stacy A. Matseas as community partners in preventing child abuse.
“We are extremely thankful to the
individuals, foundations and businesses that have supported our agency in its 35
years of protecting children and strengthening families,” stated Laura Mustari, CEO of Home Start. “Their
contributions remain critical to our ability to deliver timely counseling and related
services to families whose children are at risk of maltreatment or neglect.”
According to Health and Human
Services Agency Child Welfare Services Annual Report, approximately 70,000
children were referred to the San Diego County Child Abuse Hotline with
allegations of abuse or neglect in 2007. During the same period, 632 children
were placed in adoptive homes with 100 to 150 children waiting for adoptive
homes each month.
In 2007, Home Start offered case management
services to San Diego County families in need and out of those families, 832
were provided assistance with child welfare, 407 engaged in early child
development programs and 569 enrolled in family self sufficiency programs,
among other results.
Research shows that poor parenting
is the number one reason children are removed from the home. Many parents discipline
too harshly and have unrealistic expectations of how their child should behave
at a certain age, or they frequently leave the child unsupervised or in the
care of risky individuals. In cases of extreme poverty,
some parents cannot provide adequate food, shelter or healthcare services
for their child. Over 95% of at-risk families who
received parenting assistance from Home
Start significantly increased their understanding of healthy
child development and learned how to select safe childcare and better meet
their child's basic needs.
Home Start offers research-based
therapy, parenting education/coaching, Earned Income Tax Services, healthcare
access outreach, crime victims counseling services, financial literacy and family
self-sufficiency services.
The agency addresses the conditions
that place children in risky or abusive situations such as poverty, mental
illness, unsafe neighborhoods, lack of affordable housing and unemployment,
which are coupled with addressing individual self-sufficiency and emotional
needs. With five locations in San Diego County, services are primarily
home-based and provided free of charge to ensure they are accessible to San Diego's neediest
children and families.
About Home Start, Inc
Founded
in 1972 as a highly successful, national Head Start demonstration project, Home
Start primarily targets poor children and their families who require immediate,
comprehensive solutions to ensure their safety and healthy development. In
1977, Home Start, Inc. incorporated as a San Diego-based, private non profit
agency dedicated to child abuse prevention and family strengthening services.
Home Start's countywide programs and services
consistently demonstrate a high success rate for increasing the stability,
self-sufficiency and parenting knowledge of the families who receive services.
Therapists possess or are pursuing LCSW, MFT or Clinical Psychology licenses
and adhere to the highest professional standards. Many are bilingual and all
possess a sensitivity to, and understanding of, ethnic and cultural
differences. For more information please visit: www.home-start.org.
For additional
information or to make a donation, please contact Renee Solares at
rsolares@home-start.org or (619) 692-0727, ext. 113
