Front Porch Project® Coming to York to Ramp Up the Fight Against Child Abuse

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- What would you do if you came face-to-face with child abuse—or what you suspected was child abuse? Would you know what to do? Could you live with yourself were you to do nothing and as a result a child was harmed? Those aren't easy questions. But now there's a way to get the answers—and guidance.

The Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance (PFSA), working with the York-based Child Abuse Prevention and Outreach Committee, is bringing The Front Porch Project® to the United Way of York May 31 and June 30. It's an opportunity to understand why and how child abuse occurs, to learn how to recognize it, what to do about it, and gain the confidence to take action.

York County recorded 1,113 reports of suspected abuse in 2010, of which 128 were substantiated. That works out to 1.3 substantiated cases for every 1,000 children in the county. Thirty-three children in Pennsylvania died from abuse in 2010, two of whom lived in York County—a 10-month-old boy and a 1-year-old boy.

PFSA Executive Director Angela Liddle said the case of 2-year-old Darisabel Baez of York, who died in 2008 as a result of a beating inflicted by the mother's boyfriend, helped coalesce community concern about child abuse in York. She said it led to a community summit on child abuse in 2010, which in turn became a factor in PFSA's decision to get involved with The Front Porch Project®

"The Front Porch Project® is a community approach," Liddle said. "It's a program that entails providing knowledge and training but also the encouragement to get involved and that's a really important distinction. It's about taking responsibility as people in a community. It helps ordinary people become more aware about how to help protect at-risk children in their own community."

PFSA is the exclusive Pennsylvania sponsor of The Front Porch Project®, which was developed by the Denver-based American Humane Association. To date, The Front Porch Project® has brought child abuse prevention initiatives to communities in Oklahoma, Florida, and Illinois.

The program will be presented Tuesday, May 31, and Thursday, June 30, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the United Way of York, located at 800 East King Street. Advance registration is required and participants must attend both sessions. For more information, or to register, contact PFSA at 1-800-448-4906 (toll free in Pennsylvania) or (717) 238-0937 or [email protected].

"People will leave this training with the awareness, knowledge, skill, and willingness to intervene for children," Liddle said.

PFSA provides training on recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect through schools, early childhood education centers, religious institutions, and social service agencies.

It annually trains an estimated 8,000 individuals who work with or around children in how to recognize and report suspected child abuse.

PFSA also works with more than 50 affiliate agencies across Pennsylvania to provide information, educational materials, and programs that teach and support good parenting practices.

Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance

Protecting children from abuse

Training for professionals

Support for families

Education for communities

Visit the PFSA website at www.pa-fsa.org.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance