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American Psychological Association
Raising Safe Kids Program (PDF)
Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood
NEWS
American Psychiatric Association to Revise Diagnostic Manual: What does it mean for children with autism?
Over the past five years, the American Psychiatric Association has been working on an update of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — the first major revision of the DSM in 17 years. It will be released in May of next year with changes to a variety of disorders, most notably autism.
The definition will lump Asberger's, autism, and other non-verbal learning disorders into one diagnosis: Autism Spectrum Disorder. Two years ago, we spoke with people concerned about the elimination of Asperger's from the DSM. Now, a Yale study, published in the April issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, has some members of the autism community worried. They are concerned some will lose a disablility diagnosis entirely. The study suggested that if implemented, nearly 40% of those with autism would be excluded from a diagnosis.
www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/shows/autism-diagnosis/
June 18 & 19, 2012:
Facilitator Training: Visit the Facilitator Section for more details and to register!
April 9 & 10, 2012:
Facilitator Training: Visit the Facilitator Section for more details and to register!
April 2012
April is National Child Abuse Prevention month! See the resource guide released by the Child Welfare Information Gateway (Dept. of Health & Human Services) to learn what you can do to prevent child abuse.
March 20, 2012
From 12pm-1pm, Howie Baker & Karen Gutterman will present a Wellness Brown Bag Lunch session hosted by Brandeis University Human Resources. Howie will present Brandeis parents/caregivers with tips on how to help angry children use conflict resolution skills rather than physical aggression. To sign up visit Brandeis HR Wellness Brown Bag Series.
About ACT
ACT Raising Safe Kids Program is a national parent education program of the American Psychological Association (APA) developed with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Our purpose is to mentor adults who raise, care, and teach children from birth to 8 years old to create safe environments for their children. The program:
- Has been evaluated and considered a successful model to disseminate early violence prevention knowledge and skills to adults. It is an evidence-based program to help parents and caregivers raise children to be safe and without violence.
- Focuses on strengthening positive parenting skills and empowering parents and caregivers to be the best parent they want to be; it promotes participation in the community.
- Teaches parents about child development, anger and behavior management, tools for positive effective parenting, and creates a support network for parents.
ACT NORTHEAST REGIONAL CENTER
Lemberg Children's Center works with the American Psychological Association (APA) and the national ACT office as the APA-ACT Northeast Regional Training Center.
The Northeast Regional Training Center provides facilitator training and support to local Raising Safe Kids Programs of the northeast region, including all of New England, New Jersey and New York.
ACT-NE also hosts the Northeast Regional Conference twice a year. This summit gathers all members of the ACT community for rich discussions and presentations on the progress, revisions and new research of ACT.
Our process from national to local and community-based programs is a tiered system:
Community Coordinators
Our Regional Center's Community Coordinators provide two-day training workshops for future facilitators of the eight-week Parent Workshops. These professionals are nationally trained and certified members of ACT who have demonstrated continued commitment and enthusiasm for the ACT Raising Safe Kids Program. They are well experienced with the program and are qualified to train other professionals to lead the RSK program.
Here are some ACT Community Coordinators in the Northeast Region:
Connecticut
CREC: Capitol Region Education Council, Hartford: Mary Huth
UCONN: Dept. of Human Development & Family Studies, Storrs: Meg Galante-Deangelis, Kari Adamsons, Anne Bladen
Massachusetts
ACT-NE Regional Office, Waltham: Howie Baker, Sylvia Pena, Karen Gutterman, Katharine Braun-Levine, Bruce Johnson
peacfulfamilies.org, Cambridge: Kelly Champion
Southcoast Hospitals Group RAPPP: Sharon Souza
New Jersey
Child & Family Resources, Morristown: Jeffrey Segal, Rebekka Zydel
Montclair State University, Montclair: Milton Fuentes
PEI Kids, Lawrenceville: Nicole Cody
New York
CEO-CAP: Commission on Economic Opportunity, Troy: Kristine Darling
HCDI & Cornell University Cooperative Extension: Virginia Ryan
Puerto Rican Family Institute, Bronx: Milton Fuentes
Facilitators
ACT Facilitators become a part of the ACT Family, a vast network of regional as well as national professionals who work with caretakers to prevent violence in the lives of their children. They help caretakers to create strong, happy families and a safe environment in their homes and communities. These individuals represent a spectrum of professions, some of which include:- Educators
- Psychologists
- Childcare providers
- Healthcare providers
- Social workers
- Domestic Violence Counselors
- Case managers
- Mental health workers
Facilitators are qualified to utilize APA ACT materials to run Raising Safe Kids Parent Groups in their local facilities.
Full Certification includes a two-day training workshop led by a community coordinator and an observation by a regional office-approved ACT member (can also be via videotape or Skype) in their presentation of the Positive Discipline sson.
If you are interested in becoming a facilitator, or would like to schedule a training near you, please see our contact list of ACT Facilitators.
Parent Groups
Raising Safe Kids (RSK) Parent Groups are run by ACT Facilitators in their local communities. This eight-week program utilizes ACT research materials to help parents/caretakers in their understanding of:
- the behaviors of children
- the control of parents' anger and reactions
- how to help angry children
- children's exposure to electronic media violence
- discipline and parenting styles
- discipline for positive behaviors
The RSK program usually provides child care during the times parents attend the workshops. Check with your parent group leaders. Parents receive homework while children also engage in activities relevant to their parents workshop lessons during childcare. This enables the entire family to engage in the ACT experience, and to learn together.
To find a Raising Safe Kids Program near you, see our calendar.