Prevention
The term prevention is typically used to represent activities that stop an action or behavior from occurring in the first place. It can also refer to activities that promote a positive action or behavior. While prevention looks different throughout child welfare jurisdictions, tribal nations are each unique and sovereign in their engagement with federal, state, and local governments.
Native programs consider culture to be an essential part of all prevention efforts. Put simply, culture is prevention. Through cultural engagement, families are strengthened,
which promotes preservation and reunification.
Culture is Prevention
Prevention can take many forms at the community and individual levels and is embedded in the fabric of tribal child welfare family
preservation. The focus of prevention includes limiting risk, harm reduction, and increasing protective factors to empower families with the ability to navigate challenges with unity and strength. Prevention in tribal child welfare can occur in more than
one way and can look differently from tribe to tribe.
A prevention-focused culture reduces removal rates by strengthening and promoting wellness within the family. Activities that promote thriving Native families are:
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- Proactive (e.g., taking place before system involvement),
- Strengths-based, and
- Culturally relevant
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Culture is Prevention
The Culture is Prevention Resource List expands on the concept of culture as prevention, provide examples of programs in tribal communities, and offers practice suggestions for caseworkers to discuss culture with children and families.
Prevention Brief
The Capacity Building Center for Tribes Prevention Brief describes family strengthening prevention practices, definitions, and key strategies for tribal communities to consider when developing and implementing prevention programming.
Path to PreventionÂ
The Capacity Building Center for Tribes Path to Prevention outlines Center for Tribes training and technical assistance available for tribal child welfare programs in developing and implementing prevention programs and practice.
Resources for Healthy GenerationsÂ
These resources are intended to build on each community’s strengths of today and the past. These efforts are intended to help families develop a sense of what is healthy for now and for future generations.
Engaging and Supporting Native Fathers
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Engaging and Supporting Native Grandfamilies
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Trafficking Prevention Resources Â
Emerging science points to a broader understanding of genetics and what many Indigenous cultures have long understood about how things are passed from one generation to the next. This resource list provides introductory information on genetic memory, the soul wound, and the interconnectedness between genetics, intergenerational trauma, and adverse childhood experiences.
Building Capacity Around Suicide Prevention in Tribal Child Welfare Programs
While depression and suicide affect everyone, American Indian and Alaskan Native people are at a higher risk, and Native youth are especially vulnerable. The resources compiled in this list from the Center for Tribes provide models and strategies for suicide prevention efforts as well as lessons for effective implementation.
Family First Prevention Services Act
The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) was signed into law as part of Public Law (P.L.) 115–123 and has several provisions to enhance support services for families to help children remain at home, reduce the unnecessary use of congregate care, and build the capacity of communities to support children and families. The law enables states and territories to use funds for prevention services, such as:
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- Evidence-based mental health programs
- Substance abuse prevention and treatment
- In-home parent skill-based programs
- Kinship navigator programs
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Questions about the interpretation of the FFPSA and its requirements should be direct to the Children’s Bureau Regional Offices.
Additional Resources:
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- Advancing the Children’s Bureau’s Vision: Family First Prevention Services Act (Children Welfare Information Gateway, Webpage)Â
- IM-18-02: New Legislation – Public Law 115-123, The Family First Prevention Services Act (Children’s Bureau, Webpage)
- PI-18-07: Public Law 115-123, The Family First Prevention Services Act (Children’s Bureau, Webpage)
- Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse (Children’s Bureau, Webpage)
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Levels of Prevention
There are three levels of child abuse and neglect prevention services:Â
Primary
The focus of primary prevention is preventing child abuse and neglect. Primary prevention services help strengthen protective factors and build awareness of prevention measures with all members of a community to stop child maltreatment before it happens.
Secondary
Secondary prevention provides targeted supports to families who are vulnerable to child abuse and neglect. Restoring family dynamic and providing early intervention services fall under secondary prevention efforts.
Tertiary
Intensive supports for children and families who have experienced child abuse or neglect are provided through tertiary prevention. Direct supports help soften the effects of maltreatment and prevent recurrence.
Technical Assistance Available
The Capacity Building Center for Tribes offers training and technical assistance for tribal child welfare programs in developing and implementing prevention programs and practice.
The Capacity Building Center for Tribes Menu of Supports (PDF) outlines all services available.
For more information or to request technical assistances, email info@cbc4tribes.org or call 1-800-871-8702.
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- Sex Trafficking Prevention Resources (Webpage)
- Supporting Gender Diverse Indigenous Youth Webinar Series (Videos)
- Tribal Communities and Family Resiliency Today (Center for Native Child and Family Resilience, PDF)
- Working with Two-Spirit and Native LGBTQ Families (PDF)
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The Children's Bureau, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, funds the Capacity Building Center for Tribes. The contents of this website and the resources herein do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Children's Bureau.Â
