Prevention Services

Prevention Services: TRUTH, GAP, KIDS Personal Safety, FPRP, and BRIC

Since 1993, Manatee Children’s Services offers several nationally accredited programs with the mission of preventing child abuse, providing caregiver support, educating at-risk youth, and promoting healthy family functioning. 

Teens and their families face many challenges in and out of school, including personal safety, human trafficking, social media safety, pregnancy prevention, communication, and relationships.

Through the TRUTH program, youth ages 10 to 17 and their families receive education and mentoring through a Family Advocate to guide them in making safe, healthy decisions.

The TRUTH program’s success focuses primarily on teen pregnancy prevention, as statistics reveal that children of teenage mothers may be more at risk for abuse. Additionally, other factors such as lower economic status, lack of social support, and high stress levels contribute to the link between young parents and child abuse.

For the year ending September 30, 2022, TRUTH had a 100% success rate among the 117 clients served in retaining pregnancy prevention information and techniques after six to eight group sessions as evidenced in case notes, pre-tests, and post-tests. TRUTH also had an 85% success rate in no reported pregnancies within 18 months of program completion as evidenced by case notes and self-reporting.

GAP, a prevention program for kinship caregivers, provides support, mentoring, and resources to caregivers who are raising grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or other relative children after removal from the home due to abuse or neglect.

GAP offers support groups with exceptional guest speakers, parenting workshops, kinship warmline support, counseling services, children’s peer groups, advocacy, community resources, holiday food drives, and referrals for participants. The primary goal of these services is to ensure relative caregiver homes remain free from abuse and neglect and that children in the program do not enter or re-enter foster care.

For the year ending September 30, 2022, GAP achieved a 96% success rate, with 181 of the 187 children served remaining in their homes free of abuse and neglect and avoiding entry or re-entry into foster care. The remainder of clients served were reunited with their parents after fulfilling their case plans.

“This group is an amazing team that goes above and beyond to make sure we are all cared for and doing OK,” said a client in our program who was raising her grandchildren off and on since birth. “GAP Advocates helped me through some of the hardest days of my life.”

KIDS Personal Safety provides age-appropriate workshops on identification and prevention techniques to children in Manatee County schools.

KIDS Advocates use puppets, stories, videos, music, and role-playing during presentations to fully engage young children and deliver education in a manner that will make them remember and recognize child abuse.

For the year ending September 30, 2022, KIDS Personal safety delivered 10,173 personal safety presentations to Manatee County students. Of these, 130 reported child abuse or threats to their personal safety.

“The KIDS Personal Safety lessons have had a great impact on our school by bringing forth those children who were too scared to speak up about bullying. It is so important to teach kids to report bullying if they see it or hear about it and hopefully creating a safe environment for all children in our elementary school.” – Manatee County schoolteacher (anonymous)

FPRP and BRIC are dedicated to helping parents reach their full potential and become their child’s greatest role model.

Through BRIC, a 16-week Nurturing Parenting Program, clients develop plans for success with their parenting specialist or therapist to focus on individual family needs. All participants graduate “Darkness to Light: Stewards of Children,” a sexual abuse prevention and personal safety training.

Through FPRP, families who are in the process of reunifying receive parenting education in both English and Spanish. Families work closely with their assigned parenting coach to develop success plans, with the goal of meeting all objectives within three to nine months.

Through our programs, parents will be able to increase knowledge, decrease stress, identify strengths, receive community support and resources, and gain skills that help reduce the risks of child abuse in the home.

For the year ending September 30, 2022, our parenting programs achieved a 100% success rate of no verified child abuse findings in the home within 18 months of completion.

How to help our prevention programs

Art and recreational supplies for family bonding (craft kits, board games, building kits, etc.)
New socks, shoes, and underwear (all sizes)
School uniforms (all sizes)
New household items for reunified families (dishes, bedding, and furniture)
Gift cards for children and families to purchase personal items
Gift cards for family experiences/outings
Gift cards for groceries and gas
General monetary donations for unrestricted funds to support program operating expenses

For more information on our Prevention programs, contact Jocina Newsome, Prevention Services Coordinator.

MCS provides a full spectrum of programs serving over 12,000 children and families annually. Since its inception in 1977 as the Manatee County’s first and only emergency shelter for abused children in foster care, MCS has grown to offer programs in treatment, prevention, intervention, and residential services.

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941-345-1200

Prevention Services

Prevention Services

Prevention Services: TRUTH, GAP, KIDS Personal Safety, FPRP, and BRIC

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