‘Partners in Prevention’ expresses the fact that the Department for Community-Based Services (DCBS) needs the entire community to care for vulnerable families and children. We cannot do this work alone, nor can education, health care, or justice. Kentucky needs strong communities synchronizing their efforts and services toward a common goal of child and family well-being.
The term ‘prevention’ is used broadly to mean achieving child safety and optimal parental care, strengthening the family’s protective capacity to combat abuse and neglect, ensuring that every child is with a permanent family, and achieving optimal child and youth well-being.
‘Partners in Prevention’ stresses the collaboration required and the proactive striving needed to prevent flawed or second-rate outcomes. We seek empowered families with adequate resources, children that are well-cared for and learning, and youth prepared for adult success.
Moving from a program focus of service delivery to a solution and results-focus is hard. This shift requires thinking about solutions and proactive tangible steps toward achieving results. These ideas are not new but evolving through practices such as ‘Comprehensive Family Services’ (CFS), Systems of Care (SOC), and community capacity building.
‘Partners in Prevention’ strategies are innovative, community-based, family and child-centered, integrative between agencies, consistently collaborative, supported by evidence, strength-centered, with blended funding. Strategies on the Partners in Prevention continuum include, but are not limited to: