Get in the Zone: Strengthening Support for Families and Professionals 

This interactive session equips professionals with the skills and confidence to implement No Hit Zones—a straightforward, impactful tool proven to strengthen families and address the leading risk factor for child abuse: corporal punishment. Participants will explore how No Hit Zones, successfully established in churches, daycares, hospitals, and child advocacy centers, are transforming child protection efforts and creating safer, more supportive environments. Through case histories featuring outcomes from adult survivors, along with evaluation results and forthcoming research, attendees will gain insight into the tangible impacts of NHZs. 

This workshop offers practical strategies to prevent children from entering formal care, reduce professional burnout, enhance kinship care, and support investigative processes. Presenters will delve into community partnerships, innovative approaches for engaging families, and strategies for addressing poverty, while emphasizing collaboration with other family-serving systems, such as education, health, housing, and childcare. 

The workshop will highlight the critical role of cultural sensitivity in investigations and interventions, essential for achieving positive outcomes and long-term welfare for children and families. By equipping caregivers with resources and effective alternatives, this session aims to empower child protection professionals to make informed decisions that safeguard children’s future and reduce recidivism. 

Advocating a holistic approach to child maltreatment prevention, this workshop underscores the need for ongoing research to support evidence-based practices and policies that assist caregivers and foster a collaborative, trauma-informed framework among child welfare professionals. 

1. Participants will be able to identify at least 3 benefits of using No Hit Zones in preventing child abuse. 

2. Participants will learn at least 3 trauma-informed communication techniques to effectively engage caregivers. 

3. Participants will learn at least 3 culturally sensitive alternatives to support a child’s well-being.