Family Resource Network
Child Watch Initiative
The Eastern Panhandle Child Watch Initiative is a program designed to enable service providers for abused and neglected children and other interested individuals in the Eastern Panhandle community to gain insight into the world of child protective care in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.
As service providers are aware, the nightmare these children suffer often begins anew when their abuse is brought to the attention of authorities. Once abuse is reported or discovered, they have seen how many of these children embark on a confusing, frightful and lonely journey through the social service and court systems. While adults all around them are trying to figure out what is in their best interest, they undergo test, therapy, transition and trauma, as they are brought to a myriad of different experts and professionals who try to administer treatment and develop long tern solutions.
The Eastern Panhandle Child Watch Initiative invites you to participate in a day-long journey to raise awareness of the "system" through the eyes of a child. This special event takes place annually, and provides an experiential tour into the current crisis with the child welfare system (too many cases, too few resources) and the resources utilized to help these children. You will see the actual locations of services that children travel to throughout their journey. This knowledge will help you to better understand the child welfare system and hopefully impact your work.
The Child Watch Initiative is a project of the Family Resource Network of the Eastern Panhandle, the Children's Home Society, the Children's Advocacy Center, and the KIT Collaborative with the collaboration of organizations and individuals who are involved with the daunting work of helping abused and neglected children. Currently, the following are participants in this project: WV DHHR, CASA of the Eastern Panhandle, WVU Hospitals East Emergency Department, Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP), Family Resource Network of the Panhandle, Berkeley County Prosecutor's Offices, Berkeley County Schools, Children's Home Society, Eastern Regional Jail STARS Program, Safe Haven Child Advocacy Center (Pink House), and local therapists.
The Goal of the Child Watch Initiative is to heighten community awareness of the plight of abused and neglected children and to mobilize community volunteers to direct their energy and resources toward these issues. We look forward to sharing valuable time with you in teaching community members about child abuse and neglect in our community and the challenges facing professionals and families who are tasked with responding.