ABOUT PROMISING STRATEGIES
Safe from the Start (SFTS) promotes many strategies to reduce children's chronic exposure to violence such as: home visitation nursing programs for first-time mothers, multidisciplinary coordinated teams from various public and private service agencies, and one-stop services for victims of domestic violence. In every community profiled, the genesis of its effort was the vision or passion of one person who realized that he or she could no longer wait for someone else to start helping kids. Perhaps you are that person in your community.

SFTS wants to share with you strategies that are reducing children’s exposure to violence. Take an interactive look at seven of California’s Promising Strategies:
County-based strategy: Solano
Health-based strategy: Fresno
Law Enforcement-based strategy: San Diego, Vacaville, Westminster
School-based strategy: Arbuckle, San Jose


As you review each program, you will find video interviews with program staff describing how the program began, how they fund their local effort, advice for starting your own program, and some of the challenges you may face along the way. The model programs have generously shared the resources they have created and suggestions on how you can adapt them to fit your community. They have also provided information about related programs that were helpful as they began their local effort. You will also find Web site links and books that are helpful for each particular model. Finally, extensive resource lists are also included in the SFTS Resources section.


ABOUT SAFE FROM THE START
The California Attorney General's Crime and Violence Prevention Center's (CVPC) Safe from the Start initiative is based on current research about early childhood brain development. Funded by a grant from First 5 California focusing on children ages 0-5, Safe from the Start recognizes that children's chronic exposure to violence can have an extremely negative and long-lasting impact on their developing brains. Unlike other governmental initiatives, Safe from the Start is not a grant program or yet another cookie cutter approach to implement. Rather, the premise of Safe from the Start is that many communities already are providing the services needed to help children, but those services are often scattered among various agencies.

Safe from the Start encourages communities to collaboratively examine the spectrum of services needed and to find new cooperative ways to provide those services. It asks communities to take a more holistic view on the issue of children's exposure to violence.

Remember, assistance is always just a phone call or email away. The SFTS team encourages you to browse the Safe from the Start Web site (www.safefromthestart.org), to download the Promising Practices information, to request video and print resources (they are free to California residents), or to attend a Safe from the Start training in your area (www.safefromthestart.org/training/training.html). Additional valuable resources can be found at the Attorney General's Crime and Violence Prevention Center (CVPC) Web site (www.safestate.org).

Our hope is that you will be inspired, find useful tools, and see how simple and practical it is to restructure your current efforts to integrate this exciting new approach to helping children.

You can help children be Safe from the Start ... you can start today!

This project developed through a grant from First 5 California.