HASTINGS, Neb. – April is Child Abuse Prevention month, and two Central Nebraska organizations want the public to know about the free resources they offer for families or people in need. 

Child abuse and neglect is defined as maltreatment of a child from birth through age 17.

It includes physical abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, medical neglect, sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

The most recent statistics from the Department of Health and Human services show 2,892 substantiated child victims of abuse/neglect in 2023.

The South Heartland District Health Department is in Hastings, and covers Adams, Clay, Nuckolls, and Webster counties.

SHDHD offers a free and voluntary in-home relationship-based service, called Healthy Families Nebraska Heartland, for low income residents who are pregnant, or are brand new mothers of infants up to three months.

SHDHD Executive Director Michele Bever says the program can help prevent child abuse by promoting positive parent-child interactions, creating healthy parent-child attachment, and building confidence in new parents.

"We have four home visitors, and we're serving 35 families right now," said Bever. "The Healthy Families America program is responsible for working with families and children in our communities to help them better navigate their worlds and have better parenting skills."

South Central United Way has three 'navigators' that work with community households to mainly offer preventative support, including short-term expense assistance, and providing individual case-based coaching for families or individuals. 

"If a family is starting to struggle with just basic daily needs, then that's where we would like to step in and offer coaching, or resourcing out," said South Central United Way Community Preventions Program Coordinator Erin Trausch. "If a family just feels like there's a situation that's happening that's causing some stress or anxiety, and maybe potentially looking at risking providing for your family, that's when we would like for you to reach out."

Both organizations say while they most commonly help families at the preventative stage of struggles or potential signs of child abuse, it's not unheard of to deal with cases that have gone past that stage into a more destructive case or household.

The goal of both programs is to provide positive in-home experiences for children to assure their better quality of life.

Anyone can sign up for assistance from the South Heartland District Health Department and United Way's Community Impact Network at their respective websites here.