From Awareness to Action: Community Collaboration to Support Parent and Youth Mental Wellness

Session Description

Preventing child abuse and neglect requires communities that prioritize mental health across the lifespan, strengthen families, and ensure access to support before crises occur. This closing session focuses on building coordinated prevention networks among child welfare, courts, schools, behavioral health providers, healthcare systems, domestic violence programs, youth-serving organizations, faith communities, and family advocates. Participants will identify collaborative strategies to improve early identification, reduce service gaps, support parents and adolescents affected by trauma, and create community conditions where children can be safe and families can thrive.

Learning Objectives

• Identify strategies that promote family mental wellness.

• Describe collaboration's role in prevention.

• Recognize protective factors that strengthen families.

• Develop community prevention strategies.

2026 - 2027 Louisiana CASA Webinar Series: Healthy Minds, Safe Children: Preventing Child Abuse Through Mental Health Awareness and Support

This eight-part webinar series explores how mental health awareness, early intervention, trauma-informed support, and strong community partnerships can help prevent child abuse and neglect. Participants will examine how caregiver wellness, childhood trauma, adolescent mental health, and family stress influence child safety while learning practical ways to recognize concerns early, strengthen protective factors, and connect families to support before crises occur.