Mike Couick
My Thursday evenings as a young teenager were often spent on Walton’s Mountain with three generations of the Walton family living under one roof.
In The Waltons TV show, the full fury of the 1940s rushed at the fictional family—World War II, Jim Crow laws, birth and death—but the family unit held firm, right down to each episode closing with, “Goodnight, John-Boy.” While my own family and York County home were not that far apart from life on Walton’s Mountain, it was far enough to make me wistful for the way things used to be—simpler, closer and reassuring. Even now, I find myself watching reruns of The Andy Griffith Show for a similar walk down memory’s trail.
Real life is not that simple, close or reassuring. These days, multigenerational support for new parents is often displaced by cross-country moves for career advancement and the growing complexity of family structures. Unplugging from our devices and the hectic demands of daily existence feels like a luxury few of us can afford. Who pays the price? We all do—our children most of all.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to pause and consider how to keep abuse and neglect from happening in the first place. Children’s Trust of South Carolina, a statewide organization focused on the prevention of child abuse, neglect and injury, believes that children thrive when families are strong—and families are strong when communities wrap love and support around them. Many cases of child abuse and neglect stem from parents being inadequately prepared or supported. Families today often feel isolated and it can be overwhelming to raise children without models or guidance.
According to the S.C. Department of Social Services, there were 17,662 children in founded cases of child abuse and neglect last year—enough to fill 272 school buses. The damage of abuse lasts long after the danger and hurt have passed, with adverse childhood experiences creating toxic stress that can impede normal development. Treating these negative outcomes can be staggering. South Carolina spends approximately $1 billion annually in direct and indirect expenses associated with treatment of child abuse and neglect.
Raising children is always a challenge, but in this world of change, shepherds like Children’s Trust equip parents to better navigate tough times with resiliency. As Sue Williams, executive director of Children’s Trust, explains, “Creating safe, stable homes for children often starts with helping parents. A lot of times, parents dealing with issues like how to make ends meet are just stressed out. They don’t have money for kids’ new shoes or to go on the field trip at school, and that adds to their stress. What we look for are ways the community can come in and around and help.”
One of the ways Children’s Trust helps is through administering the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting program. Working with community partners statewide, this program provides specialists who assist at-risk, low-income mothers and their young children with a wide range of issues during home visits, including health concerns, developmental milestones, school preparedness and economic self-sufficiency.
One young mother who benefited from the program became pregnant in her junior year of high school and had to drop out to support herself and her infant son. Through a home-visiting program, she received the support she needed for a healthy pregnancy and learned about child health and development, early education and home safety. Two years later, she completed the program and went on to earn her high school diploma and begin college classes—all while holding a job. Her young son benefited physically, socially and emotionally through those two years of guidance from their nurse home-visitor.
Another way Children’s Trust helps is through the Strengthening Families Program, serving families with children ages 6–11 through community centers, schools and churches. The 14-week program helps families develop positive discipline practices, reduce conflict and improve parenting skills—ultimately helping prevent abuse or neglect.
Many times, child abuse and neglect are viewed as things that happen to other people, but it’s really a larger problem that impacts whole communities. The good news: Children’s Trust not only connects the dots for the families, they also help connect the dots for communities.
“Nobody can do this work alone—not a parent or a school or a church,” Williams says. “We are, by nature, creatures that seek out one another.”
To learn more about Children’s Trust of South Carolina, visit scchildren.org.