Submission Type: Innovative Ideas
Final Rating: Innovative Idea
Date Submitted: Fall 2022
Focus Area: Healthy Environments and Relationships
Focus Population: Children, Caregivers, Guardians, Parents, Systems
Contact Information:
Public Health Institute of OklahomaÂ
P.O. Box 60926, Oklahoma City, OK 73146-0926
Goals and Outcomes:
The goal of this submission is to provide buffering supports to children and families that increase their ability to form and sustain healthy relationships.
Intended outcomes include:
- Increased awareness of buffering supports, such as emergency childcare
- Increased utilization of emergency childcare by families after a traumatic event
- Increased connection to stabilizing supports
- Increased family stability
- Increased ability to form and sustain healthy relationships
Brief Summary:
The target population is Oklahoma families with children (ages birth to 8 years old) that have been exposed to a traumatic event. Oklahoma is a state with one of the highest ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) scores in the nation. Without buffering supports, families can fall through the cracks and experience compounding adversities that affect the ability of children to form healthy relationships.
Connecting families to these buffering supports, such as emergency childcare, allows the children to have a safe place to go while the parents/caregivers/guardians are connected to additional resources, as needed, that stabilize their situation.