CodeBlue2014University of Houston Bauer College of Business ProjectSponsored by DePelchin Children’s CenterApril 8, 2014

K A E L I N C H A N

B R E T T H A R T S T E I N

L A U R E N H R U Z E K

C H R I S T I N K N I G H T

L A U R A M A H A N E Y

G I O V A N N A M O R E N O

P A U L N I E T O

A N V U

The Federal Child Abuse Prevention Act

defines child abuse as, at minimum,

“an act or failure to act which presents

an imminent risk or serious harm.”

NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE STATISTICS

● It is estimated that approximately 5 children die from child abuse

every day in the United States

• In 2012 nearly 287,000 children were treated at children’s centers

• Approximately 681,000 children were abused in 2011

• About 2.12% of children under the age of one are victims of abuse

making them the most abused age group

NATIONAL STATISTICS FOR CHILD ABUSE CATEGORY

75%

15%

10%

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

CHILD ABUSE IN HOUSTON

● 12.9% of abuse that takes place in Texas takes place in

Houston.

● Approximately 27,900 children are helped by CPS in

Harris County on a monthly basis.

● Approximately 48% of the children abused in Harris

County are under the age of 5.

DEPELCHIN’S CAMPAIGN

• Started Blue Ribbon Campaign last year

• Tied 5,383 ribbons for the number of child abuse

victims in Harris county

• This year DePelchin will be continuing their ribbon

campaign tying on 5,929 ribbons

CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION EFFORTS OF THE PAST

• In the 1980’s there was an increased emphasis on public awareness about the issue

of child abuse

• New interventions targeting reductions in physical abuse and neglect

• parenting education classes

• parent support groups

• family resource centers

• crisis intervention services

• New interventions targeting reductions in sexual abuse

• Teaching children to decipher what qualifies as acceptable touching

PROBLEMS WITH THIS CAMPAIGN

• Parents had limited access

• Didn’t attract parents who didn’t know how to get help

• Didn’t attract parents who didn’t know they needed help

1990’S CAMPAIGN

• New emphasis put on establishing a strong foundation of support for parents when the

mother is pregnant

• Home nurse visitations helped with

• Parent-child attachment

• Access to medical care

• Parental Capacity

• Earlier Identification of developmental delays

• Currently Emphasis is being placed on changes at the community level

Support from community is vital in raising a child, especially in times of hardship or need

OTHER CAMPAIGNS

• Joyful Heart Foundation Campaign

• Launched NO MORE PSA Campaign

• Seven Campaign

• A Seventh Day Adventist originated international

campaign to stop child abuse which integrated social

media

FUTURE CHALLENGES TO PREVENTING CHILD ABUSE†

1) Continued improvement at reaching those still at risk

2) Determining how to intervene when dealing with diverse ethnic and

cultural groups

3) Integrating technology into child abuse prevention

4) Finding a balance between formal service and informal supports

†Past, Present, and Future information provided by Child Welfare Information Gateway

Ribbon Campaign

Posters

Social Media

OUR

CAMPAIGN

#CODEBLUE2014

• Custom designed

poster

•Printed and posted

40 around bus stops,

poster pillars, and

classrooms

• Cut over 900 strips of blue ribbon to distribute on campus

• Went to high traffic areas and approached students, explaining our cause, and asking them to diplay our ribbons in order to raise awareness on campus.

RIBBON CAMPAIGN

TARGET AUDIENCE

• UH campus

o mostly students

o approached strangers as well as close friends to maximixe circle of

influence.

• General audience on social media

o Utilized personal networks to reach more people.

o Encouraged sharing, reposting, and retweeting to extend to other

networks.

OBSTACLES

• Weather

• EBay

• Approaching strangers in an appropriate manner

• Conflicting schedules

RESULTS

Received 56 Instagram followers

Reached over 200 likes on our Facebook page in less than a week

Our Facebook posts were seen by nearly 500 people

Passed out over 900 ribbons on campus

Overall extremely receptive audience with lots of support

RIBBON DISTRIBUTION AT THE UC

RIBBON TYING

• Interacting with all the employees

•Seeing how passionate everyone

is was very inspiring

•Helping out with DePelchin’s

cause

• Affected network

is over 1,200

strong

• Lasting impact

on and off

campus

CONCLUSION