What is the California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative?
The Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative is led in partnership by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH),
Injury and Violence Prevention (IVP) Branch and the California Department of Social Service (CDSS),
Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP). The EfC Initiative seeks to address child maltreatment and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as public health issues; aims to raise awareness and commitment to promoting safe, stable, nurturing relationships, and environments (SSNR&E); creates the context for healthy children and families through social norms change, programs, and policies; and utilizes data to inform action. Utilizing a collective impact model, the EfC Initiative advances the common agenda of multiple agencies and stakeholders through alignment of activities, programs, policies, and funding so that all California children, youth, and their families achieve SSNR&E. The California Department of Public Health was previously awarded a competitive five-year grant,
Essentials for Childhood: Steps to Create Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships and Environments, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), beginning in September 2013. Currently, the grant in its second five-year cycle of funding, and the EfC Initiative has an emphasis on creating social norm change and strengthening economic supports for families. To learn more about Essentials for Childhood Initiative: Steps to Create Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships and Environments Essentials, please visit
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. If you would like to request additional information about the California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative, please email
ivpb@cdph.ca.gov
Mission
Support and participate in mutually reinforcing activities and strategies across multiple agencies and stakeholders that work to optimize the health and wellbeing of all children in California.
Vision
All California children, youth, and their families thrive in safe, stable, nurturing relationships and communities where they live, work, and play.
The Role of Public Health in the Prevention of Child Maltreatment
Child abuse and neglect result from a number of individual, family, societal, and environmental factors. Child abuse and neglect are preventable —safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments are key for prevention. Preventing child abuse and neglect can also prevent other forms of violence, as various types of violence are interrelated and share many risk and protective factors, consequences, and effective prevention tactics.
Utilizing a public health approach, we can prevent child maltreatment before it starts.
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