Melrose Resident Angela Della Pelle Being Trained in Triple P-the Positive Parenting Program through Children’s Friend and Family Services

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This month and throughout the year, Children’s Friend and Family Services  encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making the North Shore a better place for children and families. By ensuring that parents have the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to care for their children, we can help promote children’s social and emotional well-being and prevent child maltreatment within families and communities.

Research shows that when parents possess six protective factors, the risk for neglect and abuse diminish and optimal outcomes for children, youth, and families are promoted. The six protective factors are: nurturing and attachment,  knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development,  parental resilience, social connections , concrete supports for parents and social and emotional developmental well-being.

“April is a time to celebrate the important role that communities play in protecting children,” said Carla M. Saccone, Children’s Friend and Family Services President and CEO. “Everyone’s participation is critical. Focusing on ways to build and promote the protective factors, in every interaction with children and families, is the best thing our community can do to prevent child maltreatment and promote optimal child development.”

And there is valuable help available for all families, no matter how small or large the issue. Triple P — the Positive Parenting Program — is now available on the North Shore. Melrose resident Angela Della Pelle, an in-home clinician at Children’s Friend and Family Services,  is being trained this spring to provide Triple P to parents and caregivers. Pelle also served as a Clinical Supervisor and Family Intervention Specialist at Youth Villages as well as a Graduate Level Intern at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades, she received her Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Assumption College and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology form Framingham State College.

Triple P has been shown to promote the well-being of children and families, to prevent undesirable child behaviors and, ultimately, to prevent child maltreatment. Triple P offers many different levels of support that can help with everything from toilet-training to serious behavior concerns. The US Triple P System Population Trial found that making Triple P available to all parents in a county (not just those parents at risk) led to:

Fewer hospitalizations from child abuse injuries 

Fewer out-of-home placements 

Slowed growth of confirmed child abuse cases.

 “Triple P offers parents simple, proven strategies but leaves them in control of deciding which strategies are best for their own situation and needs.  I strongly recommend this program for parents to stay positive,” says Pelle.  For more information, visit childrensfriend.net.