Intervening early in life and developing effective parenting skills are critical ways to prevent violence in the lives of children.

To teach positive parenting skills to parents and caregivers, APA launched the ACT/Raising Safe Kids program in 2001. Developed by APA’s Violence Prevention Office, the 8-week program focuses primarily on educating parents and other caregivers on how to create environments that protect children from violence.

The program has gained in scope and visibility over the past 15 years. It is now in 14 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 14 countries: Bosnia, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Turkey and Taiwan. In addition, in 2016 the World Health Organization, the CDC Division of Violence Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Head Start Office recognized ACT as effective in helping parents learn positive parenting skills that prevent child maltreatment.

ACT Changed Nicole Baker’s life. Read how: Nicole Baker’s story

Teach Carefully: We Can Show You How