A Letter From Our CEO

For more than 40 years, Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina (PCANC) has been raising awareness about how to prevent child maltreatment and building the capacity of professionals who support and strengthen families. The COVID-19 crisis has made our work more urgent. This pandemic has revealed the critical need to invest in and support families across North Carolina. It is now more evident that North Carolina’s family support system is inadequate. Yet, the science is clear that concrete supports for families – paid family and medical leave and financial supports like childcare subsidies – are foundational to building strong families to prevent child maltreatment.

As PCANC navigates this landscape, we’re building a new strategic plan with a focus on a stronger model for Board governance, continuing the Connections Matter initiative, and prioritizing an internal focus on racial equity through training and an organizational culture assessment. We are particularly excited to strengthen our support for prevention policy, explore a more meaningful role in preventing child sexual abuse, and continue to build statewide systems of support for home visiting and parent education programs – important work made possible by strong partnerships with like-minded funders, academic institutions, program purveyors, and other organizations. Together, we are confident that communities and professionals can make child maltreatment prevention a priority for North Carolina.

In this report, you will learn how PCANC is expanding on a foundation built on evidence, strong implementation support for family strengthening programs, and expertise in community engagement and social norms change. We are deeply grateful for the support you provide to make prevention a priority to build a strong foundation for our children and our state’s future success.

Sharon Hirsch, President & CEO