This document summarizes a child abuse prevention campaign organized by University of Houston students in partnership with DePelchin Children's Center. It provides national child abuse statistics and discusses past, current, and future prevention efforts. It then details the students' 2014 campaign which included posters, social media, and distributing over 900 blue ribbons on campus to raise awareness about child abuse and support DePelchin's work. The campaign reached over 500 people on Facebook and received positive feedback from the campus community.

1. CodeBlue2014
University of Houston Bauer College of Business Project
Sponsored by DePelchin Children’s Center
April 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

2. 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.”

3. 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

4. NATIONAL STATISTICS FOR CHILD ABUSE CATEGORY
75%
15%
10%
Neglect
Physical Abuse
Sexual Abuse

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. Ribbon
Campaign
Posters
Social
Media
OUR
CAMPAIGN

13. #CODEBLUE2014

14. • Custom designed
poster
•Printed and posted
40 around bus stops,
poster pillars, and
classrooms

15. RIBBON CAMPAIGN
• 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.

16. 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.

17. OBSTACLES
• Weather
• EBay
• Approaching strangers in an appropriate manner
• Conflicting schedules

18. 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

19. RIBBON DISTRIBUTION AT THE UC

20. RIBBON TYING
• Interacting with all the employees
•Seeing how passionate everyone
is was very inspiring
•Helping out with DePelchin’s
cause

22. • Affected network
is over 1,200
strong
• Lasting impact
on and off
campus
CONCLUSION