“THE BEST TIME TO INFLUENCE A CHILD IS 100 YEARS BEFORE HE IS BORN” -- W. R. INGE

The mission of the CAP Center is to break the generational cycle of child abuse by equipping parents and caregivers for success.

CAP carries out its mission by providing educational and counseling programs for families and individuals at risk for abuse. CAP works to strengthen families by teaching positive parenting methods, supporting healthy parent-child relationships, and helping families find needed community resources. The CAP Center is a key provider of education and prevention services for at-risk children and families in Dallas County.

Over 5,000 children were abused in Dallas County in the last year on record. In 2005 alone, seventeen children died at the hands of an abuser. In 2006 the CAP Center served over 2,290 clients who were at risk for child abuse and neglect. CAP has served over 27,000 clients since its founding in 1993.

CAP's Parent Aide program offers intensive in-home intervention to at-risk families. CAP’s “Families First: Children Cope with Divorce” education program helps divorcing parents address the effects of divorce on their children, and offers children tools to identify and cope with emotions. CAP’s “Never Shake A Baby” Campaign offers high school students and child care providers methods to cope with a crying baby. CAP also works with pregnant teens in the highest poverty areas of Dallas County in its Healthy Families Dallas program. In-home parent training begins at the onset of a pregnancy and continues until the child is five.

It is vital that the community become involved in child abuse prevention efforts by supporting programs that reduce the risk of abuse to children like those of the CAP Center.