Wood County Community Response to COVID-19

At a Glance

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic created conditions that increased well-established risk factors for child maltreatment while also limiting access to protective social supports. The Marshfield Child Advocacy Center (MCAC) partnered with the Wood County Department of Human Services (WCDHS), Wood County Resilience Coalition, and several Wood County school districts to support families through the pandemic as a means to reduce risk for child maltreatment.

The Challenge

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created conditions that increase well-established risk factors for child maltreatment while also limiting access to protective social supports. The Marshfield Child Advocacy Center (MCAC) partnered with the Wood County Department of Human Services (WCDHS), Wood County Resilience Coalition, and several Wood County school districts to take immediate action to support families through this time of crisis as a means to reduce risk for child maltreatment.

Project Goals

The goal of this project was to reduce the risk of child maltreatment in Wood County families as a result of parental stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant team sought to facilitate the development of long-term supportive relationships through ongoing contact with protective social supports to ensure that patients and caregivers have somewhere to turn when faced with difficulties.

Results

The grant team identified families experiencing unexpected or emergent needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic and assisted families by addressing identified needs by utilizing community resources when available. The team assessed and re-assessed family needs related to health, mental health, housing, utilities, bills, food, personal essentials, employment, childcare, transportation, medications, and other resources emerging as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to inform their approach. The MCAC and its partner agencies screened 124 families for COVID-19-related needs, provided $34,990 worth of assistance to at least 77 families, and ensured that numerous families were connected with supportive resources and additional benefits they qualified for. Additionally, due to requests for assistance from Portage County Health and Human Services on behalf of families in need, representatives from the county joined the project to expand its reach and assistance to Portage County families.

Lasting Impact

The grant team assisted in connecting families to long-term support services, such as the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program (WHEAP), a federally and state funded program that provides assistance for heating costs, electric costs, and energy situations.