Stay on message. Narrow your message to one or two central points that you want to get across and stick to them. You do not have to explicitly answer every question a reporter poses. Answer each question in a way that reflects your key messages. Do not repeat something a reporter says that is not part of your point, even to disagree with it. For instance, by saying "child abuse is not just dramatic cases of parents killing children," you remind your audience of parents killing children.

Emphasize that April is about solutions to child abuse. It's about prevention, but don't leave the work "prevention" unexplained. Describe the solutions. Keep in mind reporters may try to move you back to drama and tragedy, but you can stress that child abuse is a problem with solutions that don't receive the attention they should. Explain the American public cares deeply about child abuse, but doesn't know what can be done about it.

Reporters will want statistics. Instead of supplying them with traditional child abuse statistics on reports, substantiations, and fatalities, give them stats on efficacy. What works? How many people does your program or a program you're involved with reach with services? What has been the impact of such services??

Letters to the editor are a great way to reach a general audience. Keep them short and focused and be sure to include a call to action, whether it is to support specific legislation or to learn more about a program.

Sample language
Here is some general language about Child Abuse Prevention Month that could be adapted for press releases announcing events, letters to the editor, or Web site announcements:

The month of April is devoted to celebrating everything we can do to transform our communities into places that care about—and actively support—families and children. By ensuring that all parents in our community have access to quality childcare, affordable health services, parenting education resources, and substance abuse and mental health programs, we make progress toward what the month stands for: April is Child Abuse Prevention Month.

The majority of child abuse cases stem from situations and conditions that are entirely preventable in an engaged and supportive community. A community that cares about early childhood development, parent support and maternal mental health, for instance, is more likely to see families nurturing children who are born healthy and enter school ready to learn. Cities and towns that work to create good school systems and who come together to ensure that affordable housing is available in good, safe neighborhoods are less likely to see stressed, isolated families who don't know where to turn.

Child Abuse Prevention Month is about connecting all of these dots so that the solutions to child abuse receive the attention the public craves. In a recent poll, 89 percent of Americans reported that child abuse was a "very important" moral issue to them. But it's not enough to care about the problem and address its consequences. We have to pay attention to the kinds of efforts that will prevent it from happening in the first place. So this April, learn more about what you and your community can do to support child abuse prevention. it's a shared responsibility and we're stronger together.