Protecting Missouri Kids Is Something We Agree On

Client: Missouri Children’s Trust Fund

Client type: Non-profit foundation

Location: Missouri

Focus Audiences: Missouri adults and parents

Focus Issue: Child maltreatment prevention

Spirit

The Missouri Children’s Trust Fund was ready for a new way to approach child well-being. Instead of focusing on harm, losses, and risk factors, they wanted to uncover, share and build on positive norms and protective factors across several key issues, including child sexual abuse, corporal punishment, and safe sleep. 

Science

The Montana Institute began by searching the literature for how norms had previously been applied to these topics, and then assembled a team of subject matter experts to help develop a Positive Community Norms baseline survey. The survey was administered by telephone to adults ages 18 and older, with proportional samples collected across five regions of the state. The data revealed strong protective norms that could become the basis of communication-based interventions, including: 

  • 98% of Missouri adults agree that parents should teach their children to respect their own bodies and set personal boundaries. What’s more, 86% of Missouri parents and caretakers reported having had conversations with their children about their bodies and personal boundaries.

  • 94% of Missouri adults agree that there are better ways to discipline a child than to use physical punishment.

Action

Missouri CTF partnered with Bucket Agency to create a communication campaign centered around these main norms messages. TMI provided extensive training to the team at Bucket to ensure that their work was grounded in the Seven Step Model of Positive Community Norms Communications instead of in traditional, fear-based public health marketing. Bucket developed a positive, normative, and inclusive brand based around the idea that these norms are Something We Agree On. You can view the campaign materials at somethingweagreeon.org. Missouri CTF also offered mini-grants to regional organizations and agencies, providing funding for them to disseminate these materials at the local level. 

Return

These campaigns are currently live across the state, and we hope to partner with Missouri CTF to conduct a follow-up survey to evaluate whether these campaigns have corrected misperceptions or shifted norms that support that support child well-being.