Child Abuse Prevention Month

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and two local organizations are part of efforts to bring awareness and help those who need it. First a quick highlight of CASA:

Champaign County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) is a not-for-profit organization which recruits, trains, and monitors volunteers who advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children.

CASA volunteers work through the juvenile court system to facilitate prompt delivery of services and make independent recommendations to the court concerning the child’s well-being.

In addition to these volunteers their office is participating in the Pinwheel Project to raise awareness and funding to prevent Child Abuse. More at their website here. Last month the News-Gazette's Mary Schenk interviewed Rush Record, the executive director of CASA on her "Legally Speaking" podcast. Excerpt:

Besides two paid attorneys, you have volunteers assigned to cases. Who are they and what do they do?

They come from all backgrounds ... retired folks, working professionals. They have a heart to work with kids. Most have not worked anything close to abuse/neglect before. They simply applied, interviewed, passed the background check and did the extensive (30-hour) training.

These are people knocking on doors making sure kids are safe ... driving all over the state to see the kids, attending all the meetings. Ultimately, they have an opportunity to give a written report to the court which includes their opinion and recommendation. That's so unique, for a volunteer to have that input to a judge.

More excerpts and link to the podcast here. The Champaign County Children's Advocacy Center is also working on awareness efforts locally. From today's News-Gazette:

Children's Advocacy Center's 'Blue Kids' to reappear in April
Blue silhouettes of children will be reappearing in April outside businesses, homes and other places in Champaign County.

The county's Children's Advocacy Center places the "Blue Kids" as annual reminders of the unknown children who have suffered as a result of child abuse or neglect...

The Children's Advocacy Center said it interviews about 250 kids a year as a result of reports of sexual assault or serious physical abuse...

Anyone who suspects a child is being abused or neglected is urged to call the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Hotline at 800-252-2873 or report it to local police.

Full blurb here. More at their website here.