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Child Abuse Prevention
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month
In the early 1980s, Congress made a commitment to identifying and implementing solutions to child abuse. Recognizing the alarming rate at which children are abused and neglected and the need for innovative programs to prevent child abuse and assist parents and families affected by maltreatment, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives resolved that the week of June 6 to 12, 1982, should be designated as the first National Child Abuse Prevention Week. They asked the President to issue a proclamation calling upon Government agencies and the public to observe the week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. The following year, April was proclaimed the first National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Since then, child abuse and neglect awareness activities have been promoted across the country during April of each year.
Pinwheels for Prevention
In 2008, Prevent Child Abuse America introduced the “Pinwheels for Prevention” campaign, encouraging communities to plant pinwheel gardens, as pinwheels represent the “childlike whimsy and lightheartedness” that childhood should be. The pinwheel became the national symbol of child abuse prevention in 2009.
For more information about National Child Abuse Prevention Month:
About - National Child Abuse Prevention Month - Child Welfare Information Gateway
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month (preventchildabuse.org)
If you or someone you know are in need of support and/or resources or have questions about services in our area, please call Chemung County Children and Family Services at 607-737-5417 or the New York State Office of Children and Family Services H.E.A.R.S Family Line at 1-888-55HEARS. The Office of Children and Family Services HEARS Family Line (1-888-55HEARS) “assists families by providing resources and referrals to a variety of services such as food, clothing, housing, childcare, parenting education and more. Representatives are available to help Monday through Friday 8:30am-4:30pm.”