We Are Up to the Challenge

CEO Reflects on Child Abuse Prevention Efforts

April 21, 2021

by Carol Deloach

St. Lucie West -

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and I am proud to report on the good work our community has done this past year to raise awareness for an epidemic that has plagued our children and families for decades.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes we’ve all made to accommodate our work around it, our community has seen a decrease in the number of children coming into care as well as the rate by which those children are removed from home. That tells me that the programs and services we put into place to strengthen families and prevent deeper-end involvement are working and that we have remained vigilant in keeping children safe.

Just last week, I read a report that shows our community is the third lowest in the state for removing children from home and the fifth lowest for the amount of time it takes to get children adopted.

Even more exciting, we are one of only four other Community Based Care agencies in the state to find permanency for children in less than 12 months.

We have room for improvement; we are also highest in the state for children placed out of removal county and fourth highest for those placed outside of the circuit. And of course, we still struggle with placing children in group care, albeit as a way to keep siblings together.

These are hurdles that we can and will clear. The work of child wellbeing is ongoing and as fluid as the socio-economic and environmental changes that impact the communities we serve.

Of course, change starts with awareness, which brings me back to Child Abuse Prevention Month. Take a moment during your busy day and give yourself a MANicure – paint one fingernail in prevention blue, and start a conversation with anyone curious enough to ask about how one in five children experience abuse.

Follow us throughout the month on social media, or come to our Drive-Through MANicure event during your lunch break on April 23. While you’re there, ask for a tour of the new Children’s Advocacy Center – a first for our area that I believe will have a significant impact on our system of care.

Last but not least, there is still time to sign up for the MANicure Movement Education Series, designed by our partner, Embrace Families, to prepare parents, educators, health providers, first responders and others to identify warning signals, intervene to offset abuse, and provide trauma-informed care.

Timely topics with esteemed speakers focus on root causes of child abuse and neglect, including: social media safety, addressing the opioid epidemic, and overcoming adverse childhood experiences. The next in the series is scheduled for 1 p.m., April 27.

To register: www.MANicureMovement.com/events