Childrens Advocacy Center of Brevard Plays Active Role in Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Given the nature and mission of our work with abused children, The Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard plays an active role each year in Prevent Child Abuse Florida’s statewide Pinwheels for Prevention campaign in recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The month of April is known nationally as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Given the nature and mission of our work with abused children, The Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard plays an active role each year in Prevent Child Abuse Florida’s statewide Pinwheels for Prevention campaign in recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month.

As part of the observance, Children’s Advocacy Center and Child Protection Team staff and local child advocates representing the Child Abuse Prevention Task Force of Brevard will plant pinwheels at The Center for Collaboration, home of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard on April 1, 2019.

Jeanie Raciti, Director of the CACB will be reading the proclamation issued by the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners declaring April 2019 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Brevard.

The reason; each year, on average, there are over 9,000 reports of abuse and neglect received in Brevard County from the Florida Abuse Hotline. The most egregious cases of child abuse are brought to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard.

The Children’s Advocacy Center and Child Protection team staff and local child advocates representing the Child Abuse Prevention Task Force of Brevard plant pinwheels at The Center for Collaboration, home of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard.
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Last year, the Child Protection Team completed over 1500 abuse assessments at the Advocacy Center including Forensic Interviews and Medical Examinations in the most severe child abuse and neglect cases in our county.

The Advocacy Center’s Clinical Intervention Program therapists provided over 5,000 thousand hours of trauma therapy and psychoeducational services to child victims, siblings and non-offending caregivers, all free of charge.

Prior to the advent of Child Advocacy Centers, children were treated much like evidence… with many undergoing multiple interviews in law enforcement or other environments, and medical exams in hospitals.

Thankfully officials realized that this was not the best approach to take with victimized children, and there was a great need to look at other models to serve them.

Based on the premise that child abuse and neglect involve complex issues and require the expertise of many professionals to protect children, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard was established in 1996 as a means to improve our community’s response to child abuse and neglect.

The Children’s Advocacy Center and Child Protection Team staff and local child advocates representing the Child Abuse Prevention Task Force of Brevard plant pinwheels at The Center for Collaboration, home of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard.

The Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard is a collaborative multi-agency organization that intervenes in the most egregious cases of child abuse and neglect.

A program of the Space Coast Health Foundation the CACB, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard, provides a safe, non-threatening, child-friendly and supportive environment for child victims to share the often horrific details of their abuse.

A place where they can feel safe, ask questions, and ultimately be comfortable enough to discuss what happened and receive specialized trauma treatment.

A place where experts can medically evaluate their injuries, conduct forensic interviews, provide an evaluation of the maltreatment and coordinate recommendations for intervention to protect children and hold offenders accountable.

The Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard is nationally accredited by the National Children’s Alliance for providing quality services for abused children in our community.

The Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard is proud to support the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign and join in the national movement to change the way people think about prevention. Florida’s campaign creates awareness of the proven ideas that child abuse can be prevented.

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It emphasizes the importance of learning about healthy child development, supporting positive parenting practices and taking action on behalf of the children and families in our communities. The blue and silver pinwheels represent the happy, healthy childhoods all children deserve.

The Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard takes a lead role in coordinating pinwheel plantings with each of its core partner agencies that are part of the CACB collaborative including; The Child Protection Team of Brevard, the Florida Department of Children and Families, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and local Law Enforcement agencies, and the Office of the State Attorney for Brevard County.

The CACB also joins forces in partnership the Child Abuse Prevention Task Force of Brevard, an organization comprised of many other local organizations serving children and families in our community, in the Pinwheels for Prevention initiative to help spread a community-wide message about Child Abuse Prevention throughout Brevard County.

Together, the CACB and CAPTF can help prevent child abuse and neglect through awareness and support for community services and public policies that prioritize healthy child, family and community development.

There are several events and activities planned to spread this community-wide message that everyone can help prevent child abuse and neglect.

Please consider joining us at any of our scheduled Pinwheel Plantings throughout Brevard and support this Child Abuse Prevention campaign:

• April 5 is Wear Blue Day, Wear Blue for Child Abuse Prevention.
• April 6 is The Annual Dine Out for Child Abuse Prevention Month – a fundraising event to benefit the
Child Abuse Prevention Task Force at Squid Lips is from 5 – 8 p.m.
• April 13 is Cars 4 Kids fundraising event to benefit the CACB at the American Muscle Car Museum.

Through the use of Pinwheel displays, each community, business or organization can demonstrate its commitment to help Florida children live happy, healthy, lives and highlight programs and activities that promote healthy child development and prevention of child abuse.

The Pinwheels are symbolic and serve as a reminder of the whimsical carefree childhood all children deserve. It is our hope that planting Pinwheels for Prevention throughout Brevard County, sends the message that everyone has a role in child abuse prevention.

First, understand that everyone wants to provide and nurture their child in a positive, healthy environment, but sometimes parents need a little support along the way.

In a national survey, 94 percent of parents said they needed help of some kind; 86 percent said they would be grateful for services, childcare or other support. However, in a separate study, fewer than 20% of parents said they would actually seek help.

What can you do? We encourage everyone to take action to help families in your community.

We want to help people understand that it’s possible to share your talents and do things you enjoy —cooking, making art or music, reading, or playing sports—and, at the same time, help families in their community thrive.

Simple actions can make a big difference in a child’s life–and a parent’s as well.

Simple actions like these make a difference in a child’s life and help support parents while doing what you love:

• Love to read? Volunteer for an after-school reading program or book club—you’ll help kids develop important skills, build relationships and spark their imaginations, too.

• Love to cook? Give a new mom a break by bringing over dinner.

• Have a passion for sports? Coach a youth sports team to teach kids the value of teamwork—they’ll learn how to trust teammates and themselves.

• Love to host events? Organize a kid-friendly BBQ or a block party so parents can socialize without the stress of finding a sitter – social connections with other parents help to establish a strong support network.

• Want your voice to be heard? Contact your elected officials and urge them to support policies and programs that promote safe, healthy childhoods.

The CAPTF is focused on Prevention as their name implies and it is a task force comprised of numerous agencies and organizations including our CACB, throughout Brevard County who provide an array of services to children and families in our community and support child abuse prevention.

The mission of the Task Force is to work collaboratively with its member organizations for the purpose of coordination, cooperation, communication, and integration to promote the prevention of child abuse and neglect through community awareness and education.

For more information, call 321-241-6610 log on to www.CACBrevard.org

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