FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT
Annie Martinez
317-625-6005
AMartinez@childrensbureau.org
AES Indiana Building on the Circle to Feature Blue Lights for Child Abuse Prevention Month
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (March 31, 2022) – The AES Indiana building on Monument Circle will feature blue lights for three (3) days, beginning Friday, April 1, 2022, to kick off Child Abuse Prevention Month. Various activities will take place throughout the month to recognize the importance of communities working together to help prevent child abuse and neglect. Primary prevention is most effective at the community level, and everyone plays a vital role in keeping children safe.
The lasting effects of ongoing abuse on a child include developmental delay, eating disorders and physical ailments. It can lead to permanent physical injuries or death. Resulting behavioral problems can include aggressive or criminal behavior, drug and alcohol abuse and high-risk sexual behavior. Individuals often internalize and/or externalize stress reactions and as a result may experience significant depression, anxiety, or anger.
“The most important thing we can do is advocate for families by providing professional support and the identification of resources to promote family well-being,” Tina Cloer, President & CEO of Children’s Bureau + Families First explained.
In 2021, Children’s Bureau + Families First’s child abuse prevention program, Community Partners for Child Safety (CPCS), served 56,280 children in 27,355 families throughout 33 Central Indiana Counties. CPCS is a program designed to empower families. It works at the primary prevention level by increasing parental/guardian knowledge and helping to identify community resources to address basic needs. In-home support is provided to parents as they seek to learn healthy parenting skills, eliminate stresses that sometime lead to neglect or abuse and give children the opportunity to thrive. The program is making a difference: 99% of families who received CPCS services in 2021 had no reports of abuse or neglect for 12 months following the close of service. Client referrals are received from the Indiana Department of Child Services, hospitals, schools, churches and other community systems.
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About Children’s Bureau + Families First
Children’s Bureau + Families First is a private nonprofit with a mission of empowering individuals to build stronger families and communities. It exists to empower families with professional support and community resources to eliminate issues that lead to instability or entry into the child welfare system. It provides intervention services to help families who find themselves in the system due to abuse or neglect. The agency recruits and licenses foster parents, represents children in the child welfare system waiting to be adopted, provides post adoption therapy and support and provides support services to older youth aging out of the foster care system. In addition, compassionate treatment to individuals suffering from trauma, abuse, and substance use disorders is also offered.
Children’s Bureau and Families First merged in 2021. Combining our resources and expertise allows us to better serve the community by offering a more holistic approach to child abuse prevention, family preservation, youth placement, and recovery services. A new name will be announced on April 21, 2022.