Families, Child Advocates Gather to Press for Focus on Child Abuse Prevention
On Tuesday, hundreds of parents and child and family advocates gathered at the state Capitol for the Children’s Trust Fund-sponsored Prevention Awareness Day. There, Director Nick Lyon of the Department of Health and Human Services said there were 35,000 victims of abuse and neglect last year, amounting to 95 victims a day; and that “We know trauma experienced in children has an adverse effect that lasts a lifetime.”
With the rate of child abuse and neglect rising in Michigan, the need for services to prevent and mitigate the impact of adverse childhood experiences including child maltreatment has never been greater. As the state co-chapter lead for Prevent Child Abuse America in partnership with the Children’s Trust Fund, Michigan’s Children advocates for better policies and investments that strengthen families to both prevent abuse and neglect and to support important family reunification services for those already involved with the child welfare system. Missing in Michigan is state investment in prevention services, which are funded largely through private donations and federal funds.
Matt Gillard spoke to Michigan Radio's Dustin Dwyer on this saying, “All these legislators run on this notion that children are a priority . . . and make all these campaign promises. But we are not seeing the level of support or commitment from our state government in these programs.”
Read/listen to Michigan Radio's story, How much money does the state appropriate for programs to prevent child abuse: $0
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