Photo by Gary Lester Representatives of the Warren County Commissioners, Forest/Warren Human Services, Warren County Children and Youth, Family Services of Warren County, Warren County District Attorney’s Office, Juvenile Probation, Warren YMCA, Warren County Sheriff’s Office, A Safe Place, Warren County Victim/Witness Services, CASA of Warren and Forest Counties, and the Warren County Children’s Advocacy Center gather outside Warren County Courthouse on Monday to show their support for Child Abuse Prevention Month.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month.

“It is a time when individuals, schools, business, hospitals, religious organizations, and social services agencies join together to raise awareness of child abuse and neglect,” Warren County Children’s Advocacy Center Executive Director Melissa McLean said. “Since 1983, when April was designated as Child Abuse Prevention Month, communities across the country have used this month-long observance to increase awareness of child abuse and its prevention.”

“In Pennsylvania, 41 Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) provide a child-friendly response to child abuse that involves collaborative work across agencies, specialized forensic interviews and medical evaluations, victim advocacy, and trauma therapy,” McLean said. “Last year in Pennsylvania, 15,735 children came to a Children’s Advocacy Center because of suspected abuse; 75 percent of those cases involved alleged sexual abuse.”

“More than half of child victims served by CACs were under the age of 13,” she said.

Stakeholders including representatives of the Warren County Commissioners, Forest/Warren Human Services, Warren County Children and Youth, Family Services of Warren County, Warren County District Attorney’s Office, Juvenile Probation, Warren YMCA, Warren County Sheriff’s Office, A Safe Place, Warren County Victim/Witness Services, CASA of Warren and Forest Counties, and the Warren County Children’s Advocacy Center gathered outside Warren County Courthouse on Monday to show their support.

McLean said, “Together with our community partners, the Warren County CAC believes:

¯ Children come first. They are the experts on their lives and their experiences. They matter;

¯ Protecting children in our community ‘takes a village.’ We rely on our community partners, and each other, to provide trauma-informed collaboration and care to all our children and their non-offending caregivers;

¯ While the Warren County CAC helps to coordinate child abuse investigations, we strive to remain a neutral party, focused on the well-being of the child; and

¯ Prevention starts with awareness and education. It will take all of us to turn the tide in our community.”

“Child sexual abuse is preventable – and (parents and caregivers) are the first line of defense,” McLean said. “Learn more about the campaign to empower Pennsylvania parents and caregivers to have important conversations with children about bodies, boundaries, and behavior by visiting penncac.org/keep-kids-safe.”