April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This is a month to increase awareness, and promote healthy families. Although it’s almost the middle of the month before I’m blogging about this, there are still plenty of activities going on, and ways to promote awareness.


Many states sponsor activities during this month, and other states have activities throughout the year. New York has a walk in October. California has a Children’s Day at the Capitol.

Here in Wisconsin, a radio station in Milwaukee runs the CAP Fund Care-A-Van for kids. For 4 days during the summer, they do remote broadcasts from all over Milwaukee and surrounding communities. They solicit donations, and have parents and children tell their stories. They raise, on average, $300,000 a year for the fund.

Most states run some sort of Blue Ribbon Campaign. Blue ribbons have come to signify child abuse awareness.

Child Abuse Prevention Month became a National event in 1982 when it became a presidential proclamation.

During the past several years, the blue ribbon has been widely recognized as a national symbol of child abuse awareness. This movement began in the spring of 1989, when a Virginia grandmother, Bonnie Finney, took a stand against child abuse after experiencing the death of her grandson. She tied a blue ribbon to her van as a memorial for her 3 year-old grandson, who was murdered by his mother’s abusive boyfriend. The campaign has grown, and others have joined her in using blue ribbons as reminders of the bruises of child abuse. Each year thousands of ribbons are distributed nationally to organizations and individuals interested in preventing child abuse and neglect.

So what can you do to help?

• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Ask for coverage and awareness of the statistics.

• Start your own blue ribbon campaign.

• Write to your legislator. Ask for tougher laws for child abuse, more awareness, faster TPRs, or whatever is needed in your state.

• Become active in a support group or mentoring program.

Continued in the next blog…. Links to child abuse prevention information.

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