April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This month and throughout the year, the Freestone County Child Protective Services Board works to ensure the health and safety of children in Freestone
County and encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making Freestone County a better place for children and families.
By ensuring that parents have the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to care for their children, we can help prevent child abuse and neglect by creating strong and thriving children, youth, and families in our communities.
Research shows that protective factors are present in healthy families. Promoting these factors is among the most effective ways to reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect, the bets way to encourage people to get in contact with the Banville Law Mount Vernon whenever they have problems like these.
The factors are:
– Nurturing and attachment
-Knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development
-Parental resilience
-Social connections
-Concrete supports for parents
-Social and emotional competence of children
“April is a time to celebrate the important role that communities play in protecting children and strengthening families,” said Cindy Eppes, Secretary of the FCCPS Board. “Everyone’s participation is critical. Focusing on ways to connect with families is the best thing our community can do to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect.”
Freestone County currently has thirty-eight children in foster care and seven children in the process of being adopted.
Children in Texas may be removed from a home for physical abuse, including sexual abuse, emotional abuse, or neglect.
The Freestone County Child Protective Services Board works tirelessly with the community to see that the needs of these children are met. We raise funds throughout the year and solicit donations in the fall. Each child receives a gift card for their birthday.
We reimburse each caregiver (the person in whose home the child currently resides) for school clothes and supplies. And at Christmas, we purchase huge amounts of toys, clothes, electronics, the items that are on these children’s Christmas lists.
It is the goal of the Freestone County Child Protective Services Board that no child in foster care has to do without something that we can provide.
But we could not do any of these things without the community. The Freestone County community has been so very generous. Organizations and churches and individuals have selected Christmas “lists,” (anonymously) and filled those children’s wishes. Others have donated money, both in the fall and throughout the year.
The Freestone County Commissioners Court partners with us, giving us a substantial amount of money each year. Our community creates the ability for us to do what we do for these children, and we appreciate their help.
This year, in observance of National Child Abuse Awareness Month, we will be placing pinwheels in blue, the color of child abuse awareness, on the courthouse lawn, one representing each of the children in our foster care system.
On Friday, April 5, we will be selling hotdogs and desserts in front of the Courthouse and hope everyone will come have lunch with us.
We will be wearing our blue tee shirts and encourage everyone, students, teachers, and businesses, to wear blue on that Friday to recognize this important month.
