Posted on Jun 29, 2018 in
NEWSWORTHY
Child Advocates of Fort Bend hosted a presentation at Arizona Fleming Elementary School during Child Abuse Prevention Month. Representing Child Advocates was Heather Rashid, Jackie Townsend, Leroy Hodge, Arizona Fleming Elementary School’s Destiny Parker and Jason Soileau, Metoyer Martin and Casey Davis. Several volunteers and sixteen of the agency’s 38 staff members participated either as presenters or by helping pass out important information on child abuse prevention to the teachers and students.
To Celebrate April Child Abuse Prevention Month, Child Advocates revamped its “30 Schools in 30 Days” initiative designed to promote child abuse prevention in community schools throughout Fort Bend County. “We developed the curriculum, trained staff to do the presentations and reached out to schools in Fort Bend and Lamar, ISD,” said Child Advocates of Fort Bend Volunteer Services Team Leader Casey Davis. The result: During the months of April and May, Child Advocates of Fort Bend staff members spoke to more than 15,000 students in over 27 Fort Bend ISD (FBISD) elementary and middle school students and area early childhood centers about signs of child abuse and how to keep themselves safe.
In addition to speaking to elementary and middle school students, Child Advocates of Fort Bend conducted six presentations to school staff, two presentations to parents and two presentations to groups of Fort Bend elementary, middle and high school principals about signs of abuse and best practice protocols for reporting abuse.
“We never imagined that we would get such an overwhelmingly positive response that it would require scheduling well into the month of May to accommodate all of the requests for us to come and speak to students,” said Child Advocates of Fort Bend CEO Ruthanne Mefford. “We are grateful to Superintendent Charles Dupre for helping us reach FBISD students and to all of the teachers, counselors and schools that participated. We hope that we can continue to work with them to keep children safe and let them know that we are here as a resource for them if they need us.”
Demand for Child Advocates of Fort Bend’s services increased 20% in 2017, and the agency is on track to see a double-digit increase in demand again this year.
For more information on how you can become a voice for children and get involved with Child Advocates of Fort Bend, contact Lauren Jordin at 281-344-5259 or ljordin@cafb.org or log onto www.cafb.org.
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