Spring 2015 Newsletter - Marin Advocates for Children

30 N. San Pedro Road, Suite #275
San Rafael, CA. 94903
415-507-9016
www.marinadvocates.org
CAPC
Marin Child Abuse Prevention Council
Programs of MAC:
Child Abuse Prevention Council
Court Appointed Special Advocates
Like us on
www.marinadvocates.org
SPRING 2015
Follow us on
IN THIS ISSUE
Message From Our
Executive Director
Page 2 – Thank You To Our
Generous Sponsors
Page 3 – CASA Story and
Donors Come In All Sizes
Meet Our New
Board Member
Page 4 –Mark Your Calendars
How Can You Help?
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
HOWCAN
YOU HELP?
• $2,500 recruits and trains a new
CASA volunteer
• $1,500 provides supervision for a
CASA volunteer for one year
• *$250 trains 30 mandated reporters
• *$100 produces 20 training manuals for mandated reporters
• $50 helps to send a CASA child to summer camp
To make a donation
please visit our website: www.marinadvocates.org
or send a check to Marin Advocates for Children, 30 N. San Pedro Road, Suite #275,
San Rafael, CA. 94903.
Marin Advocates for Children
is a non-profit 501(c) 3. Tax ID 68-0170143
We are Walking for Marin’s Children
The Marin Human Race
Saturday May 9, 2015
Marin Advocates for Children will again have
a team walking in the Marin Human Race. This
year’s goal is to raise $20,000 – enough funds to
add 8 new CASA volunteers! Support team MAC
by donating to an existing team member or joining the walk yourself.
No amount is too small.
Go to http://www.marinhumanrace.org/goto/MAC
Go to the “Search for A Team Member” box on the right side and select
the team member you would like to support.
To sign up to walk yourself, click “Join Team” on the top right side of
the page and select the red button “ I want to Walk/Run” and follow
the instructions to set up your own online fundraising page
There are 35 children in Marin waiting for a CASA volunteer.
No child should have to wait.
Paula Allen, Chair
Laura Effel, Treasurer & Secretary
John Adlam
Robin Eber
Judy LeMarr
Rona Schmidt
Denise Thomas
STAFF
Cyndy Doherty
Executive Director
Laurie Good
CASA Program Supervisor
Suzy Bischalaney
CASA Case Supervisor
Kira Manrique
Office Manager
Danielle Lopez
Volunteer & Training
Coordinator
Mollie Squires
Development Coordinator
QUICK LINKS
www.marinadvocates.org
Like us on
Follow us on
April Is Child Abuse Prevention Month
I walk the Corte Madera Creek bike path
regularly and always marvel at how the view
changes depending on the weather and light.
Each morning is different.
Each morning is beautiful. It’s almost like living
in Paradise.
Almost. Last year approximately 1500 child abuse
reports were received by
Marin Children and Family Services. About half
required a ten day or immediate response. Approximately 80 children
were in foster care on any given day.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The 2010
National Incidence of Child Abuse and
Neglect Report to Congress states 3 times as
many children suffered maltreatment as were
actually reported. It is chilling to think there
are children in our neighborhoods who are
suffering in silence.
When we think of child abuse, we think
of horrific stories in the news. We think of
the family of twelve children, one who was
starved to death, right here in Marin County.
But child abuse is often more subtle than
that. It can be the child who comes to school
with occasional unexplained bruises on his
body. Or it is the hyper-vigilant child who is
always on guard because she is never sure
when her parents will get into a violent argument. It is the six year old child who must
care for her infant brother because her parents are unavailable due to substance abuse.
The emotional trauma caused by child abuse,
we are finding out, can literally change the
way the child’s brain develops. When the
brain is fully occupied in defending itself
against threats it has no time to actually learn
about the world in the way that a child who
doesn’t experience abuse can. The Adverse
Childhood Experience (ACE) Study shows that
children exposed to child abuse are much
more apt to succumb to drug abuse, chronic
illness, and die twenty years earlier than
those who did not have
child abuse as a factor in
their lives.
Why prevent child abuse?
Because by preventing
child abuse we allow children to reach their highest
potential.
I’m writing this article
because I want to get the
word out that April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. But let’s face it. Every month.
Every day. Every minute should be about
child abuse prevention.
What can one person do?
n If you suspect child abuse or neglect
call 415-473-7153 to report it or talk
it over with a social worker trained to
handle these reports.
n If you are a mandated reporter and
want to learn more about your obligation to report child abuse call Danielle
at 415-507-9016
n Find out more about becoming a
foster parent. Call Cindy Wasserman at
415-473-5028
n Become a Court Appointed Special
Advocate volunteer. CASAs follow an
abused child through the court system,
reporting to the judge what they believe
is in the child’s best interests. Call Danielle at 415-507-9016 to learn more.
n Most importantly, lend a helping hand
to your neighbor if she is struggling.
Stress can lead to child abuse. Empathize
with a parent who is having a difficult
day. Ask if there is something you can do
to help. Your act of kindness could truly
make the difference in the life of a child.
Passport To A Child’s Future
Meet A CASA Volunteer
Thank you To Everyone Who Made
Passport to A Child’s Future a Success
Everyone enjoyed the March 14, 2015, benefit and auction at the beautiful Peacock
Gap Country Club. Jazz Marin entertained the guests with great jazz music during
the cocktail hour and while guests enjoyed bidding on the silent auction items.
During dinner guests were moved by the stories of David Marin a single man who
adopted three foster children and former foster child Alexis Herrera.
Marin County Federal Credit Union
Special Thanks to our Sponsors:
Patron Sponsor:
Supporting Sponsors:
Orrick, Herrington &
Sutcliffe, LLP
Partner Sponsors:
Bank of Marin
Bradley Real Estate
Brayton Purcell, LLP
Main Street Research
Marin County
Federal Credit Union
Marin Sanitary Services
Mechanics Bank
The Pasha Group
Union Bank
Enjoying the silent auction.
Erica Jordon, CASA Volunteer and Ildi Hayman, CASA
Volunteer with their husbands
IN-KIND Donors:
49’ers
5 Little Monkeys
Ace Hardware
Alix & Co.
Alpha Dog
Arch Rival
Balboa Cafe
Banshee Wines
Barrel House Tavern
Beach Blanket Babylon
Belcampo Meat Co.
Benefit
Blake’s Auto Body
Bluebird Yarn and
Fiber Crafts
Blue Water Kayaking
Book Passage
B.R. Cohn Winery
Buena Vista WInery
California Academy
of Sciences
Campovida
Cartelligent
Casa Madrona Hotel
Cibo of Sausalito
City Cycle
Comforts Cafe
Sean Cope
Doodlebug
Dragonfly Cakes
Robin Eber
Eco Princess
Elizabeth Spencer Winery
Evo Spa
Farmshop
Fine Arts Museums
of San Francisco
Fish Rock Ranch
Frantoio Ristorante
Gail Pierce Photography
Garden Court Hotel
Gene Hiller Menswear
Ghilotti Bros.
Green Door Design
Marsh Hallet
Healdsburg Hotel
High 5 Salon
Hopmonk Tavern
Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch
Il’Davide
Insalata Restaurant
Jessie et Laurent
Joshua Ets-Hokin
Photography
Kimpton Hotels and
Restaurants
Kirsten Omholt
Kitti’s Place
KMW Glass Art
Lisa Lebow
Margaret O’Leary
Marin Brewing Company
Marin Symphony
Marin Theatre Company
Mark Herold Wines
Milvali Salon
Mojo Dojo Karate
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Peter Moorhead
Moylan’s Brewery
and Restaurant
Nick’s Cove
Osmosis Spa
Claude and Kathy Perasso
Piatti’s
Pizza Antica
Quail Lodge
C.J. Rendic
All California Mortgage
The Dutra Group
Hennessy Advisors
Judy LeMarr, Decker Bullock
Sotheby’s International Realty
Montecito Market Place
Sutton Suzuki Architects
Tamco Construction
Media Sponsor:
Marin Independent Journal
Thank you to the MAC Pack…
A Special Thank You to our wonderful
volunteers without whom the event would
never happen:
Lynne Doherty
Elizabeth Dunlavy
Shelley Friedman
Vicki Gross
Leslie Iorillo
Joanne Johnson
Aisha Kay
RAB Motors
Rent-A-Parent Services
Ricky’s
rockflowerpaper
Rustic Bakery
San Rafael Pacifics
Sarah Swell Jewelry
Seaplane Adventures
Sea Trek
San Francisco Bay
Adventures
San Francisco Zoo
Sewn
Silverado Resort and Spa
SkinSpirit
Sol Food
Tamco Construction
Erica Jordan
Melissa Lasky
Rona Schmidt
Deb Suhrke
Kris Tague
Amanda Wells
Tiffany Welter
The Spanish Table
Stacy Stewart
Face and Body
Studio 4 Art
Sunglass City
Sunrise Home
Susie Cakes
Sushi Ran
Sweetwater Music Hall
the girl and the fig
The Store
The Trident
Trek Wines
Triumph 4th Street
TuTu School
Dana Vilas
Vintage Wine & Spirits
Anne Bolen is a native of Long Island,
New York. She attended Dartmouth
College and University of Virginia
Law School and has
practiced law for over
25 years. She moved
to the Bay Area in 1986 and currently lives
in Mill Valley and practices real estate law in
Sausalito.
Anne has always loved children and enjoyed
working with them through various volunteer
activities. In 2000 Anne was speaking with a
college friend who was living in Chicago and
had left a job with a big law firm to do legal
work with underserved children and families. Anne was interested in pursuing similar
volunteer work and this friend encouraged
her to become a CASA Volunteer. When her
law practice slowed down during the recession, Anne found she had time to devote to
volunteer work and signed up for the Marin
CASA training.
Since 2010, Anne has had three cases – each
case unique and different. Anne’s initial
expectation was that being a CASA Volunteer would only be about the child, but
she has learned that it is about the child’s
family as well. In each of her cases, Anne has
developed empathy for the parents and the
struggles they have in their life. Anne enjoys
working with all the parties involved in her
cases – parents, social workers, foster families,
schools, attorneys, etc. Her experience has
been that a collaborative/team approach with
the common goal of helping the child and
the family is the most successful. Of all the
people involved in her cases, Anne believes
that the “CASA volunteers are in a unique
position – they have a lot of independence
and objectivity”.
Anne praised the support she receives from
her Case Supervisor, Laurie Good and Marin
Advocates for Children Executive Director
Cyndy Doherty. “Laurie has been a wonderful
supervisor – very insightful and supportive”
and Anne values the advice and guidance
she receives from her.
Donors Come In All Sizes
Westminster Presbyterian
For two Sundays in November, Westminster
Presbyterian Church of Richardson Bay in
Tiburon holds an Alternative Holiday Fair.
After the morning service, parishioners
adjourn to the Church’s meeting room
where there are tables set representing 6
to 8 different nonprofits in Marin County.
Each nonprofit has “gift cards” that people
can buy as holiday gifts for their friends
and family. For the last two years, Westminster Presbyterian has generously included
Marin Advocates for Children as one of the
nonprofits in their Alternative Holiday Fair.
We sell 3 gift cards; one to fill a foster child’s
backpack with school supplies, one to help
fulfill a foster child’s special wish and one
to help a college bound foster youth with
items for school. Ms. Meme Hurd and Mr.
Randy Hoyer, as members of the Church
Commission, enthusiastically encourage
their friends to buy our “gift cards” and
support the work of Marin Advocates for
Children. What a gift!
Sailors Support MAC
Saturday, October 11, 2014 five crews
raced in the Joan Storer Regatta out of the
Tiburon Yacht Club. This was a women skipper’s race and almost every yacht had an
all-female crew. Mariellen Stern, a member of the Tiburon Yacht Club and a CASA
volunteer, organized the race and a portion
of the entry fee was a donated to Marin
Advocates for Children.
In each of her cases, economics and the
down turn in the economy have been a large
stressor on the families and have played a
part in their becoming involved in the system.
Anne believes that as a community we need
to focus more on early intervention. Anne
feels that “it takes a village, a whole community to take care of our children and we need to
be better at reaching out to children and their
families earlier to prevent abuse and neglect
from happening in the first place.”
“Being a CASA Volunteer is one of the most
fulfilling things I have done in my life”. Anne
has worked in the corporate world and often
wondered how one person could truly make
a difference. After being a CASA Volunteer for
over 5 years Anne knows that “every CASA
makes a difference”.
Welcome Board Member
Tracy Henderson
recently joined
the Board of
Directors of Marin
Advocates for
Children. “Helping neglected and
abused children
who find themselves in the dependency system is a
passion point for me.”
Tracy is a trial lawyer with litigation and
trial experience on the administrative,
multi-state, and federal levels in a wide
variety of industries. She is currently a Senior Associate for AMLG, where she manages complex litigation and mitigation
matters on a national basis. While in law
school, Tracy became a CASA Volunteer.
In addition, she worked with the Judicial
Council of California to build a CASA
program in San Benito County.
Tracy lives in Mill Valley with her husband,
daughter, Lab, three cats, and a hamster.
For fun, she does Crossfit, travels, and
runs marathons with her latest marathon
being in Nice, France.
“I am honored to continue to serve the
needs of this special population as a
board member and a look forward to
helping it grow and prosper”
Passport To A Child’s Future
Meet A CASA Volunteer
Thank you To Everyone Who Made
Passport to A Child’s Future a Success
Everyone enjoyed the March 14, 2015, benefit and auction at the beautiful Peacock
Gap Country Club. Jazz Marin entertained the guests with great jazz music during
the cocktail hour and while guests enjoyed bidding on the silent auction items.
During dinner guests were moved by the stories of David Marin a single man who
adopted three foster children and former foster child Alexis Herrera.
Marin County Federal Credit Union
Special Thanks to our Sponsors:
Patron Sponsor:
Supporting Sponsors:
Orrick, Herrington &
Sutcliffe, LLP
Partner Sponsors:
Bank of Marin
Bradley Real Estate
Brayton Purcell, LLP
Main Street Research
Marin County
Federal Credit Union
Marin Sanitary Services
Mechanics Bank
The Pasha Group
Union Bank
Enjoying the silent auction.
Erica Jordon, CASA Volunteer and Ildi Hayman, CASA
Volunteer with their husbands
IN-KIND Donors:
49’ers
5 Little Monkeys
Ace Hardware
Alix & Co.
Alpha Dog
Arch Rival
Balboa Cafe
Banshee Wines
Barrel House Tavern
Beach Blanket Babylon
Belcampo Meat Co.
Benefit
Blake’s Auto Body
Bluebird Yarn and
Fiber Crafts
Blue Water Kayaking
Book Passage
B.R. Cohn Winery
Buena Vista WInery
California Academy
of Sciences
Campovida
Cartelligent
Casa Madrona Hotel
Cibo of Sausalito
City Cycle
Comforts Cafe
Sean Cope
Doodlebug
Dragonfly Cakes
Robin Eber
Eco Princess
Elizabeth Spencer Winery
Evo Spa
Farmshop
Fine Arts Museums
of San Francisco
Fish Rock Ranch
Frantoio Ristorante
Gail Pierce Photography
Garden Court Hotel
Gene Hiller Menswear
Ghilotti Bros.
Green Door Design
Marsh Hallet
Healdsburg Hotel
High 5 Salon
Hopmonk Tavern
Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch
Il’Davide
Insalata Restaurant
Jessie et Laurent
Joshua Ets-Hokin
Photography
Kimpton Hotels and
Restaurants
Kirsten Omholt
Kitti’s Place
KMW Glass Art
Lisa Lebow
Margaret O’Leary
Marin Brewing Company
Marin Symphony
Marin Theatre Company
Mark Herold Wines
Milvali Salon
Mojo Dojo Karate
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Peter Moorhead
Moylan’s Brewery
and Restaurant
Nick’s Cove
Osmosis Spa
Claude and Kathy Perasso
Piatti’s
Pizza Antica
Quail Lodge
C.J. Rendic
All California Mortgage
The Dutra Group
Hennessy Advisors
Judy LeMarr, Decker Bullock
Sotheby’s International Realty
Montecito Market Place
Sutton Suzuki Architects
Tamco Construction
Media Sponsor:
Marin Independent Journal
Thank you to the MAC Pack…
A Special Thank You to our wonderful
volunteers without whom the event would
never happen:
Lynne Doherty
Elizabeth Dunlavy
Shelley Friedman
Vicki Gross
Leslie Iorillo
Joanne Johnson
Aisha Kay
RAB Motors
Rent-A-Parent Services
Ricky’s
rockflowerpaper
Rustic Bakery
San Rafael Pacifics
Sarah Swell Jewelry
Seaplane Adventures
Sea Trek
San Francisco Bay
Adventures
San Francisco Zoo
Sewn
Silverado Resort and Spa
SkinSpirit
Sol Food
Tamco Construction
Erica Jordan
Melissa Lasky
Rona Schmidt
Deb Suhrke
Kris Tague
Amanda Wells
Tiffany Welter
The Spanish Table
Stacy Stewart
Face and Body
Studio 4 Art
Sunglass City
Sunrise Home
Susie Cakes
Sushi Ran
Sweetwater Music Hall
the girl and the fig
The Store
The Trident
Trek Wines
Triumph 4th Street
TuTu School
Dana Vilas
Vintage Wine & Spirits
Anne Bolen is a native of Long Island,
New York. She attended Dartmouth
College and University of Virginia
Law School and has
practiced law for over
25 years. She moved
to the Bay Area in 1986 and currently lives
in Mill Valley and practices real estate law in
Sausalito.
Anne has always loved children and enjoyed
working with them through various volunteer
activities. In 2000 Anne was speaking with a
college friend who was living in Chicago and
had left a job with a big law firm to do legal
work with underserved children and families. Anne was interested in pursuing similar
volunteer work and this friend encouraged
her to become a CASA Volunteer. When her
law practice slowed down during the recession, Anne found she had time to devote to
volunteer work and signed up for the Marin
CASA training.
Since 2010, Anne has had three cases – each
case unique and different. Anne’s initial
expectation was that being a CASA Volunteer would only be about the child, but
she has learned that it is about the child’s
family as well. In each of her cases, Anne has
developed empathy for the parents and the
struggles they have in their life. Anne enjoys
working with all the parties involved in her
cases – parents, social workers, foster families,
schools, attorneys, etc. Her experience has
been that a collaborative/team approach with
the common goal of helping the child and
the family is the most successful. Of all the
people involved in her cases, Anne believes
that the “CASA volunteers are in a unique
position – they have a lot of independence
and objectivity”.
Anne praised the support she receives from
her Case Supervisor, Laurie Good and Marin
Advocates for Children Executive Director
Cyndy Doherty. “Laurie has been a wonderful
supervisor – very insightful and supportive”
and Anne values the advice and guidance
she receives from her.
Donors Come In All Sizes
Westminster Presbyterian
For two Sundays in November, Westminster
Presbyterian Church of Richardson Bay in
Tiburon holds an Alternative Holiday Fair.
After the morning service, parishioners
adjourn to the Church’s meeting room
where there are tables set representing 6
to 8 different nonprofits in Marin County.
Each nonprofit has “gift cards” that people
can buy as holiday gifts for their friends
and family. For the last two years, Westminster Presbyterian has generously included
Marin Advocates for Children as one of the
nonprofits in their Alternative Holiday Fair.
We sell 3 gift cards; one to fill a foster child’s
backpack with school supplies, one to help
fulfill a foster child’s special wish and one
to help a college bound foster youth with
items for school. Ms. Meme Hurd and Mr.
Randy Hoyer, as members of the Church
Commission, enthusiastically encourage
their friends to buy our “gift cards” and
support the work of Marin Advocates for
Children. What a gift!
Sailors Support MAC
Saturday, October 11, 2014 five crews
raced in the Joan Storer Regatta out of the
Tiburon Yacht Club. This was a women skipper’s race and almost every yacht had an
all-female crew. Mariellen Stern, a member of the Tiburon Yacht Club and a CASA
volunteer, organized the race and a portion
of the entry fee was a donated to Marin
Advocates for Children.
In each of her cases, economics and the
down turn in the economy have been a large
stressor on the families and have played a
part in their becoming involved in the system.
Anne believes that as a community we need
to focus more on early intervention. Anne
feels that “it takes a village, a whole community to take care of our children and we need to
be better at reaching out to children and their
families earlier to prevent abuse and neglect
from happening in the first place.”
“Being a CASA Volunteer is one of the most
fulfilling things I have done in my life”. Anne
has worked in the corporate world and often
wondered how one person could truly make
a difference. After being a CASA Volunteer for
over 5 years Anne knows that “every CASA
makes a difference”.
Welcome Board Member
Tracy Henderson
recently joined
the Board of
Directors of Marin
Advocates for
Children. “Helping neglected and
abused children
who find themselves in the dependency system is a
passion point for me.”
Tracy is a trial lawyer with litigation and
trial experience on the administrative,
multi-state, and federal levels in a wide
variety of industries. She is currently a Senior Associate for AMLG, where she manages complex litigation and mitigation
matters on a national basis. While in law
school, Tracy became a CASA Volunteer.
In addition, she worked with the Judicial
Council of California to build a CASA
program in San Benito County.
Tracy lives in Mill Valley with her husband,
daughter, Lab, three cats, and a hamster.
For fun, she does Crossfit, travels, and
runs marathons with her latest marathon
being in Nice, France.
“I am honored to continue to serve the
needs of this special population as a
board member and a look forward to
helping it grow and prosper”
30 N. San Pedro Road, Suite #275
San Rafael, CA. 94903
415-507-9016
www.marinadvocates.org
CAPC
Marin Child Abuse Prevention Council
Programs of MAC:
Child Abuse Prevention Council
Court Appointed Special Advocates
Like us on
www.marinadvocates.org
SPIRNG 2015
Follow us on
IN THIS ISSUE
Message From Our
Executive Director
Page 2 – Thank You To Our
Generous Sponsors
Page 3 – CASA Story and
Donors Come In All Sizes
Meet Our New
Board Member
Page 4 –Mark Your Calendars
How Can You Help?
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
HOWCAN
YOU HELP?
• $2,500 recruits and trains a new
CASA volunteer
• $1,500 provides supervision for a
CASA volunteer for one year
• *$250 trains 30 mandated reporters
• *$100 produces 20 training manuals for mandated reporters
• $50 helps to send a CASA child to summer camp
To make a donation
please visit our website: www.marinadvocates.org
or send a check to Marin Advocates for Children, 30 N. San Pedro Road, Suite #275,
San Rafael, CA. 94903.
Marin Advocates for Children
is a non-profit 501(c) 3. Tax ID 68-0170143
We are Walking for Marin’s Children
The Marin Human Race
Saturday May 9, 2015
Marin Advocates for Children will again have
a team walking in the Marin Human Race. This
year’s goal is to raise $20,000 – enough funds to
add 8 new CASA volunteers! Support team MAC
by donating to an existing team member or joining the walk yourself.
No amount is too small.
Go to http://www.marinhumanrace.org/goto/MAC
Go to the “Search for A Team Member” box on the right side and select
the team member you would like to support.
To sign up to walk yourself, click “Join Team” on the top right side of
the page and select the red button “ I want to Walk/Run” and follow
the instructions to set up your own online fundraising page
There are 35 children in Marin waiting for a CASA volunteer.
No child should have to wait.
Paula Allen, Chair
Laura Effel, Treasurer & Secretary
John Adlam
Robin Eber
Judy LeMarr
Rona Schmidt
Denise Thomas
STAFF
Cyndy Doherty
Executive Director
Laurie Good
CASA Program Supervisor
Suzy Bischalaney
CASA Case Supervisor
Kira Manrique
Office Manager
Danielle Lopez
Volunteer & Training
Coordinator
Mollie Squires
Development Coordinator
QUICK LINKS
www.marinadvocates.org
Like us on
Follow us on
April Is Child Abuse Prevention Month
I walk the Corte Madera Creek bike path
regularly and always marvel at how the view
changes depending on the weather and light.
Each morning is different.
Each morning is beautiful. It’s almost like living
in Paradise.
Almost. Last year approximately 1500 child abuse
reports were received by
Marin Children and Family Services. About half
required a ten day or immediate response. Approximately 80 children
were in foster care on any given day.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The 2010
National Incidence of Child Abuse and
Neglect Report to Congress states 3 times as
many children suffered maltreatment as were
actually reported. It is chilling to think there
are children in our neighborhoods who are
suffering in silence.
When we think of child abuse, we think
of horrific stories in the news. We think of
the family of twelve children, one who was
starved to death, right here in Marin County.
But child abuse is often more subtle than
that. It can be the child who comes to school
with occasional unexplained bruises on his
body. Or it is the hyper-vigilant child who is
always on guard because she is never sure
when her parents will get into a violent argument. It is the six year old child who must
care for her infant brother because her parents are unavailable due to substance abuse.
The emotional trauma caused by child abuse,
we are finding out, can literally change the
way the child’s brain develops. When the
brain is fully occupied in defending itself
against threats it has no time to actually learn
about the world in the way that a child who
doesn’t experience abuse can. The Adverse
Childhood Experience (ACE) Study shows that
children exposed to child abuse are much
more apt to succumb to drug abuse, chronic
illness, and die twenty years earlier than
those who did not have
child abuse as a factor in
their lives.
Why prevent child abuse?
Because by preventing
child abuse we allow children to reach their highest
potential.
I’m writing this article
because I want to get the
word out that April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. But let’s face it. Every month.
Every day. Every minute should be about
child abuse prevention.
What can one person do?
n If you suspect child abuse or neglect
call 415-473-7153 to report it or talk
it over with a social worker trained to
handle these reports.
n If you are a mandated reporter and
want to learn more about your obligation to report child abuse call Danielle
at 415-507-9016
n Find out more about becoming a
foster parent. Call Cindy Wasserman at
415-473-5028
n Become a Court Appointed Special
Advocate volunteer. CASAs follow an
abused child through the court system,
reporting to the judge what they believe
is in the child’s best interests. Call Danielle at 415-507-9016 to learn more.
n Most importantly, lend a helping hand
to your neighbor if she is struggling.
Stress can lead to child abuse. Empathize
with a parent who is having a difficult
day. Ask if there is something you can do
to help. Your act of kindness could truly
make the difference in the life of a child.