Child Abuse Awareness Month

Ihonestly believe one of the best things we could do is to eliminate the need for a Child Abuse Awareness Month, but here we are again. Some of this week’s article is carry-over from the last few years, but this is such an important issue that I felt inclined to lean on those articles to emphasize this dire need in our society. Children are our most valuable resources, they are our future, and unfortunately, they also tend to be our most vulnerable population as well.

April is Child Abuse Awareness Month and out of the myriad of things I get to do as County Judge, one of the most touching and heartfelt is to read my proclamation in support of Child Abuse Awareness on the lawn of the courthouse. Children who are the victims of abuse, endangerment and neglect. And they are often overlooked by our fast-paced society, but they shouldn’t be.

As I said in my proclamation last year, “child abuse and neglect affect both the current and the future quality of life of a community,” and “all children deserve to have the safe, stable, nurturing homes and communities they need to foster their healthy growth and development.”

All of us are responsible for making sure that happens. Through our partnerships among citizens, human service agencies, schools, Communities of Faith, health care providers, civic organizations, law enforcement agencies and the business community; we must all play a part. Often, we say this and selfishly get lost in our own lives. We must not let that happen.

In the past, we placed blue pinwheels on the grounds of the courthouse. Those pinwheels represent the 170 or so Milam County kids who are placed in foster care or were victims of child abuse in the year prior – 170 in Milam County alone! It is a very poignant visual representation of the crisis.

The four agencies that we have in Milam County who deal with the needs of our children are the Milam County CPS Board, CASA of Milam County, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Central Texas and A Place of Hope. All four of these nonprofi t agencies work to represent the children of Milam County, to provide the social support, i mpart t he k nowledge of child development and provide the concrete resources the community needs to ensure all children grow to their full potential. They need your help, whether monetarily or as a volunteer they need your help, for to help them is to help a child in need.

Children are our future, they are our promise, they are the loves of our lives, and they are the gifts that God has blessed us with. As the parents of eight children and the grandparents of two (with two more expected any day now), the Nurse and I are truly blessed with a large, sometimes loud, extremely loving, blended family that makes every day a special day that God has given us. Children truly are a blessing so while April is Child Abuse Awareness month, this should be a priority for us all, every day of every month.

As I have said since taking office, the safety and security of Milam County and its citizens should always be the most important thing to County Government. As your County Judge, I can assure you that this is my highest priority as well. As such, these children, who are our most valuable assets, should always come first.

I know the task seems large and the idea that one person can make a difference surely seems like a cliché, but remember, while no single person can solve the whole problem, each person can play a part and it’s up to each of us to do our part. Maybe, just maybe, if each of us does our part then we can eventually come to a place where a thing like Child Abuse Awareness Month is no longer needed. I pray that day comes sooner rather than later.

On April 11 at 9 a.m., we will have the annual proclamation read on the steps of the courthouse and there will be a Pancake breakfast at 8 a.m. to commemorate this as well as to raise money for CASA of Milam County. Please consider donating either some of your time or money to the fine organizations I have mentioned, they always need our help. For contact information check out these organizations on their Facebook pages or call our office at 254-697-7000 for contact information.