The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) recognizes April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This is a time for all parents, children, judges, legal professionals, social workers, corporate leaders, and court system stakeholders to pause and consider the significant impact child abuse can have in our communities and across the nation. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed April to be the first National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Since then, many public agencies and organizations around the country have organized activities and created resources to raise public awareness and provide detailed information on how to recognize, report, and prevent child abuse.
With an estimated 678,000 children found to be victims of child abuse or neglect nationwide last year, the NCJFCJ strives to provide judges, stakeholders, and communities with training and technical assistance to implement best practices and improve outcomes for abused and neglected children and their families.
Share to raise awareness for children and families
This year, the NCJFCJ is thrilled to offer a virtual pinwheel event for the month of April with sharable gifs and videos to share on your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media channels. Each virtual pinwheel shared represents a child who is a victim of child abuse and neglect.
In 2008, Prevent Child Abuse America introduced the pinwheel as the national symbol for child abuse prevention through Pinwheels for Prevention®. The pinwheel connotes whimsy and childlike notions. In essence, it has come to serve as the physical embodiment, or reminder, of the great childhoods we want for all children. The NCJFCJ’s mission is to provide judges, courts, and related agencies involved with juvenile, family, and domestic violence cases with the knowledge and skills to improve the lives of the families and children who seek justice.
Click below to download your virtual pinwheel in various social media platforms with some sample posts:
To support Child Abuse Prevention Month, I am sharing one pinwheel to represent one of the 678,000 children who were victims of child abuse and neglect last year. #NCAPM2020 #NCJFCJ #ChildAbusePreventionMonth #PassItOn
To support healthier families, I am sharing one pinwheel to represent one of the 678,000 children who were victims of child abuse and neglect last year. #NCAPM2020 #NCJFCJ #ChildAbusePreventionMonth #PassItOn
Instagram Stories
For the last couple of years, the NCJFCJ has participated in the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign. We planted pinwheels with members of the NCJFCJ including Judge Egan Walker, Judge Cynthia Lu, and Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam, and partner organizations the University of Nevada, Reno, Washoe CASA Foundation, Prevent Child Abuse Nevada, Bikers Against Child Abuse Nevada, Reno Aces, Reno 1868 FC, Children’s Cabinet, and Washoe County including the Child Advocacy Center, District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, Human Services Agency, and Commissioner Bob Lucey.
NCJFCJ Initiatives
The work of the NCJFCJ has several initiatives and programs so that judges in their communities can oversee positive outcomes in child welfare matters. The Child Abuse and Neglect Institute, created in 1996, provides training in dependency court best practices for judicial officers. This week-long program brings together national and local faculty to teach on core topics including hearing practice, child development, substance abuse, and cutting-edge court improvement developments, among other topics.
The NCJFCJ’s Enhanced Resource Guidelines serve as the national blueprint for education and training on child abuse and neglect practices. The Enhanced Resource Guidelines cover all stages of the court process, from the preliminary protective hearing until juvenile and family court involvement has ended, which leads to the child safely being returned home or placed in a new, secure and legally permanent home. Recently, the NCJFCJ added eight new court sites to apply practices from the Enhanced Resource Guidelines for a total of 24 sites nationwide, through the NCJFCJ’s Implementation Sites Project, which fulfills the goal of improving the outcomes for children in care. These Implementation sites are part of a more than 20-year history of the NCJFCJ’s work beginning with the original Resource Guidelines and the Model Courts Project, which took a critical look at improving court practice for children in care and their families across the country.
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