Child abuse prevention month
By Michelle Martin
STAFF WRITER
Child abuse prevention month
Parishes and schools all over the Archdiocese of Chicago once
again will distribute blue ribbons in April and encourage worshippers
and students to think about ways to prevent child abuse and to
remember its victims.
The effort helps remind everyone-clergy, staff and
parishioners-that the church works year round to protect children,
said Jan Slattery, director of the newly reorganized Office for
the Protection of Children and Youth. The office, which is housed
outside the Pastoral Center at 737 N. Michigan Ave., includes:
- the Safe Environment Program, which trains staff, volunteers
and children to prevent situations that could lead to child abuse;
conducts background checks on staff and volunteers; and trains
staff who are mandated to report suspected child abuse and neglect
to civil authorities
- the Office of Assistance Ministry, for support and assistance
to victims/survivors
- the Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review, formerly
the Office of Professional Responsibility
"We all work to keep children safe," Slattery said, explaining the
rationale in bringing the offices together. The office started the
Children Matter Network, a partnership of diocesan, civil and nonprofit
agencies dedicated to promoting and protecting the dignity
of children. That network, in turn, is promoting Child Abuse Prevention
Month with its blue-ribbon campaign.
The blue ribbon has served as a symbol of child abuse awareness
since 1989, when Bonnie Finney, a Virginia grandmother who lost
a grandson to child abuse, tied a blue ribbon to the antenna on her
car as a symbol of her commitment to fight child abuse. She chose
blue, she said, to remind her of her grandson's bruised body. The
story is posted on www.childrenmatternetwork.org, along with a
list of warning signs that a child may have been abused and list of
"words that help kids."
One of the partners in Children Matter Network is the Chicago
Children's Advocacy Center, which provides children and their
families with resources to begin healing after experiencing abuse.
Parishes can help by collecting "Change for Children" in April
to support the center, Slattery said. Parishes also can express their
commitment by including announcements in their bulletins, distributing
or displaying blue ribbons, holding prayer services or including
prayers for abused children in the prayers of the faithful at
Mass or blessing their children at the end of Mass.