April 6, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
DeKalb County needs more foster families.
Currently 51 children from DeKalb County, victims of child abuse, have been removed from their homes and are in state custody through no fault of their own.
To heighten awareness, recruit more foster families, and provide a fun outdoor event for the community, the DeKalb Prevention Coalition and the DeKalb Community Advisory Board hosted “A Day at the Park” on Saturday at Greenbrook Park in conjunction with Child Abuse Prevention Month featuring information stations from various partner agencies, games, and food.
“We just wanted to have a fun day at the park where families could come out and enjoy all the free things we had to offer. We also had the Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA) here and they worked the crowd giving out fake tattoos and stickers and played all these games with the kids today. We are thankful for the community’s support and we hope everyone continues to become foster families in our community. We definitely need foster families to help with the children in custody,” said Norene Puckett, Coordinator of the DeKalb Recovery Court and member of the DeKalb Prevention Coalition and the Community Advisory Board.
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“We have 51 children in state custody for child abuse. We are here to draw attention to that because it is Child Abuse Prevention Month and that is what we want..prevention,” added Lisa Cripps, DeKalb Prevention Coalition Coordinator.
Megan Kinslow, public health educator for the DeKalb County Health Department offered information and materials to discourage tobacco use and Elise Driver, Coordinated School Health Coordinator had special treats including a trail mix bar for Saturday’s event. Cathy Shehane, Director of the LBJ & C Smithville Head Start Center was on hand to share information about the program recruit more students.
Bikers Against Child Abuse, or BACA, is an international organization of motorcycle riders that works to create a safer environment for abused kids. Their goal is to empower children not to live in fear of the world in which they live.