Transcript: Child Abuse Prevention Month Q&A (2022)
Prevent Child Abuse Florida Executive Director Chris Lolley answers general questions from Director of Communications Zoe Linafelt about Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Podcast Intro
[Upbeat acoustic music]
Chris: Hello! My name's Chris Lolley. I'm the Executive Director for Prevent Child Abuse Florida. In working with children and families for over 30 years in the field of child welfare, I find one truth stands out: Every person can play a role in protecting children and supporting families. Join me on The Pinwheel Podcast as I talk with other experts around the state about policies, practices, and programs that are making a difference right now for families in Florida.
Interview
Zoe Linafelt: Tell me about Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Chris Lolley: Child Abuse Prevention Month is a month-long celebration about -- not that child abuse and neglect exist; everybody knows that -- but what we can do about it. So, April gives us a chance to talk about all of those things.
So, we talk about adverse childhood experiences -- April gives us a chance to talk about positive childhood experiences. We talk about the bad things that happen to kids, the bad things that happen in families -- April gives us a chance to talk about what people can do to contribute to the prevention of abuse and neglect.
So, it could be being that one caring adult that is, in that child’s life, he or she can run to when they're crying, they can talk to them, they can tell them all about the bad things that happened. They have somebody to listen to them. Or they can be a coach, or they can be a guardian ad litem, or they can be a Big Brother or Big Sister. They can also mentor a child like a lot of people are doing, coaching youth groups, all those kinds of things. But they can also mentor a family and take in a family under their wing, so to speak, and giving them the support that they need to be able to stay together, to be able to keep the child with his or her parents, that's where they belong.
That's what April’s about is talking about all the things that people can do to contribute to the prevention of abuse and neglect.
Zoe: Where can listeners go for more information, and what sort of things can they download?
Chris: We have a ton of information on our website, PreventChildAbuseFL.org. Don't forget to put the “FL” in there or you'll wind up at the national organization, which is not a bad place to visit, but if you go to PreventChildAbuseFL.org, you can find our parent guides online, you can find advocacy guides online, you can order all our free resources right off the website. You can also find brochures, pamphlets, all that to order or you can download them right there on the spot. Things like, especially about what safe sleep looks like, how to establish a loving bond with your baby, how to cope with a crying baby, all those things that we know, and I know as a parent that are difficult to deal with sometimes. There's a lot of information there, too, on how you can get involved. And we have a list on there of 10 things you can do to prevent abuse or neglect. Those kinds of things I mentioned some of already, but in general, being supportive and supporting other agencies and supporting other groups in your community that are working with children and families. There's a lot of things they can find out by just going to the website.
Zoe: Tell me about Circle of Parents and what people can do to get involved.
Chris: Well, we know parenting, you know, you can kind of feel like you're in the desert by yourself sometimes, especially in those difficult times that I've mentioned. Circle of Parents is, simply put, a peer support group where parents get together -- not because they're told that they have to, not because they're court-ordered to -- but because they want to come talk to each other, share good ideas, share strategies around parenting, but also just to know that there's someone there who can identify with them. A peer, if you will, who can be there to listen but also be there to bounce ideas off of, someone that you can trust to be able to talk to.
We provide all the training to start those groups, we provide ongoing technical assistance, we provide materials every month to the groups so that they can talk about family finance, they can talk about co-parenting. That's a huge one, you know, for a lot of parents is, whether they're co-parenting with their significant other, with a child's mother or father, or whether they're co-parenting with a child care or a day care, or even works if you think about it as it applies to school. So, Circle of Parents is a great opportunity for people to get together and support each other.
Zoe: If people are driving around and they see blue and silver pinwheels, what's that about?
Chris: The pinwheel, I like to say, first of all, it's the symbol of Child Abuse Prevention Month. And everybody’s got a ribbon; we had a ribbon, too, until about 20 years ago, when we found that, really, instead of focusing on the negative and focusing on memorializing bad things that have happened to children, the pinwheel is an action symbol. It really pictures for us and symbolizes what we want.
It only takes a little bit of wind to make that pinwheel move, and it only takes a little bit of effort for one person to be able to help prevent abuse and neglect.
So, when you see the pinwheel, think “happy, healthy childhoods” -- those are the things that we want for kids.
Podcast Outro
[Upbeat acoustic music]
Zoe: Thank you for listening to The Pinwheel Podcast: Hope for Florida's Families. To contact us or learn more, visit PreventChildAbuseFL.org.
