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| Header image from the CAPC Facebook page |
Each April, the Santa Barbara County Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC) promotes Child Abuse Prevention Month (CAP Month) to raise awareness of child abuse and neglect, and the actions that community members can take to prevent and mitigate it (check out this list for a few ideas). This year's theme is Unite for Kids: Volunteer, Reach Out, Speak Up.
This year's campaign brings numerous events to our county. There will be a Board of Supervisors Resolution, Pinwheel Plantings, Wear Blue Days, a Children's Memorial Flag raising, and more. Here's what's planned for the month:
April 1 - new CAPC website: CAPC kicks off Child Abuse Prevention Month with a brand-new CAPC website. It can be reached at PreventChildAbuseSB.org (or sbcapc.org or sbc-capc.org).
April 2 - Board of Supervisors Resolution: At its regularly scheduled meeting April 2, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will proclaim April 2019 as “ACEs Awareness and Child Abuse Prevention Month.”
April 3 - Pinwheel Plantings: Pinwheel Plantings are an annual CAP Month tradition. Pinwheels exemplify the innocence of youth. Groups raise awareness of child abuse in their area by coming together at a designated place and time to "plant" pinwheels in the ground. Each pinwheel represents 1 in 5 children suspected of being abused. The plantings are sponsored by North County Rape Crisis & Child Protection Center with support from First 5 and People Helping People, and they will occur throughout Mid and North County as follows:
- Lompoc: April 3, 8:00 a.m., City Hall Courtyard, 100 Civic Center Plaza.
- Santa Maria: April 3, 10:00 a.m., DSS, 2125 S. Centerpointe Pkwy.
- Solvang: April 3, 12:30 a.m., Veterans Memorial Bldg., 1745 Mission Dr.
April 4-5 - Wear Blue Days: DSS and CAPC are asking everyone to "Wear Blue for Kids": show your support for child abuse prevention by wearing blue for a group photo that can be shared on social media with the #WearBlue4Kids hashtag. The "official" day to post photos is Friday April 5, but to accommodate 9-80 schedules we'll be taking our "Wear Blue" group pics on Thursday April 4. On Thursday April 4 at 9:00 a.m. we are taking a group photo at the following locations:
- BSC: Cascade Room
- WRC: Mariposa Room
- Betteravia: Centerpointe Room
- Carmen Lane Conference Room B
- CDR: Atrium
- Lompoc: Apollo Room
April 6 - Economic Impact Study: A study on the economic impact of child abuse on our county will be released by the UC Berkely Haas School of Business and the nonprofit Safe & Sound. It is expected to find the cost approaches $115 million.
April 17 - RESILIENCE Screening: A screening of the acclaimed documentary film RESILIENCE, followed by a discussion about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), will take place at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
April 26: Symposium Presentation: CAPC director Barb Finch and CWS director Amy Krueger will give a presentation on best practices in child welfare an the importance of primary prevention at the Cottage Hospital Child Abuse Prevention Symposium at UCSB's Corwin Pavilion.
April 30 - Children's Memorial Flag: As a way to close CAP Month activities, the Children's Memorial Flag is flown in remembrance of children whose lives were cut short by senseless violence. The flag will be raised April 30 at 10:00 am at DSS CDR, with a brief address from local leaders. Stop by, and wear blue!
April 1-30 - Social media message of the day. The CAPC Facebook page comes alive one month a year to host a message a day (sometimes more) for Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the messages are intended to be shared by CAPC member agencies and other community partners as well.
About CAPC:
CAPC is a community council that coordinates efforts to prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect. DSS provides CAPC with administrative support, and DSS Children & Adult Networks Director Barb Finch serves as CAPC Director.