CHI St. Joseph’s Children News:
- After Three High Profile Child Abuse Cases In Five Day … CHI St. Joseph’s Children Calls For Vigilance
ALBUQUERQUE – The Largest Home Visiting Program in the state, CHI St. Joseph’s Children, calls upon all New Mexicans for vigilance and action to prevent child abuse.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and tragedies over the last several days have heightened the urgency to truly make our state a safe place for our children.
The cases of 5-year-old, Sarah, who was beaten to death; the 8-year-old girl critically wounded by a gunshot; and the 9-month-old who died because of child abuse were all preventable.
There are free services available to families such as home visiting that are proven to prevent child abuse and neglect. Many New Mexicans still do not know about the wonderful benefits of home visiting for parents from pre-natal to 3 years old. These interactive, supportive home visits deliver evidence-based practices for parents and children to achieve good health, well-being and school readiness. We should all be aware of the services and the support components which connect parents to resources such as counseling for behavior modification, food supplementation services, housing, healthcare coverage, child care … and more.
Non-profit Early Childhood agencies will gather at 10:30 a.m., Thursday at CHI St. Joseph’s Children, 1516 5th St. NW in Albuquerque to urge state leaders and the local public to become vigilante in preventing the abuse and the death of the youngest residents in our state.
There is a fear that tragic stories are becoming too common and are having a numbing effect that may be obscuring the urgency to create safe environments, and to give parents the support they need to embrace their responsibilities with joy and love.
