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First Lady, CHFS Deputy Secretary Feeley join Family & Children’s Place rally for children

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 21, 2017) – Family & Children’s Place invites business and community leaders, human service organizations, faith leaders and others to join Kentucky First Lady Glenna Bevin, Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) Deputy Secretary Tim Feeley, agency leaders and other child service providers at the 2017 Rally to End Child Abuse. The rally, at 11 a.m., Wednesday, March 29, is planned for the lawn of the Big Four Bridge in downtown Louisville.

The rally is an annual event for Family & Children’s Place, Louisville’s leading child abuse prevention and treatment provider, and kicks off a host of activities during April, Child Abuse Prevention Month, including the agency’s April 18 child abuse prevention breakfast in Louisville. Partners from the Face It^® Movement also will participate in the rally.

Speakers will be agency President and CEO Pam Darnall; Deputy Secretary Feeley; Kentucky Atty. Gen. Andy Beshear, Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad; Kentucky Youth Advocates Executive Director Terry Brooks; Dr. Melissa Currie, medical director and chief at Kosair Charities Division of Pediatric Medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, and Kosair Charities Chair Jerry Ward.

“As an agency, we know how to prevent and heal child abuse,” said Darnall. “So this rally is about bringing together neighbors, businesses, schools, churches, government, healthcare, and child service agencies to affirm that we all have a responsibility to help protect children.

“We’re especially excited to have First Lady Glenna Bevin joining us again this year. Her commitment to children, evident in her work to see that more children have access to lifesaving help across the state is an inspiration.

“We’re also pleased to have Deputy Secretary Feeley join us. Every day, the CFHS team is on the front lines of providing the best and safest environment possible for Kentucky’s children,” said Darnall.

According to the 2016 report of the Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, 21 Kentucky children died from causes including beatings, blunt force trauma, head injuries, drug overdoses, suffocation, medical neglect and accidents with an impaired adult at fault.

Another 53 children nearly died from abuse or neglect during that period.

Family & Children’s Place is a partner in the Face It Movement^®, a Kosair Charities initiative to eradicate child abuse and neglect by 2023 that also includes agencies such as ECHO – Exploited Children’s Help Organization, the Center for Women and Families, Department for Community Based Services and others.

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About Family & Children’s Place
Family & Children’s Place protects Kentuckiana children, families and communities from abuse, neglect, and exploitation, and helps move them from hurting to healing.  We serve nearly 5,000 children and families annually through trauma-informed and impact-evident services.  For more information about Family and Children’s Place, visit www.famchildplace.org or call 502-893-3900.