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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — According to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the rate of child abuse in Kentucky is higher than the national average.

In this Project CommUNITY report, the new leader of Family & Children’s Place said she is committed to fighting the problem while creating a safer community for everyone.

“Kentucky is now in the top five in terms of highest rates of child maltreatment in the country,” president and CEO of Family & Children’s Place Elea Fox said.

Fighting child abuse is a top priority for Fox.

“I think that’s our responsibility on Earth is to serve, and so I feel very, very privileged that I get to serve,” Fox said.

Fox took over as the new president and CEO of Family & Children’s Place in January after longtime leader Pam Darnall retired.

“I don’t think there’s anything that matters more, especially at this moment and our time in our community than not just serving kids, but also really being a backbone for them and their parents,” Fox said.

A big part of fighting child abuse is preventing it.

Fox plans to do that by building on the organization’s years of experience and existing services.

“And so these kinds of interventions that we can provide for vulnerable children and vulnerable families, lots of data that shows their entire life outcomes are better,” she said.

Family & Children’s Place opened in 1883 to serve homeless families and working mothers. Now, more than 140 years later, it’s serving thousands of children and families every year with waitlists for all of its programs.

“I think there’s just a lot more kids that need us. I do. I mean, I think there’s a lot of strength in the programs that we offer and the expertise of the staff. But I also just think there’s just a lot of need, and there’s a lot of need,” Fox said.

She plans to meet the growing need by examining ways to improve and add services.

“We are continuing to provide these services, but also that we are beginning a new kind of phase in our evolution, where we’re also going to think about a real care continuum for how do we make sure that the child who has experience neglect, the child who is at greatest risk for trauma, has all of the services they need, that it’s completely coordinated, that it’s that it’s more seamless for them walking through the process, and so the next 140 years we will really look at the whole kid instead of single services,” Fox said.

Family & Children’s Place will host an open house during the 2025 Rally to End Child Abuse at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 20, 2025, at its campus on 525 Zane St. in Louisville.

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