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“One night, my 3-year-old asked me if she could sleep in my bed. I told her no. She said, “That’s not fair! Why does Daddy get to sleep in your bed?” READ MORE
charitable matters
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Some 70 staff members work on a wide range of challenges, from teen pregnancy and prevention, to the newly divorced. Editor’s Note: OC Family Magazine has expanded its long-running Helping Hand into a full page this year, entitled Charitable Matters. The purpose is to familiarize readers with 10 nonprofits that assist families in many ways. Churm Publishing, Inc. already supports four of the groups as part of the company’s ongoing outreach – Families Forward, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Human Options and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The others round out the circle. This month, we focus on the Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center. Programs, numbers, how to help Child abuse is costly: In Orange County, foster care per child averages $4,800 a year; an emergency shelter costs $96,000 per child, per year. Nationwide, the cost of child abuse and neglect is $94 billion a year. “Prevention is exponentially less,” says Kathy McCarrell. The center spends from $500-$700 a year per child served. Programs: Bridges for Newborns partners with hospitals to assist high-risk parents when they bring their baby home. Welcome Baby educates first-time parents. Tender Care assists families with young children ages 6 months to 12 years. Domestic Abuse Services Unit assists families struggling with domestic violence issues. There also are programs for newly divorced families; for teen moms; for children placed with relatives other than their parents; and teen dating violence prevention. To help: Attend the annual major fundraiser, Bright Futures Ball, to be held May 20. Join the Business Advisory Board, comprised of working professionals who advise, inform and help raise funds for the center. Sign up for the Jessica Erstad 3rd annual Not So Serious Golf Outing for women, June 19 at Dove Canyon Country Club. Reach for the Stars, a program to inspire young struggling mothers by pairing them with professional women in a half-day seminar. For information about helping: 714.543.4333 oBrightFutures4Kids.org. Kathy McCarrell quickly quiets a room full of business supporters with these words: “The numbers are out, and they’re worse than the year before.” The Child Abuse Prevention Center’s executive director is talking about the amount of abuse cases in Orange County, where even the number “1” would be too many. “Pain is pain,” she reminds. “There is a perception that we don’t have (problems) in Orange County.” Often she is asked: “How do you prevent child abuse?” Her answer: “It’s a very vast, complicated answer.” One way to address the tragedy is to understand the numbers, and learn about one of the nation’s largest, most forward-thinking programs addressing this topic. More than 36,000 children are reported on a county-run hotline each year; about 4,000 children are removed from the home, at least temporarily. County workers know where to send the children. And they know when to call McCarrell’s staff to help at-risk families cope. “The families that come to us are voluntary,” she says. They are looking for help, and looking for specific programs that will do the most good. It is well understood that most child-abuse cases go unreported. By some estimates, only about 10% see resolution. On top of that, the numbers are climbing rapidly, with Orange County’s increase alone some 32% ahead of 2002. Research continues on the rationale behind child abuse. It occurs across all economic levels and demographic profiles. And the most common denominator is that the abuser had a childhood that failed in many ways. “The first step to rebuilding is know that it is there,” says McCarrell. That is where the Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center steps in. Some 70 staff members work on a wide range of challenges, from teen pregnancy and prevention, to the newly divorced. Teens need to learn to be parents, and partners in a failed marriage have to know not to use the kids as pawns. The center works mostly within the homes of the more than 16,000 children and parents served each year. With an annual budget of $3 million, the center’s board has a five-year plan to double the size, in both budget and numbers of children and families served. |
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