On Friday, CYFD and Judge Jane Shuler Gray will host the annual Walk Against Child Abuse, which ends on the district courthouse lawn. This is part of the national effort to increase awareness of this ongoing tragedy. Every year, more than 6.6 million children are referred to child protection agencies. The United States loses four to seven children every single day due to child abuse and neglect. This is utterly unacceptable. Unfortunately, one of the many negative side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic was that many children were unable to get away from abusive situations at home. Issues such as unemployment and addiction only made this terrible problem even worse. 

The march begins at 9 a.m. Friday at the CYFD Office at 901 Debaca Street and will head to the district courthouse for a short ceremony. Events such as Friday’s walk help increase awareness and remind us that we need to do more to protect our children. Thank you to Staci Compton for all of her hard work organizing the event. We hope members of the public will join us. 

From the office of Mayor Dale Janway