Agencies share their role in keeping all kids safe
(Seguin) – It not only takes a village to raise a child. It also apparently takes a village to protect them.
The partnerships that exist in Guadalupe County to protect children from abuse and neglect were recently applauded during a meeting of the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court. The various entities that are 100 percent children shared their specific roles as part of the court’s observance and recognition of April as being Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month.
Christy Williams, the executive director of the Guadalupe County Children’s Advocacy Center, was among the first to speak at the podium. Williams provided insight to the advocacy center and it’s important role in serving children from all corners of the county.
“In 2022, 849 children were served, 536 forensics interviews were completed, 481 family advocacy sessions were completed, 1,857 therapy sessions to 157 children, 454 therapy sessions to 49 adults, 60 children completed our radKIDS personal empowerment and safety program so prevention so hopefully, we don’t have to see those kids come through our doors later and 138 children are working to complete a new prevention program that we implemented at Navarro ISD. It’s called Teen Safety Matters. It talks about mental health, abduction, abuse – all of the things that kids need to be talking about at their individual developmental level,” said Williams. We are also partnering with Seguin ISD to roll that out with them next year.”
Joshua Ray, chief deputy of the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office, also spoke on the role and commitment that the law enforcement agency has in protecting children.
“As many of you know, the sheriff serves on the board for the child advocacy center. The sheriff’s office continues to be involved with fundraising and in any aspect that we can be involved in. From personal experience, I’ve got a little bit of experience in working some of the investigations that criminally that we deal with, with child victims and I’ve worked with child advocacy centers not with just this one but throughout the state. These are victims who are often not in a position to fight for themselves so it’s critical that we have these services, that we have people who step up and who are willing to make this type of sacrifice to be their voice,” said Ray.
Guadalupe County advocates not only have a voice and active role locally but also extend that support throughout the region. That’s at least the case for Diane Anderson-Glover who serves as the Region 8 council president for the Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards. Anderson-Glover who advocates for not only Guadalupe County but the other 19 counties that she represents says work is being done everyday in support of children.
“During the fiscal year 2021-2022, there were 1649 intakes, 1,018 investigations completed, 26 children removed – average number of children in care for a 12 month period was 45. Families that were assisted with the Rainbow Room (a room having emergency donations such as diapers, clothes, baby items) was 87, the number of children assisted with the Rainbow Room was 116 and the number of children assisted with emergency funds was 80. The Guadalupe County Welfare Board is made up of volunteers between 8 and 15 members approved by the commissioner’s court and we really appreciate everything you do and continue to support us,” said Anderson-Glover.
Among the outside agencies who also step in to protect children in Guadalupe County is BELONG which stands for Building a better tomorrow for children and families. Representing the non-profit agency was Kane Jaggers who provided an even closer look at the numbers of kids who are affected by abuse, neglect, and trauma.
“BELONG is the lead provider of community-based care in the South Central and Hill Country region which includes Guadalupe County as well as 26 others. Essentially, we have consumed the responsibility of the Texas Department of Family Protective Services as it relates to legal case management and placement for children who have been removed from their home environments. Last year, there was nearly 57,000 children confirmed victims of abuse and neglect in the state of Texas. BELONG works to build up communities, pour back into those who want to be a part of the solution so we can ultimately keep children connected with their schools, families and friends and hopefully be able to return them back home,” said Jaggers.
Also, riding into town whenever a child needs them are members of B.A.C.A., Bikers Against Child Abuse.
Representing the San Antonio Chapter before commissioners was President “Seco.” Seco not only explained his name but a detailed explanation of how members are there to ensue that the kids feel safe.
“Seco was not the name my mom gave us. All of us ride with road names and it’s for a reason. It’s for anonymity. Our goal is to empower children to not be afraid of the world in which they live. Abused kids, we adopt them into our family. That’s how we do things. They get a road name. They get a cut (vest). They get people assigned to them that are with them every couple of weeks initially and it continues through their journey. If they go to court, we go to court with them. If they are afraid of court, we will go with the kids early and walk them through a courtroom and show them – this is where the judge sits. This is where the jury sits. This is where the (abuser) sits. It’s right by the bailiff. You see, you are way away from them. You don’t have to look at (him). Identify him and say ‘the guy with the ugly tie’ and after that, we will be there in that room with the kid if they want us and that is a key feature of what we do. It’s all up to the kid. Do they want us part of their journey?” said Seco.
Wrapping up the list of representatives that make up this village of protection for abused and neglected children was Jade Dimitri community engagement coordinator for CASA of Central Texas. Dimitri shared the group’s reliance on community members to be trained so that they can walk alongside the child throughout his or her court experience.
“At CASA, we provide trained, community advocates for the children in foster care so they have somebody as a support person for the life of their CPS case from beginning to end, a stable face, a stable presence and somebody to represent their best interest in court. Along with all of the other agencies and organizations represented here, we plan to have numerous activities throughout the month of April to continue our education, awareness and prevention efforts in hopes of ultimately working ourselves out of a job and ending child abuse. Until then, our goal is to provide 100 percent of the kids in care with a trained CASA advocate,” said Dimitri.
In its observance of Child Abuse and Prevention Month, Williams challenged the community to assist all agencies in their fundraising efforts throughout the year. She says the Guadalupe County Children’s Advocacy Center alone has events year-round if not monthly.
“We always can use volunteers. We have a wish list on our website for items and we are looking for sponsors and donors for our upcoming events. We have our online campaign for the month of April called Champions for Courageous Children so it’s a peer-to-peer fundraising platform. We have our Schertz Designer Purse Bingo that will be May 11, a casino night again on June 22 at the Bluebonnet Palace and then in July, we’ll have our Knockout Child Abuse Fiesta,” said Williams.
Awareness on child abuse is again visible this April with the planting of 13 pinwheel gardens on lawns across the county including on the lawn of the Guadalupe County Courthouse. Each year the pinwheels are displayed to illustrate the number of children serviced by the non-profit organization. This year, that number is 849.
Community members wishing to join the fight against child abuse and neglect are asked to contact anyone of the agencies mentioned and ask how they can also be a part of the village for kids.