What:    
New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) acting Commissioner Sheila J. Poole, PCANY Executive Director Tim Hathaway, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and local elected officials and social services agencies mark Child Abuse Prevention Month with Pinwheel Garden Planting in Albany. OCFS will also unveil a campaign to raise awareness of home visiting services available to new and expecting parents.

Where:
Academy Park in Albany, across from Albany City Hall and Albany County Courthouse

(Rain location: City Hall Rotunda)

When: 
Monday, April 24 at 11:00 a.m. 

The New York State Office of Children and Family Services, with Prevent Child Abuse New York and the City of Albany will observe Child Abuse Prevention Month by planting a pinwheel garden and unveiling an advertising campaign for Healthy Families New York home visiting program for new and expecting parents. The pinwheel is a national symbol of child abuse prevention, representing the carefree and happy lives that all children deserve.

Research has shown that the effects of child abuse can last a lifetime. Aside from the physical scars abuse can leave behind, it can also impede an individual’s ability to trust and to attain attachments with others throughout life. For many survivors of child abuse, poor mental, behavioral and physical health, unhappiness, social isolation, failed relationships and difficulty maintaining employment can become a part of life. All New Yorkers benefit when we stop abuse from happening in the first place.

OCFS will also mark the occasion by unveiling an advertising campaign to promote the Healthy Families New York (HFNY) home visiting program. Research shows that HFNY-participating families have better outcomes. New or expecting parents receive supports and guidance through the program to make their families stronger and healthier.

Please join us in recognizing Child Abuse Prevention Month in Albany. Local dignitaries will distribute pinwheels to children at the event as a visual reminder to all of us of our need to protect and nurture New York’s most precious resource: its children.