New York State Lieutenant Governor, the Office of Children and Family Services and Prevent Child Abuse New York to Host Pinwheel Event for Child Abuse Prevention

Annual Observance Raises Awareness for Child Abuse Prevention

What:              NYS Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul,
                        OCFS acting Commissioner Sheila J. Poole,
                        PCANY Executive Director Tim Hathaway
                        with local elected and social services officials
                        mark Child Abuse Prevention Month
                        with Pinwheel event

Where:            West Capitol Park
                        (steps on the west side of Capitol)

                        Albany, NY

When:             Friday, April 15

                        10:00 a.m.

The New York State Office of Children and Family Services, with New York State Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and Prevent Child Abuse New York will observe April as Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month as proclaimed by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Participants will detail New York State’s prevention efforts and raise awareness with a pinwheel event at the New York State Capitol.

Since 2008, the pinwheel has been a national symbol of child abuse prevention. This event will raise awareness of what we all can do to protect New York’s most vulnerable citizens and enable them to live 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 can stop the abuse from happening in the first place.

Please join us on the West Capitol steps as we discuss the signs and symptoms of child abuse and how all New Yorkers have a role in reporting and preventing it. Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul 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.