Cameron, Wagers kick off Child Abuse Prevention Month in McLean – Messenger-Inquirer

State Attorney General Daniel Cameron made two stops March 23 in McLean County, alongside Heather Wagers, executive director for the Office of Trafficking and Abuse Prevention and Prosecution within the Kentucky Office of Attorney General, to kick off Child Abuse Prevention Month.

During the McLean County Chamber of Commerce meeting at the McLean County Extension Office in Calhoun, Cameron highlighted the work he and his staff have been pursuing to make sure protection of all residents in the Commonwealth is a priority.

“One of the things we have been trying to do since Day One is do the work of the attorney general's office without fear or favor,” he said. “… As the attorney general, I am often asked, ‘What is this role about? What is this job about?' The most distinct way that I can tell it is that we are in the protection business. We're here to protect you all as citizens …

“It's why I'm here today, to underscore and emphasize and stress just how important this is when it comes to child abuse and human trafficking ….”

Wagers discussed education and prevention initiatives in place, which includes partnering with organizations throughout the state, such as Kentucky Youth Advocates, Kosair for Kids, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and other child advocacy centers.

“It takes a tribe to help …,” she said. “When you think about all the children in McLean County that need help or just (support) …, I hope that you all try to do that for your community members, because we all need somebody to … lock arms with us and tell us it's OK.”

Wagers said Cameron held a roundtable discussion in the first months of taking office with all the child abuse prevention partners across the state to figure out where Kentucky stands.

“Sadly, we're still not where we want to be, but we used to be first in the country for child abuse and neglect prevention,” Wagers said. “Now we're sixth; so we're improving … but there's still more to be done.”

Wagers said efforts that have been made to combat child abuse include publishing a child abuse prosecution toolkit, which helps assist with successful prosecution of child abuse cases in the state, and educating communities about the safeguards in homes.

“Dangers lurk everywhere,” she said regarding the latter. “… Medications are the leading cause of child poisoning in the country. … One in six child fatalities in Kentucky, or near-fatalities, have occurred because of a child having (unsupervised) access to medication.”

Since 2015, Wagers said there has been a 350% increase in child overdose ingestion, and she hopes to see the rate decline.

“We have made it a priority to raise awareness and education …,” she said. “We've launched a safe medication storage campaign, and we're hopeful this education will start to reduce that number.”

Additionally, Wagers said children are “vulnerable to more insidious threats,” including predators and human trafficking, which spawned the idea of incorporating the office's social media to “spotlight” missing children.

During the 2022 reporting period, the state received 344 reports of child trafficking involving 399 child victims — a 67% increase in reports and 71% increase in victims compared to 2020.

“The longer a child goes missing, the more likely they're subject to trafficking,” she said. “… One in six children within the first 48 hours of running away are approached for sex trafficking.”

Efforts to combat human trafficking includes the statewide “Your Eyes Save Lives” campaign, which encourages every Kentuckian to help end human trafficking by watching for and reporting suspected human trafficking by calling local law enforcement agencies during an emergency situation or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

Pinwheel planting

Cameron and Wagers also stopped at the McLean County Courthouse in Calhoun to join Judge-Executive Curtis Dame, students from Calhoun Elementary School, the Children's Advocacy Center of Green River District and other community partners for the “Pinwheels for Prevention” planting ceremony — where attendees had the opportunity to show support for child abuse prevention and awareness.

During the ceremony, Dame proclaimed April 2023 as “Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month” in the county.

“The children are 30% of our population, but 100% of our future,” he said. “Child abuse and neglect is a serious problem in our society, affecting every segment of McLean County; and whereas our children are the most valuable resources and will shape the future of McLean County and the Commonwealth alike.

“Every child is entitled to be loved, cared for, nurtured, feel secure and be free from verbal, sexual, emotional and physical abuse and neglect. … Communities must make every effort to promote programs and activities that create strong and thriving children and families.”