To the editor:
April is Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month. While child abuse and neglect occur all year long, we should all pay greater attention to it this month to bring a heightened awareness to the tragic affects it has on our most vulnerable residents.
According to the Maine Children’s Alliance, last year there were more than 4,000 substantiated victims of child abuse and neglect in Maine. One of the many heartbreaks of a child’s injury or death due to abuse or neglect is that it could have been prevented. The best-proven child abuse and neglect prevention are home visiting programs, like the Maine Families Home Visiting Program.
This is a voluntary program for all new parents with a particular emphasis on at-risk and teen parents. The program provides trained professionals who visit homes on a regular basis and teaches parents about the needs of their babies, coaches them through developmental milestone and guides them to keep children safe. They also help connect parents to needed community services. Children in the Maine Families program are up-to-date on immunization and well child check-up, and have both a primary care provider and health insurance. These are all positive outcomes.
As Caribou’s police chief, I can attest that child abuse and neglect takes a toll on families, and on our community. We also know how hard it is to break the cycle of violence without intervention. The Maine Families Home Visiting Program is a relatively inexpensive investment that pays great future dividends — in lives as well as dollars. It deserves continues support from policymaker in Augusta and from us here in this community.
I believe it is all our jobs, policymakers and the community alike, to protect our most valuable assets, our children, those who have no voice.
Michael Gahagan
Caribou Chief of Police
