COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Earlier this month, board members of the Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Council of Branch County planted pinwheels at the Branch County Courthouse in Coldwater and also in Bronson and Quincy, to bring awareness to the increased number of substantiated child abuse cases in the county.
Wednesday, about 600 blue and silver pinwheels adorned a garden near the State Capitol as a symbol of Michigan’s commitment to prevent child abuse and neglect. With the theme “The Power of One,” the 10th annual Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Day rally in Lansing brought together the prevention community to draw attention to the nearly 38,000 children who were confirmed to have been abused or neglected in Michigan in 2017.
Governor Rick Snyder has proclaimed April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Michael Foley, executive director of the Children’s Trust Fund, which organized the event, told the gathering that “Through the strength of one action, one dollar, one person, one organization and, yes, one rally, we can make a positive difference in preventing child abuse and neglect in Michigan”.
The rally also addressed the importance of infant safe sleep. Parents and caregivers should place a baby on his or her back for every sleep time in a crib, bassinet or portable play yard. The baby should sleep in the same room, but not the same bed, as parents.
Each year, about 150 babies in Michigan die as a result of asphyxiation due to unsafe sleeping environments.
