09 Aug Face It® adds St. Joseph Children’s Home and Volunteers of America as new partners

(August 10, 2016 Louisville, KY) – The Face It® Movement is proud to announce St. Joseph Children’s Home and Volunteers of America as its latest partners in the effort to end child abuse and neglect.

St. Joe’s serves children from all over Kentucky who have been victims of or witness to severe abuse or neglect.  St. Joe’s creates families not only for the kids in the residential treatment program, but also for dozens more children in Kentucky, and is as committed to the prevention of child abuse as they are to helping kids cope with its lasting effects.

“St. Joe’s is proud to be involved with the Face It Movement to work with a coalition of agencies and resources to keep Kentucky’s kids safe,” said Andrea Pridham, Development Director at St. Joe’s. “We’ve been a part of the Kosair Charities® family since 2015, and the Face It Movement was an obvious next step for St. Joe’s.”

Volunteers of America creates positive change in the lives of individuals and communities through a ministry of service. They recognize the power of working alongside leaders in the community where missions based on long lasting change align. Through programming focused on addiction recovery, including unique programs for pregnant and parenting women and the Family Emergency Shelter and Louisville Housing Services, VOA provides new beginnings and hope to families and children affected by difficult circumstances in life. Together with Face it, they will drive the movement to end child abuse and neglect by helping families through tough times.

“Collaborating with such an esteemed group of professionals who comprise the Kosair Charities Face It Movement is exactly the space Volunteers of America is proud to be in,” said Jennifer Hancock, President and CEO of Volunteers of America. “We serve 197 vulnerable children each year, and it is our precious responsibility to ensure their voices are heard and our community comes together to protect them. We are so honored to be part of this transformative group!”

Every year for the past five years, the state has confirmed more than 1,500 cases of abuse or neglect in Jefferson County and thousands more across Kentucky. Face It has compiled this and other information at its Jefferson County Child Welfare Data Dashboard, which has recently been updated and is available online at https://faceitabuse.org.

Since its launch, the Face It Movement has made strides in ending child abuse through:

• Advocating for the state to create and fund an independent, statewide External Child Fatality Review Panel to review every detail of when a child dies from abuse, to learn from the findings and identify how to prevent future tragedies.
• Passing and implementing a state policy to ensure all medical professionals are trained to recognize signs of pediatric abusive head trauma, also called shaken baby syndrome.
• Passage of a state policy that will ensure school personnel receive appropriate information on recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect.
• Trainings for youth serving organizations across the community on how to prevent child abuse and keep children safe in their programs.
• Launching a resource portal for childcare centers in Jefferson County with information on how to prevent and end child abuse.
• Ongoing community awareness campaign through various forms of media, educational materials, and events to educate the community on how to prevent and end child abuse.

St. Joe’s and Volunteers of America join more than two dozen organizations and public entities that have joined the Face It Movement since the initiative launched two years ago. Those dedicated organizations are: Archdiocese of Louisville, Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana, Boys & Girls Haven, Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) of the River Region, The Center for Women and Families, Community Coordinated Child Care (4-C), Department for Community Based Services, Exploited Children’s Help Organization (ECHO), Family & Children’s Place, Home of the Innocents, the Office of Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, Jewish Family & Career Services, Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Justice, Kentucky YMCA, Kentucky Youth Advocates, Kosair Charities, Lighthouse Academy at Newburg, Louisville Metro Police Foundation, Maryhurst, Neighborhood House, Our Lady of Peace, Peace Ed, Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky, Sunrise Children’s Services, University of Louisville Department of Pediatrics, Uspiritus, and YMCA Safe Place Services of Louisville.

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About the Face It® Movement: The Face It Movement, conceived and created in 2012 as a response to the public outcry against the increasing number of child abuse deaths in the Commonwealth, officially launched in April 2013 as a 10-year initiative led by Kosair Charities; its vision is that by 2023 all children in Jefferson County will be free from abuse and neglect. Face It directly addresses the increasingly unacceptable number of child abuse deaths in Kentucky with the promotion of best practices in child abuse prevention and intervention, engaging the community, and advocating for effective policies to improve the child welfare system. For further information visit https://faceitabuse.org.  Socially, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faceitabuse, Twitter: https://twitter.com/faceitabuse.

About St. Joseph Children’s Home: The mission of St. Joseph Children’s Home (SJCH) is “Giving Children a Home.” Since 1849, SJCH has provided a loving home to Louisville’s most vulnerable children – first orphans, and in later years those children removed from their homes due to neglect, abuse, domestic violence or substance abuse. Throughout their history, SJCH has served over 70,000 children who have been denied their innocence and childhood years, and for many, the basic needs of life. Through the years, SJCH has adapted to meet the needs of children and families. What started as an orphanage has evolved into three core services: a Residential Treatment Program for abused and neglected children; a Therapeutic Foster Care and Adoption Program for children birth to 21; and a Child Development Center for children six weeks through pre-K. SJCH is licensed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky Cabinet for Human Services.

About Volunteers of America Mid-States: Founded in 1896, Volunteers of America Mid-States creates positive change in the lives of individuals and communities through a ministry of service. Volunteers of America provides 39 diverse programs including addiction recovery, HIV prevention, homeless and housing, developmental and intellectual disabilities, and veterans’ services. These critical programs address the quality of life of over 20,000 individuals in Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Southern Indiana, and southern Ohio. Visit  www.voamid.org to learn more.