Today Attorney General Andy Beshear presented Family Nurturing Center with $43,000 to combat child sexual assault in Kentucky.
Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear presented the Family Nurturing Center with a $43,000 check at New Riff Distillery in Newport Tuesday. The grant funding came from the Child Victims Trust Fund (photos by Mark Hansel).
The funding will support the center’s Kentucky Stewards of Children Program that teaches adults to prevent, recognize and respond to child sexual abuse.
The two-hour program, developed by Darkness to Light, aims to trains 3,000 adult participants each year. In return, those participants are expected to impact more than 7,000 children and adults annually.
“It is a great honor to provide funding to support the Family Nurturing Center, an organization that shares one of the top priorities of my office – to prevent the abuse and neglect of Kentucky’s children,” Beshear said. “Our children are safer because of the effective strategies and programs it provides, and our families are stronger thanks to their workforce and dedication to their community.”
Beshear said he is thankful for the extensive and specialized services Family Nurturing Center provides children and families in Northern Kentucky. The center’s mission is to end the cycle of child abuse by promoting individual well-being and healthy family relationships.
“We are thrilled to have the partnership and support of Attorney General Beshear and the Child Victims Trust Fund,” said Jane Herms, executive director of Family Nurturing Center. “We believe that children’s wellbeing is an adult responsibility. Permanent cultural change in the way a community prevents and responds to child abuse occurs by educating adults and empowering individuals. This grant, and the support of the Attorney General’s office, is an investment in a better future for our children.”
The grant funding comes from the Child Victims Trust Fund, which is administered by the Office of the Attorney General’s Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Board.
Supporters of the Family Nurturing Center at Tuesday’s check presentation at New Riff Distillery in Newport.
Beshear’s office awarded nearly $160,000 in grants this year to Family Nurturing Center and four other statewide programs aimed at teaching parents how to discuss child sexual abuse with children and how to keep children safe on the Internet.
To further fulfill Beshear’s commitment to protect Kentucky children from sexual abuse his office teamed up with First Lady Glenna Bevin, the Department for Behavioral Health Developmental Disabilities and Intellectual Disabilities, the Kentucky Association of Child Advocacy Centers and the Department of Criminal Justice Training to create the “What Child Sex Offenders Can Teach You” training. This training is currently available to law enforcement, prosecutors, social workers, educators and other professional child advocates throughout 2016.
Beshear will speak at Barren River State Park in Lucas on Monday, Oct. 31, for the Southeast Regional “What Child Sex Offenders Can Teach You” training.
The Office of Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Unit is also working to hold those who attempt to prey on children online responsible and have arrested more than 43 child sex offenders since January.
To support victims of child sexual abuse, Kentuckians can visit their county clerk’s office and request an “I Care About Kids” license plate or check the box on your tax return to designate a portion to the CVTF.
Kentucky Office of the Attorney General
