Honoring Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month and to highlight the important work of Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky.

This organization is on the front lines to make sure that Kentucky's children are raised in a safe, loving home and are not abused, mistreated, or neglected. Their staff of eight train thousands of people annually. Their parent education groups, offered in every region of our Commonwealth, serve more than 10,000 people every year. Thousands of pinwheels will blanket the Commonwealth of Kentucky this month, all with the hopes of drawing awareness of child abuse and neglect in our communities, and there is much work to do.

According to the most recent national statistics on child abuse, an estimated 1,520 children died from abuse and neglect in the United States, and that was in 2013 alone. An estimated 679,000 children were victims of abuse and neglect, and those are unique instances. Children in the first year of their lives had the highest rate of victimization, that of 23.1 per 1,000 children in the national population of the same age. Just under 80 percent of reported child fatalities as a result of abuse and neglect were caused by one or more of the child victim's parents.

This is a personal cause for me. As the father of two girls and as the former president of the board of directors for Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky, I am incredibly proud of the great work that this group is doing for Kentucky children all year long. I hope all of my colleagues will join me in thanking Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky and similar organizations around the country as we recognize the critical work of these important groups and as we recognize the importance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

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