Blue Sunday is Child Abuse Prevention Month finale

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

This Sunday, April 30, is Blue Sunday, the final observance in of Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month.

Supporters of the work to support prevention efforts in Burnet, Llano, Blanco, Lampasas and San Saba counties, as well as across the country will be wearing the bright blue that signifies their awareness.

The Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Bell Ringing Ceremony sponsored by the Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary Club and Court Appointed Advocates (CASA) for the Highland Lakes Area was held Monday, April 24, at the amphitheater of Johnson Park in Marble Falls. It was the third annual event.

The solemn ringing of the bell was conducted by Kristen Harris, executive director of CASA and 33rd District Court Judge Allen Garrett, a Rotary member; Leo Boutte, CASA volunteer and Rotary member; Teresa Greenburg of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and Judge Cheryll Mabray of the Child ProtectionCourt of the Hill Country.

Following a flag ceremony by Boy Scout Troop 284, Judge Garrett told supporters of children in this four-county area who suffer abuse that he had witnessed first-hand the important work CASA advocates bring to children going throuh the rigors of court.

“I couldn't be more proud to be part of that partnership,” said Garrett.

Galyn Woerner, CASA advocate coordinator, introduced keynote speaker Casey Tolbert whose family of four had fostered children removed by Child Protective Services and then adopted siblings who came to them under the age of two.

Touching only briefly on the heartwrenching circumstance their new family members had come from, he said heart ache and pain were involved in fostering children but there also were rewards.

“My wife and I accepted the gift of foster care in 2013,” he said. “When we said 'yes,' we said 'yes' to God as well.

“We were able to show them a glimpse of love an normalcy in a safe place.”

“This is us, the Tolbert Family,” he said proudly when he brought the whole family to the stage.

Garrett repeated the statistics he credited to the research of his wife, Sarah Garrett, director of the Phoenix Center for children of abuse: “Texas ranks in the top five in the nation in child abuse and numbers in our area are 2.2 times greater than anywhere else in Texas.

“We have to make sure we, more and more, we break those cycles of abuse,” he said.

Judge Kirk D. Noaker, Sr., Burnet County magistrate, Indigent Defense coordinator and mental health liaison, had brought his young son, T.J., to the ceremony. Almost as young as the adopted foster children introduced, T.J., joined in the scattering of red roses into Backbone Creek, one for each foster child in the Highland Lakes Area.

Other groups dedicated to the protection of children, the Burnet County Child Welfare Board (BCCWB), the Hill Country Children's Advocacy Center (HCCA), and Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworkers will be on hand also for the signing of a proclamation at the Burnet County Commissioners Court Tuesday, April 11, and other similar city events throughout the month.

The are calling on everyone to observe Blue Sunday, April 30, by wearing the color blue in support of the cause.

“We are encouraging area churches to include something about child abuse awareness and prevention in their bulletins,” said Caroline Ragsdill, president of BCCWB.

“The purpose of setting aside the month and special days is to bring awareness to people that, yes, it does exist, and right here where you live,” Ragsdill explained. “If you suspect abuse or neglect, you have a duty by law to report it. That can be done anonymously by calling 800-252-5400.”

The BCCWB is appointed by the commissioners court and receives some financial support from them.

“But, work also depends greatly on volunteers and donations to provide for the needs of children,” said Ragsdill. “When children are removed from their families by CPS, they often come into care with just the clothes on their backs,” said Ragsdill. “We provide a blue duffle bag with clothing, blankets, stuffed animals, a book, a toy and toiletries. We provide birthday and Christmas gifts and help with graduation expenses and college of trade school scholarships.”

“We help with any special request from a CPS caseworker,” Ragsdill added. “Sometimes, if a child remains at home, that includes a bed for a child who would be sleeping on the floor or fire extinguishers and smoke alarms to bring homes to compliance with CPS standers.

HCCA works with identification of abuse victims and counseling for them. Like BCCWB, CASA fills gaps as children go into foster care, training volunteers to shepherd victims through the legal system.

“The main goal of all the organizations is is protection of our most vulnerable children and keeping their lives as 'normal' as possible,” said Ragsdill.

Go Blue Day, observed April 11, and Blue Sunday have grown out of a 1989 blue ribbon campaign launched by a Virginia grandmother in tribute to her grandson, who died at the age of three at the hands of his mother's abusive boyfriend. Blue represents the bruises the boy suffered. Since then, concerned citizens all over the country have worn the color as a symbol of the need to be aware and prevent child abuse and neglect.