CONTRIBUTED BY CHILD CARE RESOURCE CENTER INC.

LEE COUNTY —

The Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention are joining local and state leaders at Child Care Resource Center in Opelika on Jan. 30 at 11 a.m. to present a check in the amount of about $1.4 million to local grantee organizations in Alabama’s Third Congressional District.

“The Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention looks forward each year to participating in our annual district check presentations,” said said Sallye Longshore, director of the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention.

 “These events provide opportunities to highlight the outstanding work of our agency’s funded programs in each of the state’s seven congressional districts. These community-based entities implement evidence-based programs to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect in Alabama.”

The Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention, also known as the Children’s Trust Fund, provides annual funding to community-based programs across the state that are dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect. This year, the agency awarded a total of 175 grants statewide to a range of prevention efforts, including parent education, home visiting, fatherhood, mentoring, respite care and community awareness programs.

This check presentation includes 23 grants to local organizations working throughout Alabama’s Third Congressional District. The organizations funded include: Family Services Center of Calhoun County Inc., Chambers County Council for Neglected and Dependent Children and Youth Inc., Lee County Youth Development Center, Child Care Resource Center Inc./Employers’ Child Care Alliance, Evelyn Moon Crisis Shelter, Coosa Valley Youth Services, East Alabama Mental Health, Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement Inc., The Children’s Advocacy Center of Cherokee County, TEARS Inc., Teens Empowerment Awareness with Resolutions Inc., I Am My Brother’s Keeper, Ostara Initiative, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham and East Central Alabama United Cerebral Palsy Inc..

According to the 2021 Alabama Kids Count Data Book, there were 48,077 reports of child abuse and neglect in the state. The data also included 11,603 victims that year.

ABOUT THE ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT PREVENTION

The Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect, a state agency founded in 1983, secures resources to fund evidence-based community programs committed to the prevention of child maltreatment. The agency advocates for children and the strengthening of families.