Klinker: April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

INDIANAPOLIS – April is a time when flowers and trees start to bloom. It is the beginning of the season of hope. It is also a time when ribbons and pinwheels, all in blue, sprout throughout our community as they herald the arrival of Child Abuse Prevention Month. They, too, represent a renewal of hope, a hope for vulnerable children who face abuse and neglect.

One of my proudest accomplishments as a legislator was the authoring of a bill in 1989 to establish the Guardian Ad Litem and Court Appointed Special Advocate (GAL/CASA) program in Indiana.

Since that time, GAL/CASA has blossomed and is now in 78 of Indiana’s 92 counties. In 2013, 3,450 GAL/CASA volunteers advocated for 16,374 children.

Locally, CASA is a great success story under the leadership of Tippecanoe County Director Coleen Hamrick. Just before the legislative session ended, 26 local CASA volunteers and staff participated in the 3rd annual CASA Day at the Statehouse. More than 200 CASA volunteers from every region of Indiana attended that March 3 event. Two local CASA volunteers, Ellen Phelps and Audra Carroll, shared an inspiring story of Audra’s experience as a child in the legal system with Ellen as her advocate.

Supreme Court Justice Loretta Rush, a former Tippecanoe County Juvenile Court Judge, was a special guest speaker at the event. She thanked the CASA advocates for their dedication.

These Tippecanoe County women make me proud to be from our community.