Maryland Child Advocacy Center Hosts Community Forums at County Elementary Schools

The Cricket Center gathers the community to discuss child abuse prevention

National Children's Alliance
Washington, D.C.
Mar 11, 2010
11:00am

The Cricket Center, a Worcester County Child Advocacy Center and Associate/ Developing Member of National Children’s Alliance, is hosting community gatherings to discuss tangible ways of keeping kids safe. Worcester County was recently shaken in response to two high profile abuse cases that occurred in the region. In late February, a Delaware pediatrician was charged with sexually abusing over 100 children; and a registered child sex offender in both Maryland and Delaware was responsible for the kidnapping and death of 11-year-old Sarah Haley Foxwell. To further attempts at child abuse prevention, The Cricket Center is taking action by alerting parents of the problem and educating them about the signs of abuse and how to identify an abuser.

“There is a lot of fear in our community and we are doing what we can to provide families with information so they can better protect their children,” remarked Wendy Myers, Program Manager of the Cricket Center.

The five community forums will take place at Elementary schools throughout the county and discussions will be lead by the Worcester County State's Attorney, child protective service workers and law enforcement.

“As the national association for Child Advocacy Centers around the country, it is encouraging to hear that The Cricket Center has taken public action and is educating the local community on how to support prevention of such horrible acts,” remarked Teresa Huizar, Executive Director of National Children’s Alliance. “We commend The Cricket Center and hope for successful results.”

For more information, visit www.thecricketcenter.com , or contact Wendy Myers at 410.641.0097 or wmyers@dhr.state.md.us

###

The CRICKET Center is the 501(c)3 non-profit organization which supports the Worcester County Child Advocacy Center. Partnering agencies include Atlantic General Hospital, Local Law Enforcement, Life Crisis, Inc., Worcester County Board of Education, Department of Social Services, and State’s Attorney’s Office. The CRICKET Center is located in Berlin, MA. www.thecricketcenter.com

National Children’s Alliance (NCA) is a national association dedicated to helping local communities respond to allegations of child abuse in ways that are effective and efficient and put the needs of child victims of abuse first. As the accrediting body for the over 700 Child Advocacy Centers around the country, NCA provides training, financial support, technical assistance, leadership, national advocacy and access to current research findings on a national level to children’s advocacy centers around the country as well as numerous developing centers, multidisciplinary teams and child abuse professionals. As the national authority on multidisciplinary approaches to supporting child victims of abuse, NCA’s purpose is to empower local communities to provide comprehensive, coordinated and compassionate services to victims of child abuse. www.nationalchildrensalliance.org