The Office of the State’s Attorney for St. Mary’s County teamed with partner agencies to spotlight National Child Abuse Prevention Awareness during the month of April.
The State’s Attorney’s Office and other St Mary’s County Child Advocacy Center Multi-Disciplinary Team members organized several special events, beginning with “Pinwheels for Prevention.” In early April, whimsical displays of pinwheels were placed in prominent locations such as Circuit Court and District Court to remind the community about the significance of fostering safe childhoods for our children. Pinwheels were designated in 2008 as the national symbol of child abuse prevention.
On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, Senior Assistant State’s Attorneys Sarah Proctor and Ashley Sowls joined community partners to accept a Proclamation from the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County that read, in part, “…effective child abuse prevention succeeds because of the partnerships created between child welfare professionals, education, health, community, and faith-based organizations, law enforcement agencies, our State’s Attorney’s Office, and families.”
As the capstone of the monthlong campaign, community members are invited to attend a short awareness ceremony and kickball game at Chancellor’s Run Regional Park at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 23, 2023. The ceremony will feature remarks from State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling, highlighting the work being done in the county to end the scourge of child abuse in our community. The game will feature players from the Office of the State’s Attorney, the Department of Social Services, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, the Maryland State Police, MedStar St. Mary’s, and Serenity Place, LLC. This good-natured competition is a fun and interactive way for the participating agencies to connect with the community and engage in meaningful conversations to effect needed change for the prevention of child abuse in our community. “We hope the community will come out to cheer us on,” said State’s Attorney Sterling, “but more than that, we hope the community will join us to end child abuse forever.”
