[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 53 (Thursday, March 29, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING McMAHON/RYAN CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER DURING CHILD ABUSE 
                      AWARENESS & PREVENTION MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN KATKO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2018

  Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize April as Child 
Abuse Awareness & Prevention Month and to honor the tremendous work of 
McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center in Syracuse, New York.
  According to the Department of Health and Human Services, over 
683,000 children were victims of child abuse or neglect in 2015, a 
number that has held steady for years. Additionally, 1,670 children 
died from child abuse or neglect in 2015 and according to the National 
Child Traumatic Stress Network, the majority of these deaths could have 
been prevented.
  Since 1983, April has been designated as Child Abuse Awareness & 
Prevention month. In recent years, the focus of the month on 
recognition and prevention has expanded to include promoting healthier 
parenting and strong families.
  In Central New York, we are incredibly fortunate to have McMahon/Ryan 
Child Advocacy Center as a strong resource. This organization works to 
prevent child abuse and neglect and to provide care and support for 
those who have endured abuse. The goal of McMahon/Ryan is to end child 
abuse, and to ensure that the community fully understands the impact of 
abuse.
  The McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center offers a variety of life-
changing programs which work efficiently every day to support victims 
of Child Abuse, and stop child abuse outright. Throughout the month of 
April, McMahon/Ryan will recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month with 
its annual ``Go Blue 4 Kids'' Campaign. In 1989, Bonnie Finney, a 
grandmother in Virginia began the blue-ribbon campaign as a tribute to 
her three-year-old grandson who had died at the hands of abuse. The 
blue ribbon remains a symbol of childhood abuse and neglect prevention 
across the United States. Additionally, the blue pinwheel is a national 
symbol of child abuse and neglect prevention. It stands as an uplifting 
reminder that all children deserve a happy childhood and future. 
Purchasing a pinwheel this month helps McMahon/Ryan contribute to the 
lives of children directly in our community.
  I encourage all Central New Yorkers to ``Go Blue'' during the month 
of April and to support the work of McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center 
to help end child abuse.

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