[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 19851-19852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07957]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 5, 2016 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 19851]]


                Proclamation 9412 of March 31, 2016

                
National Child Abuse Prevention Month, 2016

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                All children deserve to grow up in a caring and loving 
                environment, yet across America, hundreds of thousands 
                of children are neglected or abused each year, often 
                causing lasting consequences. Although effectively 
                intervening in the lives of these children and their 
                families is an important responsibility at all levels 
                of government, preventing abuse and neglect is a shared 
                obligation. During National Child Abuse Prevention 
                Month, we recommit to giving every child a chance to 
                succeed and to ensuring that every child grows up in a 
                safe, stable, and nurturing environment that is free 
                from abuse and neglect.

                Preventing child abuse is an effort that we must 
                undertake as one American family, and in our schools, 
                neighborhoods, and communities, we must look after 
                every child as if they are our own. Between four and 
                eight children die every day from abuse or neglect, but 
                together we can prevent these tragedies from occurring. 
                Children who are being abused or neglected may display 
                constant alertness, sudden changes in behavior and 
                school performance, or untreated physical or medical 
                issues. Child abuse may take many forms, including 
                neglect and physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. More 
                information on preventing child abuse can be found at 
                www.ChildWelfare.gov/Preventing.

                All families can benefit from strong support systems 
                and resources in the face of these challenges, and as 
                parents, friends, neighbors, and fellow human beings, 
                keeping our kids safe is among our highest priorities. 
                My Administration is dedicated to fostering healthy and 
                supportive conditions that enable our children to 
                develop and thrive and that ensure parents and 
                caretakers have the resources they need to properly 
                care for their children. We are supporting efforts that 
                lift up vulnerable families, improve the coordination 
                of programs and services within communities, and 
                promote meaningful and measurable changes in the lives 
                of children across America to improve their social and 
                emotional well-being. The effects of child abuse and 
                neglect can negatively impact a child throughout their 
                life. Together, we must address this issue so that our 
                children and our children's children never know the 
                pain caused by child abuse.

                Our Nation's enduring commitment to prevent child abuse 
                and neglect demands that individuals and communities 
                partner together to provide safe and nurturing 
                environments for all of America's daughters and sons. 
                We must all join in the work of uplifting and 
                safeguarding our youngest individuals and ensuring they 
                are limited by nothing but the size of their dreams and 
                the range of their aspirations. This month, let us aim 
                to eradicate child abuse from our society, and let us 
                secure a future for our children that is bright and 
                full of hope, opportunity, and security.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim April 2016 as 
                National Child Abuse Prevention Month. I call upon all 
                Americans to observe this month with programs and 
                activities that help prevent child abuse and provide 
                for children's physical, emotional, and developmental 
                needs.

[[Page 19852]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and fortieth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2016-07957
Filed 4-4-16; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F6-P