Attorney General Andy Beshear today announced that the Child Victims’ Trust Fund helped pay for nearly 400 child sexual abuse forensic exams in 2016.
Beshear is encouraging Kentuckians to support the Fund through private donations, proceeds from the purchase of “I Care About Kids” license plates or donations made through the state income tax refund check-off program.
“One of the core missions of my office is to prevent and prosecute child abuse,” Beshear said. “We can only hope to end child abuse through the collaborative efforts of advocacy groups, government agencies, community leaders and by engaging families and Kentucky’s business community. The prevention activities and child advocacy programs supported by the Fund are critical to make children safer and to openly discuss abuse and the ways in which we can prevent it. And we must continue to impress upon everyone that it is their legal and moral duty to report abuse.”
Beshear created an Office of Child Abuse and Exploitation Prevention when he entered office in 2016.
The Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Board, which is administered by the Office of the Attorney General, is responsible for allocating funding from the Child Victims’ Trust Fund. It is statutorily created under Kentucky law as a 170(c)(1) nonprofit organization.
Last year, the Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Board approved $160,000 in statewide grants aimed at teaching parents how to discuss child sexual abuse with children and how to keep children safe on the Internet. The Fund helped support 394 children’s medical exams in 2016.
The Fund also helped support Beshear’s 2016 partnership to provide the most comprehensive statewide child abuse prevention training ever offered, training over a thousand law enforcement officers, county prosecutors, parents and child advocates on how to recognize the signs of sexual predators and intervene to protect a child.
To support victims of child sexual abuse, Kentuckians may visit their county clerk’s office and request an “I Care About Kids” license plate or check the box on their tax returns to designate a portion to the CVTF.
Story provided by: Kentucky.org