April is Child Abuse Prevention Month - Go Blue for Colorado Kids- Learn more at www.nestcac.org

Many of our area agencies recognize that healthy childhood experiences are not just good for children, but good for their communities as well. It’s simple really. The actions we take to promote healthy child development are the very actions that help to prevent child abuse and neglect. And healthy child development starts a chain of events that follow a child into adulthood. It leads to a more educated and productive workforce, which is good for community and economic development.

Unfortunately, children are sometimes exposed to intensive stress like child abuse and neglect. Too much stress is bad for anyone and can be devastating to child development. The NEST Child Advocacy Center hopes to change the way our community thinks about prevention, focusing on community activities and public policies that prioritize prevention right from the start to make sure child abuse and neglect never occur.

This shift represents our efforts to ensure the healthy development of children, while seeking to highlight the fact that we all play a role in raising children whether we are neighbors, teachers, police officers, librarians, mentors, coaches or family members.

Abuse and neglect often have lifelong consequences for a child, including a greater chance of delinquency, criminal involvement, drug addiction, chronic health problems, mental health issues and an overall drop-off in productivity of the individual as a functioning member of our communities.

As our nation recognizes April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, please take note of the resources in our Community that foster this shared mission.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month - Go Blue for Colorado Kids- Learn more at www.nestcac.org