CARES Gets $10,000 Grant

A $10,000 grant to K lamath-Lake Child Abuse Prevention Services (CARES) will be used to fund innovative child abuse awareness, education and prevention programs, according to a news release.

Half of the grant from Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation will underwrite new parenting programs at Sky Lakes Medical Center, where 1,000 babies are delivered annually, at Cascades East Family Medicine Center and at collaborative agencies.

Dr. Janey Purvis, a CARES child abuse examiner and educator, will train health care providers and staff to teach parents how to properly care for infants and toddlers. She will use materials from “Period of Purple Crying,” a curriculum used across North America to prevent adults from reacting inappropriately and harming crying babies.

The grant will also enable Purvis to train mandatory reporters, such as health care professionals, on how to better recognize and report signs of potential child abuse.

In addition, she will develop a nd present educational programs to high-risk parents about child abuse symptoms, appropriate vs. inappropriate responses, longterm effects, prevention methods, and community resources through collaborative agencies that already serve atrisk families.

“Last, but certainly not least, this grant will enable CARES to partner in a new, collaborative communitywide public awareness campaign called ‘Stop The Hurt,’ which will be launched in September,” said CARES executive director Ken Morton.

Printed in the Herald and News, July 30, 2010