Child Welfare, Law Enforcement Officials Take Part in “MANicure MovementSM” During Child Abuse Prevention Month

One in five children in the U.S. will experience abuse before the age of 18. On Wed., April 10, Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson united with other local law enforcement, government and business supporters for a MANicure in an effort to help Embrace Families end child abuse.

Embrace Families is the lead nonprofit agency overseeing foster care, adoption and other child welfare services in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. Its mission is to provide a safe and nurturing home for every child, free from abuse or neglect.

The organization kicked off Child Abuse Prevention Month in April by painting community leaders’ index fingernails in “prevention blue” to raise awareness that child abuse is a national public health crisis. Embrace Families launched the MANicure MovementSM locally in 2017 to spark conversation about the public health crisis in a visual way. The initiative is being introduced statewide this year.

The executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center Osceola was also on hand to discuss how the community can take direct action to support the well-being of children, and how the CAC Osceola program helps victims and their families from the beginning of a child abuse investigation through their journey towards healing after the investigation has closed.

Credit for this story goes to the Osceola Community Newspaper.