Celebrating Child Abuse Awareness Month

Each year, during the month of April, The Erma Rogers Head Start center celebrates Child Abuse Awareness Month.  According to the Child Welfare League of America, there were 8,136 victims of abuse or neglect in Mississippi in 2020, a rate of 11.7 per 1,000 children.  Those numbers are simply unacceptable to us here at ICS, Inc. Erma Rogers Head Start Center and it is our mission to ensure that children are protected, nurtured and loved.  Head Start children have lower rates of abuse and neglect and are less likely to be involved in the child welfare system, according to the National Head Start Association (NHSA).  Head Start provides parenting training opportunities, improves parent involvement and parent-child relationships, and decreases parental distress. For children already involved in the child welfare system, Head Start enhances school readiness and social-emotional outcomes and decreases their subsequent child welfare encounters.  Help us to END child abuse by speaking out!  Don’t be afraid to report suspected abuse, you could save a child’s life.  To report suspected abuse, call the Mississippi Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-222-8000.  Here are a few pictures of our beautiful staff and children helping to raise awareness against child abuse.