LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Norton Children's officially opened its Center for Safe and Healthy Kids on Wednesday.
Located on the Home of the Innocents campus, the center will serve thousands of child abuse and maltreatment patients across Kentucky and southern Indiana.
It will be staffed with doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, a social worker and other clinicians specifically trained in identifying, treating, and preventing abuse and neglect.
“Our rates of child abuse and neglect continue to cause great concern, and we, as a community, need to play a vital role in protecting all children,” Russell F. Cox, president and CEO, Norton Healthcare, said. “This center will help address this systemic issue and offer a new level of care for our most vulnerable citizens. I’m grateful for our team and community partners who’ve worked so hard to make this center a reality.”
Officials said the center also will partner with Home of the Innocents on programming to offer expanded mental health, therapy services, parenting classes and prevention efforts to families and caregivers.
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Children’s Bureau “Child Maltreatment 2022” report, Kentucky’s rate of child abuse victims is higher than the national average. About 12 out of every 1,000 children in the commonwealth experience some type of child maltreatment. The US average is about 7.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Find prevention tips and how to identify abuse here.
In Kentucky, the number to call to report suspected child abuse is (877) KY-SAFE1 (597-2331). The National Child Abuse Hotline, (800) 4-A-CHILD (422-4453), offers professional crisis counselors who can provide intervention, information and referrals to emergency, social services and support resources. Calls are confidential. In Kentucky, everyone is mandated to report a reasonable suspicion that maltreatment has occurred.
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