April

The numbers are staggering.

According to a 2012 study by Prevent Child Abuse America, child abuse and neglect affects over one million children every year, costing our nation $220 million every day for investigations, foster care, medical and mental health treatment, special education and other future services.

But for every $50 spent to treat child abuse, only $1 is spent to prevent it from ever occurring.

That’s why programs like LSI’s Parent Pals are so important. As a new comprehensive approach to early childhood in Iowa, Parent Pals uses a centralized intake approach to connect families to an umbrella of local resources. With one call, a family can find the right support option for them, such as home visitation or other resources. Parent education and support are critical to preventing abuse or neglect.

Parenting is hard enough. So, let’s make finding support easy.

Pr. Doug Johnson, president & CEO, Des Moines