‘Wear Blue on the Steps’ event advocating for child abuse victims held at courthouse
The Montgomery Child Advocacy Project hosted the event to recognize April as Child Abuse Prevention Month
Standing on the steps of the Montgomery County Courthouse, citizens at the forefront of advocating for children who are victims of abuse and neglect wore blue to recognize April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The “Wear Blue on the Steps” for Child Abuse Prevention Month event was hosted by the Montgomery Child Advocacy Project, or MCAP, on Friday.
“Here in Montgomery County, every month is Child Abuse Prevention Month because we care about kids,” Mary C. Pugh, executive director of MCAP, addressed several dozen people who attended the event. “We know that children’s voices are unique and they need to be heard to begin the process of healing.”
Sadly, Pugh said, every 10 seconds a child is abused and four children die each day from child abuse in the U.S. and 85% to 90% of those children know their perpetrators.
Formed in the late 1990s and officially becoming a nonprofit group in 2005, the child advocacy project is designed to provide free legal representation and social services to children who are victims of abuse and neglect.
Volunteer lawyers support and protect frightened, overwhelmed children as they navigate the court system. The child advocates address the needs of children who are victims or witnesses in cases of family violence when the interests of the child are in conflict with the rest of the
family.
Kate Daniels Imbesi, president of the MCAP board of directors, who has also served as a child advocate, said the nonprofit agency has served more than 9,000 county children since its inception.
“I’m both pleased and saddened to see where we are today. I’m pleased to see as a nonprofit how strong we are and how we’re able to represent every child that requires our services and we never turn a child away when that service is required,” Imbesi said. “But I’m also deeply saddened to see the sheer numbers
of children that we represent. And the numbers are shocking.”
Members of the county judiciary and the county commissioners attended the event.
“We are extremely proud of the MCAP legacy,” Judge Daniel J. Clifford, county administrative judge of the family division, said as he thanked the volunteer child advocates who represent children in court. “The work you do in our courtrooms every day is awesome. Your devotion to the children in our communities is an inspiration to all of us to give something
back. All of the time and the effort and the sound counsel that you provide to Montgomery County’s children is a gift to those children and to our court.”
Lawyer Marc Robert Steinberg, who was the organization’s first child advocate more than 20 years ago, proudly attended the event.
“I’m really, really proud of what has happened for the organization. It’s grown, just remarkably,” said Steinberg of the firm Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford in Colmar.
County Commissioner Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr.
said more than 6,440 cases, representing 9,165 abused, neglected or trafficked children, have been handled by MCAP since 2004.
“The negative, long-term effects of child abuse and neglect on innocent children’s lives are immeasurable and unacceptable. Children need adults who will speak out and break the silence and advocate for them, which is exactly what MCAP does,” Lawrence said. “Montgomery County is one of only three counties in the commonwealth to provide direct representation in juvenile court, orphans court, family court and criminal court and we have done so since MCAP’s inception in 2004.”
This year, the county provided $339,000 to MCAP.
“The county is committed to providing these services to victims even though we are not legally mandated to offer them, but because we believe they are essential,” Lawrence said.
Commissioner Jamila H. Winder said the work of MCAP is “critical,” adding that in 2022, MCAP staff attorneys and advocates donated more than 14,000 hours in direct legal services to abused and neglected children.
“We are lucky to have committed and compassionate, professional attorneys who volunteer their time to advocate for these children in our courts and social service agencies. As a mom, I can’t imagine how horribly traumatic it is for a child to have to experience any of these events. So I’m grateful for all the work that you do,” Winder addressed the advocates who gathered at the event.
Commissioner Joseph C. Gale said that since 2004 more than 2,000 lawyers have completed the training required to participate as advocates.
“That’s a remarkable amount of attorneys that dedicate so much time and effort to help the children across Montgomery County. As commissioner, I’m proud to support this organization and the critical work they deliver to protect society’s most innocent and most vulnerable, and that’s our children. And as human beings we have a moral obligation to protect them and defend them,” Gale said.