Child-abuse awareness was the theme of Saturday’s first annual fundraiser by the Dallas County Children’s Advocacy Council in conjunction with the 4RKids Early Childhood Iowa Area.
Although the council first planned the wine-tasting event in April, recent sad events in the Perry area gave the abuse-and-neglect theme a timely resonance.
Deb Schrader, executive director of 4RKids Early Childhood Iowa, and Diane England, secretary-treasurer of the Dallas County Children’s Advocacy Council, organized the event and lined up the sponsors, including the Penoach Vineyard and Winery near Adel, which donated the free use of its facilities, and the local band Exit 113, which played on behalf of kids.
About 40 people attended the three-hour dance party, sampling wines and nibbling on dainties supplied by the Hotel Pattee in Perry, another event sponsor. Other sponsors included Providence Place in Grimes, Hawkeye Breeders Services in Adel, Raccoon Valley Bank, Alley Auto Sales in Adel and the Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Center in Eldora.
Schrader said child abuse and neglect is as much a problem in Dallas County as anywhere else in Iowa or the U.S. She said there were 122 children abused or neglected in Dallas County in 2016, a 10 percent increase over the 2015 number of victims.
As the county’s population grows, the incidence of child abuse will likely increase as well, England said. She said 51 percent of the abuse cases in 2016 involved victims under the age of 5.
Awareness is the first step in prevention, England said. The Dallas County Children’s Advocacy Council collaborates creatively with the 4RKids Early Childhood Iowa Area, which also covers Adair, Madison and Warren counties as well as Dallas.
“Children who are raised in safe, nurturing environments are more likely to grow into responsible, contributing members of society,” England said. “For every $50 spent to treat child abuse, only $1 is spent to prevent it from occurring.”
The Children’s Advocacy Council holds a number of events through the year, with its April Child Abuse Prevention Month leading the way, but funding cuts have harmed the group’s programming efforts. Saturday’s fundraiser was intended to help offset the state’s withdrawal of support.
Mark Hanson, a member of the Dallas County Board of Supervisors, which has supported the Child Abuse Prevention Month activities for several years, spoke briefly to the crowd of about 40 about the importance of awareness.
“Let’s make a commitment,” Hanson said. “Speak up. Report what you see. We don’t want forced smiles in Dallas County but genuine smiles.”
