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Hernando County School Board proclaims April Child Abuse Prevention Month, partners with You Thrive Children's Advocacy Center
Summary
The board unanimously adopted a proclamation recognizing April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and heard from You Thrive Children's Advocacy Center about increased disclosures and school-based prevention work.
The Hernando County School Board on April 8 unanimously adopted Proclamation P25-006 declaring April 2025 Child Abuse Prevention Month in Hernando County.
Jill Colassa, the district's director of student services, introduced Lisa Becker of You Thrive Children's Advocacy Center, who read the proclamation and described the center's work. "When we allow children to be seen, heard, believed, and supported, we begin to create a safe and more resilient community for all of us," Becker said while reading the proclamation text adopted by the board.
The proclamation cited an increase in the severity of child abuse cases in Hernando County and said more than 3,203 children in the county were the subject of child abuse investigations during the prior year. You Thrive's director, Janine Keller, told the board the organization's school-based Child Safety Matters curriculum (Monique Burr's curriculum) has been delivered in elementary schools and that the partnership has led to more disclosures this year — from both concerns such as food insecurity and more serious abuse allegations — which the center said underscores the value of school-based prevention and reporting.
Board members accepted pinwheels from the advocacy center — a public-awareness symbol — and the district said it would encourage community participation in prevention activities during April.
No vote was required beyond the unanimous adoption of the proclamation, which the board approved 5–0.
