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Puppet troupe tells Logan County leaders their programs prompt child disclosures; presenters ask for two county-funded performances
Summary
Nonprofit Kids on the Block demonstrated its child-abuse-prevention puppet program and asked Logan County to fund two $515 performances; county magistrates said funding is typically included in the annual budget and indicated two programs are likely funded.
Presenters from the educational puppet troupe Kids on the Block appealed to Logan County Fiscal Court to continue county-funded school programs after sharing examples of the programs prompting children to seek help.
Sarah Kitchens, who identified herself as the grants manager and executive assistant, said the troupe travels the state presenting classroom programs for K–6 students on topics that include child-abuse prevention, mental-health awareness, substance-use prevention and bullying. Amanda Garrard, the troupe’s director, demonstrated a character from the child-abuse-prevention program and recounted instances where students disclosed abuse or behavioral issues following performances; in one case, two siblings disclosed sexual abuse and were removed from the home and later reported to be doing better in school.
Garrard and Kitchens asked whether the court would fund two programs for Logan County this year at a cost of $515 per program. Several magistrates responded that the court traditionally budgets for these performances and that they expected funding to cover two programs; one magistrate said money was already included in next year’s budget but they did not recall the exact line-item amount.
Court members thanked the troupe for the work and confirmed they would follow up through the budget process. No formal separate motion was recorded beyond magistrates’ statements that funding had been included in recent budgets.
