April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and the Langlade County Citizen Review Panel was hard at work Friday at the Langlade County Fairgrounds making a display of more than 400 pinwheels to show support of reducing the risk of child abuse and neglect. The display serves as a reminder of the great childhoods we want for all children in our communities. The panel hopes that as people pass by, they will be encouraged to become more involved in a child’s life and spend more quality time with their own children.

The Langlade County Citizen Review Panel is a group of volunteer citizens working with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Langlade County Department of Social Services to improve child protective services at the state and local levels. The panel believes that every child deserves to grow up in a safe, stable and nurturing environment. Each year, they provide an annual report to DCF which includes recommendations to improve the child welfare system. Citizen Review Panels are created under the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).

The vision of the Langlade County CRP is community members working together to achieve a common goal of protecting and educating children and their families. The group has a working mission of empowering and providing opportunities to children and families in order to keep them safe and united by improved CPS and education with the community. Parents, caregivers and community members will be provided tools and resources to promote healthy and stable environments and an understanding of child protective services. Look for more activities to come in the future.

The Langlade County Citizen Review Panel encourages all individuals and organizations to take time to talk to parents in the neighborhood and get to know them, share local resources with families, advocate for legislation and funding which support family programs within your community, donate new or gently used clothing and toys to programs that support families with children, bring a meal or groceries to a family with young children, and organize a family fun event such as a family story night, game or movie night.

To learn more about child abuse prevention and for more ideas how to become involved, visit:
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin: www.chw.org
Prevent Child Abuse Wisconsin: www.preventdhildabusewi.org
Department of Children and Families: dcf.wisconsin.gov/prevention
Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board: www.preventionboard.wi.gov

To learn more about the Langlade County Citizen Review Panel, contact Rachel Ramer, Co-Chairperson at 715-627-6611 or rramer@norcen.org.