National Child Abuse Prevention Month, 2016

Proclamation 9412 of March 31, 2016

National Child Abuse Prevention Month, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

All children deserve to grow up in a caring and loving
environment, yet across America, hundreds of thousands
of children are neglected or abused each year, often
causing lasting consequences. Although effectively
intervening in the lives of these children and their
families is an important responsibility at all levels
of government, preventing abuse and neglect is a shared
obligation. During National Child Abuse Prevention
Month, we recommit to giving every child a chance to
succeed and to ensuring that every child grows up in a
safe, stable, and nurturing environment that is free
from abuse and neglect.

Preventing child abuse is an effort that we must
undertake as one American family, and in our schools,
neighborhoods, and communities, we must look after
every child as if they are our own. Between four and
eight children die every day from abuse or neglect, but
together we can prevent these tragedies from occurring.
Children who are being abused or neglected may display
constant alertness, sudden changes in behavior and
school performance, or untreated physical or medical
issues. Child abuse may take many forms, including
neglect and physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. More
information on preventing child abuse can be found at
www.ChildWelfare.gov/Preventing.

All families can benefit from strong support systems
and resources in the face of these challenges, and as
parents, friends, neighbors, and fellow human beings,
keeping our kids safe is among our highest priorities.
My Administration is dedicated to fostering healthy and
supportive conditions that enable our children to
develop and thrive and that ensure parents and
caretakers have the resources they need to properly
care for their children. We are supporting efforts that
lift up vulnerable families, improve the coordination
of programs and services within communities, and
promote meaningful and measurable changes in the lives
of children across America to improve their social and
emotional well-being. The effects of child abuse and
neglect can negatively impact a child throughout their
life. Together, we must address this issue so that our
children and our children's children never know the
pain caused by child abuse.

Our Nation's enduring commitment to prevent child abuse
and neglect demands that individuals and communities
partner together to provide safe and nurturing
environments for all of America's daughters and sons.
We must all join in the work of uplifting and
safeguarding our youngest individuals and ensuring they
are limited by nothing but the size of their dreams and
the range of their aspirations. This month, let us aim
to eradicate child abuse from our society, and let us
secure a future for our children that is bright and
full of hope, opportunity, and security.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim April 2016 as
National Child Abuse Prevention Month. I call upon all
Americans to observe this month with programs and
activities that help prevent child abuse and provide
for children's physical, emotional, and developmental
needs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and fortieth.