Porter County marks Child Abuse Prevention Month with pinwheels, program outside courthouse

Chicago Tribune

18-04-2025

Dozens of shiny pinwheels were planted on the north lawn of the Valparaiso courthouse Thursday afternoon by area service agencies and Porter Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Buitendorp to raise awareness for Child Abuse Prevention Month.
'The symbol was picked becaue of the playfulness, the joyfulness of childhood,' said Caryn Timmons, director of the Porter County office of the Indiana Department of Child Services.
'Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, nurturing environment, free from harm and fear,' Buitendorp said. 'Yet, for too many, this basic right is not guaranteed.'
Timmons and Buitendorp were joined by a slew of staff from the Geminus Community Partners Program, which is the primary home-based child safety and prevention program in Region 2 for the state comprised of Porter, LaPorte, Benton, Newton, Pulaski, Starke, and Jasper Counties.
'We're currently working with 25 families (in Porter County),' said Brittany Sanetta, program manager for Region 2.
Community Partners has 100 to 120 cases throughout the service area and takes self-referrals. A 24-hour hotline can help anyone in the region's counties as long as there are children in the home, there is not an open case with the Department of Child Services, and the family is not receiving services through Healthy Families.
The goal of the program is to meet with families and assist with whatever they might need, from putting them in contact with local trustees and charities for rent and utility assistance, to providing beds for children and domestic violence services.
Buitendorp said that while the courts play a critical role in the fight against child abuse, prevention begins long before a case reaches the courtroom. 'The court can lead by example,' she said, 'partnering with schools, social services, and advocacy groups to help families before abuse occurs and protect children when it does.'
The current economic and political climate is making that work all the more difficult. 'Inflation is not helping,' said Geminus Neighborhood Liaison Julie Bush.
'We also have a lot of clients who are undocumented and they're scared,' added Neighborhood Liason Raeanne Richardson, who said such folks are 'trying to stay under the radar.'
The liaisons and the families they serve face serious challenges in acquiring the basics. Perhaps a family needs beds for children. 'We can't get beds for a home if they're not going to live there for the next' several months, Bush said.
'I was trying to get a client into Gabriel's Horn (homeless shelter),' Richardson added. 'They are on a 21 and 22-person waiting list.' The liaisons said such a list was formerly eight or nine people deep.
Community Partners can be reached toll-free at [phone] or www.geminus.org.