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Rain may have prevented blue pinwheels from being planted in the county courthouse lawn Wednesday, but it didn’t stop community members from getting together at The Gathering Place to raise awareness about the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the pinwheel is a national symbol for child abuse prevention.
Eric Lane, executive director of Fellowship Missions, welcomed everyone, saying, “Your presence matters because today we’re coming together as a unified group to support vulnerable children in our area.”
He said Wednesday’s event with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Kosciusko County, Bowen Health, Fellowship Missions and Indiana Department of Child Services (IDCS) was about “showing how us, as a community, stand together and are able to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.”
Jamie Pippin, director of the Kosciusko IDCS office, stated in 2025, 246 children in Kosciusko County were determined to have been victims of child abuse or neglect.
“That’s not how many reports that we got, that is the total number of children that we went out, assessed the family (and) we found that they had suffered some type of abuse or neglect at the hands of a caregiver,” Pippin said. “Currently, there are 91 children from Kosciusko County that are not living in their own home due to child abuse and neglect. That’s 91 children sleeping in a bed that they might not feel is theirs, attending a school that might not be their own and unsure of what the next day might bring.”
April being Child Abuse Awareness Month, he said it’s a time where the community can look at what they’re doing to help prevent 246 more children from being victims of abuse and neglect and what they can do to help those 91 children currently living outside of their own home get to a safe and sustainable future.
A 17-year IDCS employee, Pippin stated, “What I can say is that without a doubt, Kosciusko County is one of the most caring, active and motivated communities that I’ve ever been a part of. This community has shown an understanding of preventing child abuse and neglect takes everyone involved in doing what they can.”
Angie Ritchey, CASA Board of Directors president, said, “April, as you know, is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. A time to recognize not only the challenges children face, but the responsibility we share in protecting them. At CASA of Kosciusko County, our volunteers advocate for children who have experienced abuse or neglect, often becoming the one consistent voice focused solely on that child’s best interest. But the truth is, many systems, including CASA, step in after harm has already occurred. That’s why today is so important, because prevention begins with all of us.”
Each pinwheel that will eventually be planted in the courthouse lawn is more than a symbol, it’s a promise, Ritchey said. “A promise to see children, hear them and advocate for them. A promise to support families. A promise that prevention is possible when a community comes together.”
Preventing child abuse requires a communitywide commitment, she continued. “Each of us has a role to play, whether that’s supporting families, getting involved or simply choosing to pay attention and speak up. Today, we are sending a clear message: This community is united in protecting children. This community believes every child deserves a safe and healthy childhood.”
After telling his mother’s own childhood story of abuse and neglect, Dr. Rob Ryan, Bowen Health CEO, said, “Here’s the funny thing about child abuse: It doesn’t appear out of nowhere. Research tells us it’s a mix of pressures and different risk factors. Things like caregiver stress, mental health issues, substance use challenges, financial strains and social isolations are the driving force. But here’s the truth at the heart of this month: Prevention is possible.”
He then related a story about a boy named Jordan who had adults in his life who prevented him from experiencing a life of continued abuse.
“Here’s the secret about prevention: It doesn’t just stop something bad, it creates space for something good, and I see many changes in families just like Jordan’s,” Ryan said.
He offered a list of things that protects children and strengthens families, including parenting education, economic supports, mental health and substance use treatment, social connectiveness and teaching children body safety and boundaries. “All things that we can either provide, refer or help with.”
Children thrive when they’re safe, Ryan said, families thrive when they’re supported and “communities like ours thrive when we invest in each other before a crisis arrives.”
Keynote speaker Kearstin Criswell serves as a lead of the Child Abuse Prevention Coalition and the director for the Alliance for Thriving Families, among her many involvements in the community. She’s also a foster parent.
“I have been a licensed foster parent for eight years at this point,” she said. “... I look back at my time as a foster parent and I have sat with my former pastor and I said, ‘I blame you for this!’ There was one Sunday at our church where we had a sermon talking about those parents for vulnerable people, vulnerable kids, and we let out early and there was a fair to learn about Big Brothers Big Sisters, CASA, all the things we already mentioned.”
Criswell went to the foster care booth and decided “Why not?” not really knowing anything about it.
“But what I did know is that I had a home, that had some extra space. I knew that I had extra love to give and I had time to be able to pour into kiddos, so I jumped into that,” she recalled.
Her first long-term placement was a “doozy.” It was her CASA caseworker’s first case, too, and they worked to figure it out together.
“But in that, and this is where you all come in, what I learned about that is that everyone can do something. I had been a person who said yes to foster care, and there will be others who say yes to that. But we all can say yes to caring for kids in a preventable way that we just talked about, or in a way where they’re already in care and are needing some additional support. And I got to see firsthand people finding their something,” Criswell said.
She recalled how members of her community helped her as a foster parent in various ways, from dropping off diapers to providing meals.
“Everyone was finding something to do, and I knew that I could keep doing this because foster care is not for the faint of heart. I have cried, ‘Why am I doing this? Can I keep going?’ But, truthfully, living in a community where people show up empowers us in a way where everyone can do something,” Criswell said.
She told the story of how both of her parents died by the time she was a junior in high school, and she has two younger sisters, yet the people in her community made sure the outcome for all three of the Criswell girls was a good one.
“When we all do something, we can really make a difference,” she said. “And I truly believe that Kosciusko County, from the churches and organizations, you all here, that we can have more than enough for some of these kids when we work together.”
