Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear was in Paducah on Thursday to announce nearly $100,000 dollars in grant funding from the Child Victims’ Trust Fund for statewide and regional programs aimed at preventing child abuse.
Beshear and local leaders presented a check of $16,640 to the Paducah-based Child Watch Counseling and Advocacy Center. Executive director Janie Criner in a release said she was “extremely grateful” and said the support will provide “thousands of children in the Purchase Area with sexual abuse prevention education.”
The Child Watch Safety Tools and Golden Rules program will fund prevention education for more than 12,000 children in the region and 300 campers at the Kentucky Sheriff’s Boys and Girls Ranch in Gilbertsville.
The remaining grant funding will go to similar centers and programs around the commonwealth. The Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky and Family Nurturing Center will receive $34,493 dollars to create a public service announcement campaign. The Family Nurturing Center of Kentucky Stewards of Children program will receive $48,000 for 10 new facilitators for their "Darkness to Light" training.