April Marks Child Abuse Awareness Month, Push for Kyan's Law
April marks National Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month, with a virtual workshop hosted today by the Kosair for Kids Face It Movement. This event coincides with the push for Kyan's Law, a proposed Kentucky legislation aimed at strengthening the link between animal neglect and child abuse prevention.
Kyan's Law is named after Kyan Higgins Jr, a 10-year-old Louisville boy whose tragic fate has highlighted the connection between animal neglect and child abuse. His mother's home was visited by animal control 24 times in just 18 months before his death, underscoring the missed opportunities to intervene. The law, if passed, would mandate training for animal control officers statewide to identify and report child abuse, a move supported by Joye Keeley, founder of the Kentucky Link Coalition. Keeley notes that in 88% of homes with physical abuse, animal abuse is also occurring.
Last year, Louisville's animal control officers reported 41 suspected child abuse cases to the police and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. This proactive approach is encouraged to expand, with officers being more trusted than law enforcement, allowing them to speed up the involvement of Child Protective Services. The workshop today aims to further equip these officers and raise awareness about the issue.
The virtual workshop today, though sponsored by the Kosair for Kids Face It Movement, is a collective effort to bring attention to the correlation between animal abuse and child abuse. With Kyan's Law pending, the hope is to strengthen the role of animal control officers in preventing child abuse, building on the success of last year's reports.
