April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. This is a very important time to look at the impact home visiting can have on the next generation. We hope our children have the best in education, good food, housing and highly attentive care.

It’s sad but many children don’t receive those things. We need to continue to have programs that assist and equip parents with the skills to properly care for a child and instill confidence to parent effectively.

According to The Maine Children’s Alliance, more than 4,000 children in Maine were victims of child abuse and neglect in Maine in 2012. Those numbers should shock everyone.

Such tragic events can be prevented.

In 2012, Maine’s home visiting program, Maine Families, served more than 2,000 families, and 2,200 that included 16,325 home visits. These visits certainly have a very positive impact in building healthy families. Of families involved with Child Protective Services at enrollment, 73 percent had no further substantiated allegations for child abuse or neglect while participating with Maine Families.

In addition to the reduction in abuse and neglect, Maine Families also improves a child’s well-being in many other areas: 92 percent of the children were up-to-date on immunizations, 99.7 percent had a primary care provider, 97.6 percent had health insurance and 88 percent were up-to-date on well-child check-ups

During this month of child abuse prevention awareness and during a difficult budget process, I hope the governor and legislators won’t forget the work Maine Families is doing to educate parents and ensure all children get the very best opportunity to thrive.

Wayne Gallant, South Paris, Oxford County Sheriff