Kids FIRST Plants Blue Pinwheels, Marks Child Abuse Prevention Month in Eugene

More than 800 Lane County children walked through the doors of Kids FIRST last year. On April 1, the Eugene advocacy center planted blue pinwheels on its lawn at 299 E. 18th Ave. to open National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a public gesture that puts a number everyone should find sobering into plain sight.

Law enforcement agencies from across Lane County joined the ceremony alongside community partners, a visible expression of the cross-agency network behind every case Kids FIRST handles. Operations Director Aly Golditch put the center's goal plainly: "We want to make sure that when kids leave here, they're safe, and that there's a plan for their mental health, that there's a plan to support kids and so that they can thrive even after they've experienced abuse."

The path from a police referral to that plan follows a carefully sequenced process most Lane County residents never see. A forensic interviewer conducts a single, structured conversation with the child, replacing the repeated questioning by multiple agencies that can compound trauma. A medical exam follows. Then Kids FIRST connects the child and family with victim advocacy services and mental-health support, with law enforcement and prosecutors integrated throughout so the investigation and the recovery run on parallel tracks rather than competing ones.

Kids FIRST also serves as the regional children's advocacy center for Coos and Douglas counties, but the 800-plus figure reflects Lane County cases alone. Organizers cited it explicitly to press the case for continued community investment and volunteer support throughout April and beyond.

April's calendar includes outreach events focused on recognizing the warning signs of abuse, distributing prevention resources, and fundraising to sustain services through the year.

Knowing how to report is the most direct action anyone can take. Call the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline at 855-503-SAFE (7233), staffed around the clock every day of the year. Have the child's name, age, and location ready if known, along with a description of what you observed; partial information still helps investigators. For immediate danger, call 911. Volunteer and donation information is available at kidsfirstcenter.net.