Northwestern SWAT Participates in 'Wooden Children' Project
April 14, 2021
The 248 wooden characters displayed on the northeast corner of the Garfield County Courthouse are being used to increase community awareness of children abused or neglected in Garfield County.
Members of the Northwestern Oklahoma State University Social Workers Association of Tomorrow (SWAT) have taken part in the “Wooden Children” project sponsored by the Garfield County Child Advocacy Center.
The “Wooden Children” project is designed to bring awareness to the number of child abuse cases that are investigated each year. In 2020, 248 confirmed cases of child abuse were reported in Garfield County.
The Garfield County Child Advocacy Council has conducted the Wooden Children Program annually for approximately the last 10 years. It was canceled last year due to the pandemic.
“The number of substantiated abuse cases are usually higher than the number of cases in 2020,” Dustin Albright, Garfield County Child Advocacy Council executive director, said. “We believe that quite a few cases were not reported last year because children were not in school and not in the public eye.
“Teachers, counselors, and the child’s friends are sometimes the ones who cause the abuse to be reported because either they see injuries or the child confides in them about abuse.”
Each wooden figurine is approximately two to three feet high and was cut out by volunteers from the Garfield County community. Once the forms were cut out, the Junior Welfare League and other individuals painted on the faces and hair.
Organizations, businesses, groups and individuals were asked to “foster” a wooden child for $25. The group sponsoring the child dressed and displayed them. On April 1 the Wooden Children were taken to the courthouse lawn to be displayed for all of April, which is Child Abuse Prevention Month.
This project not only creates awareness about the number of children who are abused but also helps the Garfield County Child Advocacy Council fund the services that are provided to the child and family. In Oklahoma “every person” has a statutory obligation to report a suspected abuse of a child.
If you would like to volunteer with the Garfield County Care Campus or become a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) call 580-242-1153.
The Wooden Children on the Garfield County Courthouse lawn wearing their SWAT organization t-shirts.
“This is a subject not many enjoy discussing, and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still child abuse occurring within our area,” Jennifer Pribble, SWAT sponsor and assistant professor of social work, said. “This is a subject that all individuals need to be aware of as mandated reporters of child abuse in Oklahoma. Visual reminders of this act bring the awareness that there are children experiencing child abuse and neglect, and it takes all of us to protect this vulnerable population.
“Participating in Child Abuse Prevention initiatives allows our organization to show support for advocacy efforts to end child abuse in the state of Oklahoma.”
To learn more about Northwestern’s Department of Social Work, contact Pribble at (580) 213-3148 or jlpribble@nwosu.edu.
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CONTACT FOR RELEASE:
Erin Davis, University Relations Specialist
eedavis@nwosu.edu, 680-327-8480