This month 89 children in Butler County will be reported as victims of abuse and neglect.  

There's a huge gap in our ability to help abused children. You can help us close it.

As aggressively as we protect the rights of abused children in Butler County, we need to do a better job of protecting their hearts. Their worlds have been torn apart by a trauma most of us can only imagine. Then they have to enter a legal system, an arena that can be extremely intimidating to children who feel betrayed and threatened.

Safe havens between heartbreak and healing.

In an effort to create a more sensitive and child-friendly environment, a group of Butler County citizens who work every day in the trenches of abuse have formed the Sunlight Children's Advocacy & Rights Foundation or SCARF.

A sense of safety is perhaps the most lasting loss an abused child experiences. SCARF has identified three distinct situations in which a safe haven for children at risk would help to mend their shattered sense of security:

Sunlight Child Advocacy Center (CAC) protects children who have been affected by abuse in a child-friendly environment.
The CAC houses child abuse professionals and facilitates a multi-disciplinary, coordinated team approach.  This team approach maximizes positive outcomes for the child's safety, physical and emotional needs and for the pursuit of justice.

The Sunshine Children's Home All too often, children have to be taken into temporary protective custody until either a healthy reintergration into the family can be accomplished or other long-term arrangements can be made. Currently Butler County children have to be sent to Wichita or even further from their homes where sometimes siblings are separated. The Sunshine Children's Home will provide a residence for these children closer to home where siblings can be together. Qualified staff will also provide assessment and intervention services for families.

The Sunrise Visitation & Exchange Center will provide a safe, secure environment for court-ordered family visits and the exchange of children between parents.

Our children are our future. Help us help them. Your tax-deductible contribution to our non-profit foundation is the only way we can make this vision a reality. These kids are very fragile emotionally when they enter the legal system. By helping to fund these facilities, you're showing them a kindness they both need and deserve. It's a kindness that can bring hope into a young, battered life. And if they can hope, they're halfway home.

Make a donation here.

QUESTIONS? PLEASE CALL US AT (316) 313-4107.