Better Tended than Mended
As a pioneer in the early fight to make child abuse and neglect prevention a priority in Washington, Bonnie Riach, still remains eager to describe her prescription for the problem—a network of Family Support through community-based programs. The solution, she explains reminds her of a patchwork quilt. “You never really know how these pieces fit together, but they do.”
Bonnie Riach & Francesca Kubo
“Prevention,” she continues, “is like a fence at the top of a cliff. Intervention is like the ambulance waiting at the bottom. Why not build that fence?”. In the early 1980s, many Washington State lawmakers needed convincing. When Bonnie and fellow pioneer, Janet Miller, lobbied to establish state-level funding for prevention programs, it was common to hear, “Prevention? That’s a pie in the sky.”
Their tremendous efforts ultimately convinced Washington lawmakers that prevention was an important and realistic goal, leading to the creation of Council for Children & Families and ultimately Children’s Trust Foundation, which continue their remarkable legacy today.
There’s more to the story. Read about the beginning of Children’s Trust Foundation here.