Before I get into my main speech and main message, I want to thank all of you—all the professionals working to prevent abuse issues before they become problems at the personal, family, community and societal level. I want to thank you all for the work you do to protect the children and families in this state. 

 

I also want to thank the legislators in attendance for your service to the commonwealth and your support of this cause. Thank you for passing Act 126 which has been mentioned by people before me. 

 

I know my presence here is not without some controversy, but I am not here to press the case for my father, or to talk about my family. I am here for one reason—to discuss the responsibility we have to the children of Pennsylvania. 

 

For me the timing of this speech does not matter.  If I had been asked to come make this speech five years ago I would have been here.  

 

Because the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance’s mission is a noble cause.  

 

About two weeks ago I spent time with Angela the Executive Director of the alliance. I saw her mission, her passion—and ate about half a dozen of the cookies she brought with her. 

 

I admire the scope of the Alliance’s mission and the efficiency with which they operate. 

 

With a budget under seven figures, each year this organization trains 15,000 professionals and works with 6,000 families. Their training programs for teachers and people who work with children are vitally important.  

 

Although my childhood was not perfect, when the lights went out in my room I knew I would safely sleep through the night. Like most kids I was afraid of the monster under my bed or hiding in the closet, but with my stuffed Mickey Mouse I knew I was safe. 

I knew I would wake to a home with loving parents, food on the table, clothes to wear and maybe even smiles from my siblings. As a parent I know my children have the same sense of security. 

 

But I have also been fortunate in my life in another way. My father and mother raised me to be aware of others that did not have that same reality. For over twenty years recruiting as a college football coach I saw those other realities first hand in homes and schools across the country.  

 

I recruited young men with fathers in prison, young men living with a grandmother because the parents were dead or gone to violence, or health or drug-related issues. There was one young man with no home who went to school hoping he could find a friend’s house to stay at for a couple of days. Less than a year after being and A/B student that young man ended up getting shot and dropping out of his high school.  

 

This is an amazing country, but there are still so many challenges left for us to tackle. 

 

There are children living in poverty or in homes where drug use by a parent is rampant.  

 

There are children living in homes where abuse is a reality. 

 

There are children who go to bed at night and the next day’s sunrise promises nothing good and threatens many bad things. 

 

I understand how difficult parenting can be—even in the best of circumstances. No matter how patient or understanding you are; there are times when you get angry. It happens to everyone, but the key is to recognize potential problems and reach families to give them to tools to cope, the tools to handle the tough issues they face.  

 

Families need help. 

 

Children need help. 

 

If you don’t believe me, look at the map. The ribbons represent 206 children killed by abuse in this state in the last five years. 206 children, with lives yet to live that were killed by abuse. How many people are aware of that number? 

 

In the news child abuse has a public perception that is not real. We’ve seen the coverage of high profile child sex abuse scandals. There is discussion of the issue and then we, as a society, move to the next news story. 

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But the overwhelming majority of child abuse happens away from the media spotlight, it happens in places and homes where it may never be detected and there will never be charges filed. Sometimes it happens in a home where the family breadwinner is the abuser.

 

Turning that person in may cause a lost job, a lost home and financial ruin. That’s hard to overcome. 

Child Abuse happens in homes on streets in all 67 counties in this commonwealth. Most of it we never hear about. It thrives in the dark shadows cast by our willing ignorance. It is easier not to think about. 

 

It is tough to talk about child abuse. It is hard to recognize, but even harder to talk about. But the best weapon we have is open discussion to cast light into the dark places in our society. 

 

Since 9/11 in New York City they talk about terrorism in this way “If You See Something/Say Something”. 

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That slogan was in a vendor's mind when he saw an unmanned car idling in Times Square. The alert response allowed the police to prevent a disaster.  

 

BUT HE KNEW WHAT TO LOOK FOR. 

 

When it comes to the quiet hidden terror of child abuse the people who can see something are very often the teachers in our school, or youth coaches or people who work with our children. The people the alliance trains are on the front lines in recognizing and stopping child abuse.  

 

But the alliance can arm all of us with the tools and the knowledge to recognize and respond to child abuse. You have to know what you’re looking for so you can see something and say something. 

 

The Front Porch Project they are working on is a challenge for all of us to look out front. I love the name the Front Porch. 

 

A friend of mine’s father once said “I don’t care about the back patio. I sit on the front porch, there ain’t nothing going on out back. I want to see all the neighborhood kids walking by. I can keep an eye on them.” 

 

That is what a community-based program is all about—The Front Porch where we can keep an eye on all the kids. 

 

We have supportive state legislators here with us. Your support protects children and we thank you for making that a priority.