PRESS RELEASE – For Immediate Release
Contacts: Jeanene Fowler, MCDPH: 602-722-1806 (c)
Allison Hurtado, Child Crisis AZ: 480-834-9424
Safe Kids of Maricopa County Transitions to Child Crisis Arizona
PHOENIX (April 30, 2019) - Having served as the lead agency for Safe Kids of Maricopa County for more than 20 years, Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) in partnership with the Safe Kids of Maricopa County Board of Directors is transitioning its position as lead agency to Child Crisis Arizona.
“At the time we took on Safe Kids of Maricopa County, our community was in a very different place,” said Max Porter, interim director of Maricopa County Department of Public Health. “Today, we have many non-profits serving our families and youth who have the ability to leverage more resources to best support issues such as childhood injury prevention.
“After a call to the public for agencies that were interested in leading this initiative, we were very happy to see such a well-established and respected organization such as Child Crisis Arizona take on this important community initiative.”
Child Crisis Arizona is a statewide non-profit focused on creating safe environments for children by supporting families. Child Crisis is known for operating the only emergency children’s shelter in Maricopa County but also offers counseling, early education, foster care and adoption services, as well as parenting classes and workshops. Safe Kids fits the organization’s mission of safe kids, strong families by increasing prevention efforts.
As part of an agreement with Safe Kids Worldwide, MCDPH has served as the lead agency for Safe Kids of Maricopa County providing a full time staff person to manage the coalition, board and program activities. With the transition, Child Crisis Arizona will take on these responsibilities.
“We are excited about adding the Safe Kids program to our family education program offerings,” said Torrie Taj, CEO of Child Crisis Arizona. “We look forward to expanding this valuable car seat, home and fire, water, and pedestrian education to a broad audience of parents. This program will enhance our current focus on prevention as we strive to serve more families throughout Maricopa County.”
Since 1994, Safe Kids Maricopa County has educated parents and caregivers on the importance of safety when children are near pools, walking or riding bicycles, and riding in vehicles. They’ve also supported work to create safe home environments for children, ranging from fire protection to proper storage of common yet hazardous items, holding annual car seat safety checks, recycling old car seats, and donating car seats to thousands of families over the course of more than two decades.
“We hope this program and the information it provides will help prevent childhood injuries and deaths in our community,” said Taj. “We invite the public to educate themselves and find out how they can get more involved by visiting www.childcrisisaz.org.”
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About Child Crisis Arizona
For 40 years, Child Crisis Arizona has served the Valley’s vulnerable children and families and is committed to preventing child abuse and neglect through education and intervention. Child Crisis Arizona offers emergency shelter for children from birth to age 10, foster care and adoption services as well as community-wide parenting classes, workshops, children’s playgroups, support groups and more. To learn more about Child Crisis Arizona, please visit www.childcrisisaz.org .
About Maricopa County Department of Public Health
Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) is the 3rd largest health jurisdiction in the U.S. serving almost 4 million residents. The Department works to protect and promote the health and well-being of Maricopa County residents and visitors through a variety of programs, community partnerships and services as well as by utilizing policy, systems and environmental change approaches. To learn more about Public Health, please visit http://WeArePublicHealth.org or like us at facebook.com/MCDPH or follow us on Twitter @MaricopaHealth.