Beckley, W.Va. (November 19, 2024) – Leading local non-profit organizations — Forward Southern West Virginia and New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA) — are donating $10,000 each to help propel an education and training campaign, Project GRACE (Gathered Response to Address Child Exploitation), being coordinated by Just for Kids Child Advocacy Center serving Fayette and Raleigh counties.
Since opening its doors in 2003, Just for Kids Child Advocacy Center has served 3,500 children.
Deanee’ Johnson, Ph.D., executive director of Just for Kids, said Project GRACE is a new initiative to help frontline workers in the community learn to identify and report child exploitation and expand efforts to respond to child victims in the community. “Project GRACE is modeled after a successful community initiative in Boston,” said Johnson. “The project will target high-risk locations for training on identification and intervention. People who work at gas stations, convenience stores, hotels and other frontline customer service positions may be able to spot things that do not add up when they see adults and children together. Customers of these establishments also need to be on high alert when spotting warning signs. We will also focus on providing extended service to identified youth to better meet their needs.”
Johnson said Project GRACE is the first initiative of its kind in West Virginia and is being rolled out in a way that other child advocacy centers could replicate in their service areas.
Jina Belcher, NRGRDA’s executive director, said the community and economic development organization is donating technical assistance funds to assist solely with marketing and employee training materials that help share information and educate frontline workers on the Project Grace efforts. “After learning that Project GRACE would identify frontline workers and assist with training them on how to spot child exploitation, we knew that supporting the business education and marketing of the program would be the ideal place for NRGRDA to invest,” said Belcher.
The president of Forward Southern West Virginia, Bill Baker, said his non-profit organization’s funds could be used by Johnson and the team at Just for Kids to address the project’s greatest needs. “Forward Southern West Virginia reached out to Dr. Johnson to determine how we could help,” said Baker. “Just for Kids is a crucial partner in our community infrastructure. Forward Southern West Virginia’s mission is to support community-focused organizations in larger economic development efforts across the region and our board felt that and inaugural investment in Project GRACE was an ideal way to assist Just for Kids.”
Johnson began her career as a mentor for adolescent sexual assault survivors. She is a child developmentalist with 25 years of experience in the crime victim field. She is known internationally as an expert on adverse childhood experiences and child exploitation. Johnson is a trained child forensic interviewer and assisted in establishing the first forensic interview program in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Johnson brings the New River Gorge Region considerable national experience in her field. She completed a three-year fellowship with the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime, where she created the Child Exploitation and Polyvictimization Working Group. This group worked in conjunction with the U.S. Office of the Deputy Attorney General to identify and review national programs targeting child sexual anti-exploitation, illuminating best practices. She was on the National Children’s Alliance’s Working with Federal Partners workgroup and assisted Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board in establishing policies protecting children and youth. She was on the National Advisory Board for Linking Systems of Care for Children and Youth, the Federal Interagency Workgroup on Child Abuse and Neglect, and the Maryland State Child Fatality Review Board.
Those who would like to contribute to Project GRACE can do so at https://justforkids.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donation-2024
If anyone suspects a child under the age of 18 is being abused or neglected, or is at risk for abuse or neglect, they should report their concerns to West Virginia’s Centralized Intake (1-800-352-6513), as well as contact their local law enforcement agency.
Just for Kids Child Advocacy Center developed a guide to help citizens better understand the signs of possible child abuse and neglect: https://jfkwv.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Signs-of-Child-Abuse.pdf
