Dodge County receives 2016 Pinwheels for Prevention Award

Dodge County Commissioners last week were presented with the 2016 Pinwheels for Prevention Award, recognizing the work that Dodge, Steele and Waseca Counties have done in areas of prevention and early intervention in cases of child abuse and neglect.
Barb Sorum, Minnesota Communities Caring for Children director in southern Minnesota, presented the award. Similar awards presentations were made to commissioners in Steele and Waseca counties. The three counties operate MnPrairie under a Joint Powers Agreement.
Sorum thanked the county for its “deep passion to prevent abuse.”
The Pinwheel, she said, is the symbol for preventing child abuse. The award has been presented to communities since 2003, she said.
The three counties received the award for excellence in the prevention of child abuse and neglect. They were nominated for the award by officials of MnPrairie County Alliance, South Central Human Relations Center, Fernbrook Family Center, Steele/Dodge County Public Health, Waseca County Public Health and Family Services, Rochester.
In the nomination form it was noted that “the communities of Dodge, Steele and Waseca counties are nominated as they have demonstrated a commitment to prevention and early intervention in their work with children and families that has been sustained over time.
“Public and private child welfare partners are committed to collaborating to strengthen our region’s families and doing everything we can to make it easier for mothers and fathers to care and provide for their children. As partners, we recognize a strong, stable family is the best foundation for a promising children, and when parents and caregivers have support—from loved ones,