County Marks Child Abuse Prevention Month at Pittsfield City Hall
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Sixty-five pairs of children's shoes were lined up on the City Hall steps to signify the number of confirmed child abuse and neglect cases in Berkshire County every month in 2025.
The Children's Trust and Child Care of the Berkshires' annual Step Up For Kids ceremony highlights Child Abuse Prevention Month and how legislators, agencies, and caregivers work together to keep our youngest safe.
"We've gone down, though, so that number is smaller. We are down by 13 than what we were last year, so we're really happy about that," Jennifer Valenzuela, executive director of the Children's Trust, reported about the current rate of child abuse cases.
"This year, yes, we can celebrate that 13 fewer children have been impacted every month by substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect, and what an impact that has on us as the human service workers that are working with our families, what an impact that has on our families, our children, and just our community at large. This is progress, and we still have a long way to go."
Around 75 people stood in the light rain during the event, including members of the Berkshire delegation, city leadership, community, and law enforcement partners. They spoke about how preventing child abuse is a cross-sector effort, and awareness is key.
"We truly do work together in Berkshire County to prevent child abuse," said Amy Hall, president and CEO of Child Care of the Berkshires.
"We have partners that are in schools. We have partners in the community agencies, in the hospitals, and in the doctors' offices. We have the Elizabeth Freeman Center, which is a wonderful resource for families who are going through domestic violence. We have many different community agencies, and we all work together, and that really is what makes the difference."
Looking around at attendees, she felt hopeful because they care and are willing to do the hard work to make life better for children.
Kaycee Smith, a participant in the Healthy Families Home Visiting Program, spoke about how the program supported her through an abusive relationship. Now, her child is thriving in preschool, and Smith is expecting another child with a safe partner.
Smith looked forward to the Healthy Families visits every week because it was a relief. The program even helped her access groceries and a washing machine when she needed them the most.
"Without Healthy Families, I would have been set up for failure with no support system, no resources, no clue what to do when navigating leaving a [domestic violence] relationship with my child. She was the boulder in the ocean that was too rough to swim in. When the water got choppy, and I started to drown, she stood still in the waves, offering a ledge to lift myself up on and finally catch my breath," she said about her program worker.
"I regained custody of my daughter after seven long months of navigating the waters with DCF. Finally, Mercy was home, and we were a family again. I decided that my next step would be returning to school in September of 2024. I enrolled in the medical coding and billing certificate program at BCC. I graduated in June 2025 with a 3.5 GPA."
There was a round of applause.
State Rep. Tricia Farley Bouvier emphasized that "The best place for a child is safely at home," and a clear strategy is when parents are supported to keep kids safe at home. That is exactly what the Healthy Families program does, she said, and those workers deserve to be paid as the professionals that they are.
"It's hard for anybody today to raise a family," State Rep. John Barrett III said.
State Rep. Leigh Davis gave an update on a comprehensive student protection bill that has been in progress for about a year. Throughout the process, she has listened to survivors and worked alongside advocates, and what became clear is that change doesn't happen by accident; it happens when people show up.
Bill H.4538, An Act Relative to Preventing Educator Sexual Misconduct and Abuse of Children and Youth, has advanced to the House Ways and Means Committee. It addresses an "age of consent" loophole that has allowed adults in positions of authority to exploit 16 and 17-year-old students and claim it was consensual.
"That is not consent, that is exploitation, and this bill H.4538 creates a new criminal offense for adults in positions of authority so we can protect our children, and it creates this new criminal offense for adults in positions of authority who engage in sexual relationships with students in a school setting," Davis explained.
"It also requires clear policies and training to recognize and prevent abuse so we can protect our children, and it strengthens background checks so those with a history of abuse cannot be hired or moved between schools. We need to protect our children, because in a school setting where an adult holds authority over a student, consent is not possible."
Former teacher Matthew Rutledge, 63, was indicted last month on three counts of rape following testimony provided by Melissa Fares and Hilary Simon, former students.
Pittsfield Police opened an investigation into Rutledge in 2024. He was alleged to have sexually assaulted students while serving as a teacher at Miss Hall's School, dating back to the 1990s. In October 2024, the Berkshire District Attorney's Office announced that there were no charges able to be brought forward at that time; however, the office kept the investigation open.
Davis said the work doesn't stop with one bill.
"Preventing child abuse happens everywhere, in homes, in schools, in community organizations, in law enforcement, and in the legislature," she added.
"It starts with awareness, it grows with education, and requires action that means supporting you, supporting our families, making sure that we are trained to recognize signs of abuse. It also means creating systems that protect children before the harm happens."
She was inspired by Smith's courage in sharing her story and shared how the work is personal to her own experience. She is a single parent to three children and left an abusive marriage at nine months pregnant.
"Maybe next year I'll talk more about this, but your courage in saying what you've been through, and I also navigated the court system to try to hold on to my kids," the state rep. said to Smith.
Mayor Peter Marchetti said these shoes, ranging from baby to teenager sizes, represent a stark visual. While they are celebrating that there are fewer shoes, he said they can't stop raising awareness until there are none.
"As leaders, it is our responsibility to find ways to support not only children, but the families and caregivers around them as well," the mayor said.
"The city is a partner in this work by helping to create affordable housing, providing quality education, and access to basic needs. Any families that are looking for help, I encourage you to reach out to these organizations that have various programs that can help with your needs. You don't have to do this work alone."
District Attorney Timothy Shugrue said that having just one adult a kid can reach out to means a world of difference. Many of the cases that he prosecuted had a turning point when the child finally had a person they could trust, and that one person helped stop the abuse and start the path towards healing.
Today is about awareness and action, he added, and remembering that behind every statistic is a child who needs help and who deserves a bright future.
This work doesn't happen by chance, Valenzuela said, but is a "real, concerted" effort happening across the Commonwealth because of places like Childcare of the Berkshires and legislators working to ensure families and children are better off and thriving.
"When families can get support sooner, we strengthen families, we reduce unnecessary system involvement, and we create better outcomes for our children and our families across the Commonwealth," she said.
"…I look forward to our continued collaboration as we see fewer and fewer shoes here on the steps next year when it's going to be sunny and not raining."
Tags: child abuse,
