JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri KidsFirst announces Brittany Burke as its Director of Development and Communications today.
Missouri KidsFirst welcomes Brittany Burke to the executive team to direct growing efforts to communicate the essential actions required to protect children from abuse and to help Missourians know their role in assuring children grow up in healthy and safe environments.
“Brittany Burke brings a great deal of passion, expertise and focus to the team during a time when we and our member children’s advocacy centers are adopting evidence-based and trauma-informed methods to assure children get the best interventions and treatment when abuse occurs and as we expand our prevention efforts across the state,” said Missouri KidsFirst Executive Director Joy Oesterly.
Burke will focus on marketing communications and development capacity in her new role beginning March 1, 2016. Previously, Burke owned Tactas, a public relations and public policy communications firm with clients around the state.
“Missouri KidsFirst is the state’s leading organization protecting children and empowering families and victims of abuse,” said Brittany Burke. “I am looking forward to becoming a part of KidsFirst’s outstanding team.”
About Missouri KidsFirst – Empowering Adults to Protect Children
In 2002, Missouri KidsFirst (at the time called the Missouri Network of Child Advocacy Centers) was formed and incorporated by the Executive Directors of the fifteen regional Child Advocacy Centers (CACs). In 2005, the agency was recognized as a 501 (c) not for profit organization by the Internal Revenue Service. Missouri KidsFirst located in Jefferson City, Missouri, works with all the state’s Child Advocacy Centers (CAC) coordinating public policy advocacy, providing support, training and technical assistance to each of the regional centers.
Missouri KidsFirst works to empower adults to protect children from abuse because it is an adult’s responsibility to protect children. The primary activities that Missouri KidsFirst engages in are education and advocacy. As the Missouri Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America, Missouri KidsFirst provides leadership and training on the prevention of child abuse and child sexual abuse with child-serving professionals. It is Missouri KidsFirst’s role as the state chapter for Missouri’s Network of CACs to provide core training and technical assistance on how to investigate and prosecute child sexual abuse to CAC staff, child protective investigators, law enforcement, medical providers and prosecutors. Missouri KidsFirst also advocates for public policies that protect children from abuse and for funding that prioritizes the healthy development of children. Finally, Missouri KidsFirst leads the state’s Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children.
