Leaders across Kentucky gathered this week to mark the 10th anniversary of the Kentucky Children's Hospital Division of Pediatric Forensics, created in 2015.

The center recently opened a new space, thanks in part to a multimillion dollar gift from co-chair for kids.

It's an honor to be with you here today to celebrate this 10th anniversary.

It's hard to really believe it's been ten years, but we started July of 2015, and it was grown from a seed planted by Doctor Wallace several years prior to that, when he saw the need to launch this program and help address an epidemic of abuse and neglect in our state.

Currently, Kentucky ranks fourth as far as our rate of child maltreatment goes across the country.

For about ten years, we were either the had the highest or the second highest in the country of rates of child maltreatment.

We're here to recognize their tireless work.

These professionals who have scooped down to serve the children and families of the bluegrass, now, children that have been impacted by abuse, by neglect, by trauma, children who come here on their worst days.

They come here and they find a path to healing, a path to recovery.

And for those of us in law enforcement who want to prevent further harm, a path to prosecute able cases facilitated by the work that takes place here prior to kind of this subspecialty, I would find a lot of like D, CPS or law enforcement trying to interpret medical findings that they really had no education on interpreting this.

And it was really hard because they, a lot of physicians don't want to answer those questions.

And so there was a lot of miscommunication between the two fields.

And so I think that this field really helps to, to put that bridge where that gap previously existed.

And so it helps us to be able to be that, professional, to provide the interpretation of medical findings that really didn't exist prior to this program.

I have the, distinct privilege of coming to places like this and delivering on promises from time to time to share that, yes, 475,000 and grant funding this year.

That's awesome.

But the part that's really awesome is that drive toward making sure that the next time the child maltreatment report comes out, that number is not 14,484 kids, but that number is something far less in the next year, it's less in the next year it's less.

This work is hard.

Since 2017, we have seen over 51 children who have lost their life.

What we see impacts us as a teen.

It impacts us personally and it impacts our families.

This is a field that work does go home with you through those doors behind us.

The obstacles are many children, oftentimes too young to recount what happened, too scared to share it.

But in spite of that, the talented practitioners here work through the daily horrors that most of us couldn't imagine.

Things you don't unsee.

Stories from little broken ones that you don't unhear.

But I will tell you not to be presumptuous, but I can only think that these practitioners, day in and day out, is there, interacting with these broken young people, wondering what's happening outside of these walls?

Where are our partners?

What is helping to reduce this?

The work here doesn't occur in splendid isolation.

The office of the Attorney General and Kentucky Law Enforcement is committed to working to help protect our most vulnerable.

Now, working with experts right here at U-K, when visiting experts complement the programs, one of the top two they've seen in the nation.

It's a reflection of this amazing team.

They've conducted over 6500 evaluations, which, if you're doing the math, that means seeing this nearly every single day of the year.

The work doesn't stop at evaluations.

The holistic treatment means working with families to connect them to resources, providing mental health treatment, working with state agencies, and then following the family and child's well-being.

The great.