Pennyrile Children's Advocacy Center Celebrates 25 Years of Service

Nonprofit highlights ongoing need for child abuse awareness and prevention

Apr. 10, 2026 at 8:20am

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An extremely blurred and abstracted photograph of a child's toy or other everyday object associated with childhood, conveying a sense of innocence and the need to protect young lives.A community celebration marks 25 years of the Pennyrile Children's Advocacy Center's efforts to support child abuse victims and raise awareness of this persistent crisis.Hopkinsville Today

The Pennyrile Children's Advocacy Center in Hopkinsville, Kentucky is celebrating 25 years of providing support to victims of child abuse through coordinated investigations, advocacy, and counseling. The center operates under a nationally recognized model that brings together multiple agencies to investigate abuse cases in a child-focused environment. Despite progress over the past quarter century, the organization's executive director says the mission continues as most abuse remains hidden and many children never disclose their experiences.

Why it matters

Child abuse is a persistent and often hidden crisis, with one in four girls and one in six boys being sexually abused by their 18th birthday. Advocacy centers like Pennyrile play a vital role in providing coordinated services to reduce trauma for child victims and improve the effectiveness of investigations, but the majority of abuse still goes unreported. This anniversary highlights the ongoing need for greater awareness, prevention efforts, and support for children and families.

The details

The Pennyrile Children's Advocacy Center served 452 children last year, representing cases where a child chose to speak out about their abuse. The center operates under a nationally recognized Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) model, bringing together law enforcement, social services, prosecutors, and medical/mental health professionals to investigate cases in a child-focused environment and minimize the number of interviews a child must undergo. Services provided include forensic interviews, medical exams, counseling, and advocacy support, all at no cost to families.

  • The Pennyrile Children's Advocacy Center is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2026.
  • The center served 452 children in the past year.
  • The anniversary celebration event will be held on April 14, 2026.

The players

Candra Barnett

Executive Director of the Pennyrile Children's Advocacy Center.

Pennyrile Children's Advocacy Center

A nonprofit organization in Hopkinsville, Kentucky that provides support to victims of child abuse through coordinated investigations, advocacy, and counseling.

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What they’re saying

“This is April, and it's Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. If you see the pinwheels out in the community… the idea is to think about what it means to be a child… and to remember that it is an adult's responsibility to keep children safe and to protect children.”

— Candra Barnett, Executive Director

“Our goal is to reduce the number of times that the child has to tell their story.”

— Candra Barnett, Executive Director

“For a child to say what happened to them could be one of the hardest days of their life. It takes incredible courage for a child to tell their truth.”

— Candra Barnett, Executive Director

What’s next

The Pennyrile Children's Advocacy Center is hosting a public celebration event on April 14, 2026 to mark its 25th anniversary and honor the 452 children it served in the past year.

The takeaway

This anniversary highlights the vital role that advocacy centers like Pennyrile play in supporting child abuse victims and improving outcomes, but also the persistent and often hidden nature of this crisis. Greater awareness, prevention efforts, and support for children and families are still needed to address the troubling statistics around child abuse.