2024 Pancakes & Pinwheels Awards Breakfast

Our Mission

ECHO is dedicated to preventing and reducing the incidence and impact of child abuse by providing education, advocacy, and support services to the children and families of Metro Louisville.

Who We Are

ECHO is a local organization that teaches children and parents about preventing child abuse. Our staff works closely with educational institutions, community groups, the courts, law enforcement and many more to help keep our children safe. After the tragic abduction of Ann Gotlib in Louisville, KY, in 1983, Exploited Children’s Help Organization (ECHO) was established with the aspiration of reducing the trauma of child victimization by addressing the needs of sexually abused children, missing children and their families at the state and local level. Concerned adults and professionals joined forces to educate the community about:

• Identifying child abuse • Prevention programs for children and adults• Parent support services

What We Do

ECHO’s Transforming Our Communities (TOC) program is the framework through which we deliver comprehensive and evidence-based prevention education. The TOC program provides educational information about child abuse prevention and is targeted for children and youth, youth-serving organizations, and concerned adults. Our program helps to empower the voices of children, educate adults, and seeks to create a stronger and safer community for all. Our program provides the following:

•Opportunity to engage with the children, youth, and adults about child abuse, ways to prevent abuse, and how to reduce the victimization of any child.

•Teaches about child abuse prevention and is targeted for local children and youth, youth-serving organizations, and any concerned adult.

•Helps individuals understand child abuse recognition and reporting.

•Works with adults in our community and youth serving organizations, providing them with the tools to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.

•Educates adults, in our community, on protecting children from potentially harmful things on the internet and learns the need for safety and security online.

Why We Do It

•Kentucky is currently ranked 14th in the nation with one of the highest child-abuse rates in the United States.

•The U.S. receives over 3 million reports of child abuse each year. Abuse costs U.S. taxpayers $220 million daily.

•90% of children abused are abused by someone they know and trust; of that 30% tend to be family members.

•About 1 in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday

•The number of sexual assault cases related to social media sites and interactions has increased 300% in the last 2 years.

•1 in 4 kids will be bullied, and 1 in 5 will be cyberbullied.

•Over a period, 1 in 25 youth received an online sexual solicitation where the solicitor tried to make offline contact.

Host or Publisher Sonja Grey, Executive Director