Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2636

Tonight's special guest is Mike Tikkanen from Hopkins, Minnesota, a returning NAASCA family member. He's perfect for appearing in April, Child Abuse Awareness month. Mike is all about working on prevention and intervention in his home state. The founder and President of 'Kids at Risk Action' (KARA), a non-profit action tank that supports the people, policies, and programs that improve the lives of at-risk children. Mike knows all the statistics of child abuse. He recently worked on a local PSA project, and asked us at NAASCA for ideas about how a survivor can 'Start a Recovery Group'. We recommend his book: 'Invisible Children: Pre-Teen Mothers, Adolescent Felons, and What We Can Do About It'. It's an uncomfortably close look at the American cycle of abuse and its cost. Mike explains, "The need for civic involvement of young future community leaders is the solution to America's 'At Risk Youth' problem. Without today's college students understanding and support, schools will continue to fail, streets to be unsafe, and jails to fill." Mike often speaks at local and national venues and has been the keynote speaker at business, community, and religious organizations. He's led a workshop at the UN in New York addressing the rights of children. Since 1996, he's volunteered in the Guardian Ad-Litem program as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and has worked with many 'Invisible Children' who are part of the County Child Protection System. Contact him at: Mike@Invisiblechildren.org