Agency that investigates child abuse gets $1M in federal funding to expand

Staff members of the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center, where many have painted a fingernail blue, show off their hands. The blue nail is meant to raise awareness of how 1 in 10 children experience abuse. (Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times)

In April, Kristin Schmidt and her co-workers each paint a fingernail blue. It’s not a fashion statement, but a message about a troubling statistic — that 1 in 10 children experience abuse. 

It’s something Schmidt and her colleagues at Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center work to combat every day, and it’s why the federal government is giving the nonprofit organization $1 million to expand its services.