C. Oregon effort creates ‘Keep Kids Safe’ plates

The Deschutes County Children and Families Commission announced Monday the October release of the non-profit license plate, Keep Kids Safe, the product of a local effort years in the making.

Oregon citizens are encouraged to purchase the license plate, which is expected to generate a sustainable source of revenue for proven child abuse prevention efforts across Oregon’s 36 counties.

The license plate is the result of a home-grown, citizen led effort.

Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver sponsored the legislation to establish the license plate. Members of the Deschutes County Children and Families Commission worked doggedly over three sessions to get the bill passed.

The team of Pamela Trow-Johnson and Randy Johnson of 501 Drive, created the license plate art and in the design process, recruited an OSU-Cascades marketing research class to conduct a statewide survey to select the final design. Local children were used in all images.

The Deschutes County team worked in collaboration with state Rep. Debbie Boone, the coalition of local Children and Families Commissions, and the Children’s Trust Fund of Oregon.

The license plate is a response to the dramatic child abuse statistics in Oregon. More than 11,000 Oregon children were confirmed victims of abuse in 2010, or the equivalent of more than 170 school buses full of children. Nearly half of these children were under the age of 6.

“The consequences of child abuse affect the health, economy and welfare of our communities and our state,” said Children’s Trust Fund of Oregon Executive Director Susan Lindauer.

“We’re all impacted by child abuse in some way and we can all make a difference. Purchasing a Keep Kids Safe license plate is an easy way to contribute to creating healthy, successful children and families and show your support for Oregon’s kids,” she said.

Learn more about the Children’s Trust Fund of Oregon and/or the Keep Kids Safe license plate at www.ctfo.org.

The surcharge for the new Keep Kids Safe license plate is collected at issuance ($30 for a two-year registration period or $60 for a four-year new vehicle registration period and $30 at each subsequent renewal). The surcharge is in addition to other vehicle registration and plate fees.

The non-profit Children’s Trust Fund of Oregon will manage and allocate the funds from net proceeds of plate sales to every county for proven child abuse prevention programs.

The Children’s Trust Fund of Oregon’s mission is to prevent child abuse in Oregon through strategic investments in proven, best-practice programs, public education and research.

Applications and fees for the Keep Kids Safe plate will be accepted at Oregon DMV field offices or through the mail to DMV Headquarters beginning October 15th.

DMV’s website has information on how to change to a different license plate at: http://cms.oregon.gov/odot/dmv/pages/vehicle/platechange.aspx. All group plates are mailed to the customer from DMV Headquarters. DMV field offices will not have these plates on hand but can accept the application and fees.