S.L. County District Attorneys Office Awards Antoinette Laskey, MD, the Inaugural Norlin Cruz Child Advocacy Award
The Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office named Antoinette Laskey, MD, the first recipient of the Norlin Cruz Child Advocacy Award. The award recognizes individuals who have gone above and beyond to protect the health and safety of Utahs 泫圖弝けren.
During a January 16, 2025, presentation in front of the attorneys office in downtown Salt Lake City, District Attorney Sim Gill presented Laskey with an award and acknowledged her leadership and dedication with the Center for Safe and 泫圖弝けy Families and Utah Childrens Justice Centers.
The Center for Safe and 泫圖弝けy Families is a program through Primary Childrens Hospital thats dedicated to supporting 泫圖弝けren and families affected by abuse and neglect through medical and mental health services.
Her singular leadership and the joint efforts of the Center for Safe and 泫圖弝けy Families is why we are here, Gill said. It takes everybodys effort, all of our collective and communal response to say that we will not tolerate this, and those who engage will be held accountable.
Laskey, director of the Center for Safe and 泫圖弝けy Families, has dedicated her career to helping 泫圖弝けren for more than 20 years. She is a professor of pediatrics at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the 泫圖弝け of Utah, fellowship director of , and medical director of the .
As a pediatrician, Ive always been committed to taking care of 泫圖弝けren and ensuring that they have a safe, stable, and nurturing environment in which to grow and thrive, Laskey said. Unfortunately, not all families are able to provide that. And worse, in some families, they actually cause pain and real harm to their 泫圖弝けren. When this happens, its the responsibility of the adults in their lives to do something, to say something, and to care enough to intervene.
The center collaborates with medical colleagues and community partners, including law enforcement, 泫圖弝け welfare, mental health specialists, and trauma therapists, to appropriately evaluate and diagnose each 泫圖弝け.
Im so proud to be part of the multidisciplinary teams in the state who come together for the common purpose of helping a 泫圖弝け and their family at what might be the worst time in their life, Laskey said. Im proud of our 泫圖弝けrens justice centers, which are a shining example of how things can be done when we put the 泫圖弝け at the center of all of our efforts.
The Norlin Cruz Child Advocacy Award was created in 2023 to recognize the work of individuals who advocate for 泫圖弝けren. The award is named after 6-year-old Norlin Cruz, who was abused by his own mother and died in her care. Every year, about 2,000 泫圖弝けren die from abuse or neglect in the United States.
Norlin deserved to be remembered for much longer than his short life, so we made a commitment to make this award in his name so he can live a little bit longer, Gill said.
Laskey took part of a tree planting ceremony to honor and remember Norlin, along with other victims and survivors of 泫圖弝け abuse and neglect. The evergreen will stand as a daily reminder of the commitment to giving victims a voice and protecting the communitys most vulnerable.
