Combating Child Abuse
www.abc40tv.com | April 23, 2009
By Marci Izard
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (abc40) April is Child Abuse Awareness Month. The Department of Health and Human Services Reports Massachusetts has the second highest rate of confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect in the country. The rate here is two times the national average.
Debra Call, Clinical Director at the Children's Study Home in Springfield, says the warning signs of child abuse can range.
"For younger children their behavior changes," she says. "There may be signs such as bed wetting, inappropriate touching of themselves, difficulty concentrating on school work, having new fears that weren't previously there. With some of the older kids, there's more isolation, changing social groups, creating new affiliations, declining in school ... an increase in sickness."
The warning signs of child abuse vary but it is important to be vigilant if you suspect it is going on. The effects last a lifetime.
If you are a victim or you think child abuse is going on around you, call the Child-at-Risk Hotline: 1-800-792-5200. There is a national hotline as well: 1-800-4-A-CHILD. The person on the phone will listen and point you in the right direction