At the beginning of the month, we shared the importance of spreading awareness and becoming educated in ways to prevent and stop child abuse and neglect. You may have even seen blue pinwheels around town reminding us of our responsibility to prevent child abuse. Although the month of April is coming to a close, we will not end our efforts in preventing child abuse and neglect in our communities.
If you are in the DFW, I want to remind you of the alarming statistics of how this issue is one you should become involved in. The Texas Department of Family and Protective services found that Tarrant county has higher rates of confirmed child abuse than both Dallas county and the national average. It was also found that the Dallas-Fort Worth area made up about 26% of confirmed child abuse and neglect cases in comparison to other major cities in our state.
As marriage and family therapists we are trained to recognize the signs of child maltreatment and the various ways on how to report them. Yet, the fact is that we can’t do it alone! There will be families that you come into contact, which we will not get to work with. Communities that you are a part of that we may not know about.
To report abuse you may do so by phone or online. You also have the right for your identity to stay confidential when reporting.
Report by Phone:
1-800-4-A-Child (National Child Abuse Hotline)
1-800-252-5400 (Texas Abuse Hotline)
Report Online: https://www.txabusehotline.org/ (Texas)
Information on recognizing signs of Child abuse
https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Protection/Child_Safety/recognize_abuse.asp
http://www.stopitnow.org/ohc-content/tip-sheet-7
For more resources and information on this topic be sure to check out this post as well: CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE DISCLOSURE Let’s work together to end child abuse!