Washington County marks Child Abuse Prevention Month
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
These pinwheels were placed outside of Washington County Courthouse to raise awareness during Child Abuse Awareness Month in April.
These pinwheels will remain outside the Courthouse Square building all of April.
These pinwheels were placed to bring awareness to child abuse.
April is Child Abuse Awareness Month and these pinwheels have been placed outside Washington County Courthouse to raise awareness.
20210420_loc_Pinwheels outside Crossroads Building 3.jpg
These pinwheels have been placed outside of the Crossroads Building to raise awareness about child abuse.
The blue pinwheel gardens that are outside Washington County Courthouse, other county buildings and businesses in the area are doing more than heralding the warmth and sunshine of spring.
The blue pinwheels symbolize carefree, happy and healthy childhoods, and are in place through April to mark Child Abuse Prevention Month. April has been given that designation nationally, and Washington County Children and Youth Services placed the pinwheels outside the county structures and in other locations to make people aware of the problem of child abuse and neglect and what can be done to help prevent it.
The agency also chose the theme, “Strong Communities Strengthen Families” to encourage communities to work together to prevent the neglect and abuse of children.
It’s tied into the idea “of how it takes a village to raise a child,” said Anne Schlegel, agency administrator for Washington County Children and Youth Services.
It’s estimated one in seven children experience abuse or neglect annually across the United States, and five children die as a result of abuse every day. Experts also believe 75% of child abuse victims also suffer from neglect, and parents are the abusers in 92% of cases.
There were about 42,000 reports made of potential child abuse or neglect in Pennsylvania in 2019, 51 fatalities and 93 near fatalities. There are concerns that rates of child abuse could be rising over the last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and all the stresses it has brought to families, from prolonged isolation to job loss and illness.
For the first time, Washington County Children and Youth Services has developed a child abuse prevention toolkit of information, resources and activities at www.washingtoncountyhumanservices.com. The agency is also encouraging people to wear blue every Friday in April, or display a pinwheel or blue ribbon in the window of their home or business to build awareness.
“It really takes a whole community to prevent child abuse,” Schlegel said.
Anyone concerned that a child is suffering from abuse or neglect should call Pennsylvania’s ChildLine at 800-932-0313, or go online to www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis.
Individuals contacting ChildLine should provide the child’s full name and, if possible, their birth date and present location. They should also provide information, if possible, on the child’s caretakers or parents, the ages of other people in the household and whether the child is in immediate danger. They should also provide information on the county in which the abuse or neglect occurred.