April will mark the annual observation of Child Abuse Prevention Month in Dallas County, the Dallas County Board of Supervisors proclaimed Tuesday on the recommendation of the Dallas County Children’s Advocacy Council.
Describing for the supervisors at their weekly meeting the ongoing importance of child abuse awareness and prevention efforts in the county were Deb Schrader, executive director of 4RKids Early Childhood Iowa, Jenny Felt, coordinator of DCAT and the Community Partnerships for Protecting Children, Joy Greer, development director for the Dallas County Children’s Advocacy Council, and Debra Franz, restorative justice specialist in the Dallas County juvenile court system.
According to statistics compiled by the Iowa Department of Human Services, there were 122 children abused in Dallas County in 2016, up from 111 in 2015. The 2017 statistics have yet to be released by the state but as the county’s population grows, the incidence of child abuse will likely increase as well.
Schrader said 51 percent of victims of abuse or neglect are under the age of 5.
As in previous years, a number of events and activities are planned for Child Abuse Prevention Month, including a large banner placed at the southeast corner of the courthouse lawn at Main Street and N Avenue.
Franz said tight budgets and funding cuts have again cost the program the popular and highly recognizable pinwheels that previously dotted the town in April and also the aerial ornaments for the Dallas County Sheriff’s office patrol cars.
