Policy Pick: New Bill Makes April Child Abuse Prevention Month

The state Assembly recently passed a resolution, authored by Assemblyman Isadore Hall (D-Los Angeles), that urges all California residents to work together to support child abuse prevention efforts in their communities and schools throughout the month.

"Children who are abused or who live in homes where a parent or guardian is battered carry these lessons of violence into adulthood," Hall said during an April 1 news conference at Compton City Hall that featured a number of speakers - including First 5 LA Commissioner Deanne Tilton, executive director of the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse & Neglect and recording artist Norwood Young, who wrote a book about surviving child abuse.

"Sadly, a great number of child victims grow into adults who assault both strangers and loved ones, creating a tragic self-perpetuating cycle of violence," Hall added.
Each year, thousands of children experience abuse and neglect in a variety of ways: sexual abuse, exploitation, physical abuse, severe neglect, and emotional abuse. In the month of February 2011 alone, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) assisted more than 34,000 abused and neglected children. Of these, more than 10,700 children were 4 years old and younger.

While counseling services for victims is helpful in stopping this cycle, child abuse prevention is widely accepted as the most effective remedy. To that end, First 5 LA invested nearly $14.5 million in child abuse prevention programs throughout L.A. County during the 2009-10 fiscal year.

To learn more about child abuse or to report a suspected incidence of abuse, call the L.A. County Child Protection Hotline 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 800-540-4000.