Child Abuse: Mayor Lucas signs proclamation raising awareness

By Joe Hennessy

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is signing a proclamation Friday morning at the Child Protection Center highlighting the importance of preventing child abuse in our communities.

Mayor Lucas writes, “One case of child abuse is one too many in our city. This month, we recommit ourselves to breaking the cycle of violence and protecting our most vulnerable residents – our children.”

CPC serves Jackson, Cass, and Lafayette counties and their website shows they provided 991 forensic interviews, more than 720 advocacy sessions with caregivers, and more than 1,800 completed therapy sessions last year. CPC has 991 pinwheels outside their building showcasing the number of children they helped. They saw close to 900 children for forensic interviews and therapy sessions in 2022.

CPC representatives, law enforcement officials, and child advocates will be there around 9:30 a.m. to join Mayor Lucas for this initiative.

According to the CDC, at least one in seven children in the united states experience child abuse or neglect but it’s likely an under-estimate because many cases go unreported. More than 1,700 children died of abuse or neglect in the U.S. In 2020 — experiencing poverty can place a lot of stress on families, which may increase the risk for child abuse and neglect. Child abuse and neglect rates are five times higher for children in families with low socioeconomic status.

Missouri’s Child Abuse and Neglect Annual Report for 2023 shows that the most frequently reported worker findings were bruises, welts or red marks. Lack of supervision was cited often.

The Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline Unit operates year-round on a 24/7 basis — staffed by 50 full-time and 12 part-time children’s service workers and a call to the hotline is referred to as a “Report” or “Reported incident.” The hotline had received more than 61,000 reported incidents that involved more than 86,000 children in Missouri over the course of the fiscal year.

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