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Lucas County Children Services Recognizes
Child Abuse Prevention Month
“Wear Blue Day,” Child Memorial Scheduled to Engage
Community
Special
to The Truth
Lucas County Children Services is announcing its activities
to raise awareness that April is National Child Abuse
Prevention Month.
On April 13, LCCS is once again encouraging Lucas County
residents to join in Ohio’s “Wear Blue” day to combat child
abuse. Now in its fifth year, “Wear Blue” urges people from
all walks of life to wear blue on this day to show their
support for keeping kids safe from abuse
or neglect.
LCCS is asking people to post photos of
themselves wearing blue on April 13 on the agency’s Facebook
page,
http://www.facebook.com/LucasCountyChildrenServices,
by tweeting their photos using the hashtag #LucasCoOHKids or
emailing images to
information@co.lucas.oh.us.
Between April 2015 and April 2016, three children died in
Lucas County as a result of physical abuse or neglect. LCCS
will remember these youth at its annual memorial on April 29
at 11:30 a.m. at the agency’s offices at 705 Adams St.,
Toledo. This solemn ceremony will include
comments from the Honorable Denise Navarre Cubbon, Lucas
County Juvenile Court Judge; and musical performances by the
Ottawa Hills High School choir. The public is encouraged to
attend.
Child Abuse and Neglect Statistics
In 2015, LCCS received 4,517 referrals for suspected child
abuse or neglect, up six percent from 2014. These reports
involved 6,825 alleged child victims, also up six percent
from the previous year, and led to us confirm that 1,072
children were maltreated in 2015, up 11 percent from the
previous year. Nearly half of them were five years old or
younger.
The most referrals (8,563) came from the
43605 zip code, but the highest rate of referrals came from
the 43604 zip code, where more than 121 of every 1,000
children was the subject of a report of suspected abuse or
neglect. Substance abuse was an identified problem for half
of new cases opened for ongoing services in 2015; nearly 60
percent of those cases involved heroin or opiate abuse,
followed by mental health and domestic violence.
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