KENTUCKY — Kentucky ranks fifth in the U.S. for the number of reported child abuse and neglect cases, according to the latest data from the Department of Health and Human Services' Child Maltreatment report.
What You Need To Know
- Kentucky ranks fifth in the U.S. for child abuse and neglect reports
- April is Child Abuse Prevention Month
- All Kentucky adults are mandated reporters of child abuse
- Kentucky's child abuse hotline is 1-877-KY-SAFE-1
The month of April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Face It Abuse—the Kentucky nonprofit partnered with Kosair Charities—is working to make Kentuckians aware of the signs of child abuse and how to report them.
Doctors from the Kentucky Children's Hospital said there are multiple risk factors that raise the likelihood of abuse, including drug abuse of a caregiver in the home, intimate partner violence and access to lethal substances.
"Most importantly, the big thing that we see is child maltreatment happens in caregivers with those high risk behaviors," said Christina Howard, chief of pediatric forensic medicine at Kentucky Children's Hospital. "So it's really important to take care of ourselves so strong adults can raise strong and healthy children."
The four common types of abuse and neglect are physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect for a child's wellbeing.
Bruising, especially pattern bruising, is a common sign of child abuse and neglect.
Every adult in Kentucky is a mandated reporter for child abuse, meaning anyone suspecting child abuse must speak up, offer help and report it to officials.
Kentucky's child abuse hotline is 1-877-KY-SAFE-1.
When reporting abuse, it's important to know the child's name, sex and age. You'll also need the suspected abuser's name, child's location and any potential risk to the child or caseworker like a gun in the home. You can find more information on reporting child abuse here.