Go Blue

In 1874, the first documented case of child abuse occurred in New York with Mary Ellen Wilson. This led to the creation of the non-governmental New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Similar organizations were created across the country, with over 300 in place by 1922. In 1912, the federal government created the Children’s Bureau, in order to investigate & report on matters of the welfare of children; this was the first time the federal government played a part in taking responsibility for the welfare of children.

In 1962, Dr. C. Henry Kempe & Brandt F. Steele published “The Battered Child Syndrome” article through the Journal of American Medical Association, exposing the reality of child abuse and giving doctors ways to identify, understand, and report child abuse. By 1967, all 50 states had passed legislation mandating reporting of child abuse in some form.

In 1974, The Child Abuse Protection & Treatment Act was passed on the federal level, providing funding to states for prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse. It now provides the minimum standard for child maltreatment definitions across the nation. It was also through this process that the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (now the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect) was created in order to be the forefront of addressing the national problem of child abuse.

Congress designated June 6-12, 1982 as the first National Child Abuse Prevention Week. In 1983, April was formally designated at the first Child Abuse Prevention Month.

In 1989, the Blue Ribbon Campaign was started by a grandmother in Virginia in honor of her grandson who passed away as a result of child abuse. She tied a blue ribbon to her car’s antenna.

Today, the color blue is widely used to represent Child Abuse Prevention.

A more in-depth history of the Child Abuse Protection & Treatment Act, or overviews of the past National Conferences of Child Abuse & Neglect can be found here: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/focus-areas/child-abuse-neglect/nccan

  • in 2022:
    • 39,093 total reports of child abuse were made across the state
    • Of those, 4,992 were verified reports
      • 62.2% of victims were female and 37.8% were male
      • 467 victims were less than 1 year old
      • 1,035 were between 1 and 4 years old
      • 1,483 were between 5 and 9 years old
      • 1,443 were between 10 and 14 years old
      • 564 were 15 years old or older
    • Reports included 5,383 total allegations*
      • 38.2% sexual abuse
      • 27.9% physical abuse
      • 13.9% likely to cause bodily injury
      • 12.6% serious physical neglect
      • 4% engaging in acts without injury (i.e. actions that endanger the child, unreasonably restraining the child, etc.)
      • 1.8% likely involving sexual exploitation
      • 1% mental injury
      • <1% trafficking or medical abuse

*individual reports may contain more than one allegation, causing the number of allegations to be higher than that of reports.

  • In the 2023-2024 fiscal year at the ACCAC:
    • 219 child victims received support
      • Accompanied by 313 caregivers and 202 siblings
    • 172 Forensic Interviews were completed
      • 138 child victims reported multiple types of victimization
      • 134 victims were children between 3 and 12 years old
      • 85 victims were 13 years or older
    • Over 5,000 children received prevention education lessons in their local pre-k, daycare, elementary school or intermediate school.
    • A new trauma therapist was hired and provided 189 individual sessions
    • 1,722 community members were provided resources and information through our community outreach efforts.

Why is Child Abuse Prevention Month important to us?

While the ACCAC has been supporting child victims and their families in Adams County for since 2006, there is still work to be done. In 2024, our center supported 216 child victims and their families. These children have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, witnessed violent crimes, or been the victim of violent crimes, with many of them experiencing multiple of these traumatizing situations.

At the ACCAC, we teach children the warning signs of abuse so they can speak up if something does happen, but we know that child abuse prevention starts with adults– it is our responsibility to protect and nurture the children in our lives. Preventing child abuse allows children to grow up without fear of others, lessens their likelihood of depression and anxiety, and can encourage healthy relationships throughout the course of their lives.

What will you do to prevent child abuse today?

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Interested in spreading the word about preventing child abuse?

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