Child abuse hotline established

Around-the-clock service was created ahead of National Child Abuse Prevention Month

Santa Clara County has established an around-theclock dedicated hotline to handle reports of child abuse and neglect, in advance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April.

The hotline, 833- SCCKIDS (722- 5437), was announced Thursday, and will connect callers with the county’s Child Abuse and Neglect Center, and will be active every day of the year.

Tuesday, in advance of their regular meeting, the Board of Supervisors plan to raise a memorial f lag in honor of children lost to violence, according to a county news release.

“We encourage everyone to call the toll-free number if they suspect child abuse is happening near them, and to participate in prevention and awareness activities to show their com- mitment to help prevent this horrendous crime,” board President Joe Simitian said in a statement.

Spearheaded by the Department of Family and Children’s Services, the prevention month will also be commemorated by gestures including Wear Blue Day on April 6, inspired by a Virginia woman who tied a blue ribbon to her car antenna in memory of her grandson, who died from abuse at the hands of her daughter’s boyfriend.

Additionally, the county’s 36th Annual Child Abuse Symposium will be held April 27 at Villa Ra- gusa in downtown Campbell.

According to figures compiled by the county, an estimated 58,000 childabuse reports are made each year in the Bay Area, among 3.5 million such annual reports nationwide.

High-profile child abuse cases steadily crop up in the news, including a 3-yearold Oakland girl who died after repeatedly ingesting methamphetamine while in foster care, and the notorious Riverside County case alleging a couple tortured their 13 children. In the Southern California case, child abuse reports to lo- cal officials surged 50 percent after the couple’s Jan. 14 arrest.

The hotline was established in part because county officials want people to call in suspicious circumstances long before they end in tragedy.

“Adults are guardians for our children,” Supervisor Cindy Chavez, chair of the Children, Families and Seniors Committee, said in a statement. “When that trusting relationship is violated through abuse, we cannot be silent.”