It’s child abuse. And it hurts.

Attempting to bring the destructive reality of child abuse and neglect into a greater public awareness, members of numerous public organizations and advocacy groups met Monday to kick off the start of Child Abuse Prevention Month. The meeting was followed by the group placing 157 pinwheels in front of the Dept. of Family and Children’s Services (DFACS) office on Ga. Highway 85 South in Fayetteville. Sadly, each pinwheel represents a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect that occurred in Fayette County during 2005. The number of referred cases totaled 558.

During the meeting, Juvenile Court Judge Terry Schell thanked DFACS and other agencies for their work in addressing the issues that spawn child abuse and neglect and its aftermath. Those efforts, he said, lie on the front lines in combating abuse. A continuing and growing part of that abuse and neglect is the presence of drugs, he added.

“Fayette has a stellar program. It’s these people that make the system work,” he said. “And it’s also the faith-based groups that are helping. With funding drying up we rely more and more on the faith-based initiatives. government is pushing these efforts down and these organizations are stepping forward to help.”

The idea of placing pinwheels in a public place to represent an individual case of child abuse or neglect was begun by Prevent Child Abuse Georgia some years ago, said Fayette DFACS Director Mary Davis.

“The pinwheels are designed to help make citizens aware that we have child abuse in our county,” she said.

As part of a collaborative effort, Fayette FACTOR will host Prevent child Abuse Fayette, a public seminar April 24 at Fayetteville United Methodist Church from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. in the Small Chapel. Attendees will be taught how to recognize the signs of abuse and learn how to safely report abuse. The presentation will also help residents identify over-stressed families and ways to direct them to available resources. For registration call (770) 716-2797 or by email at bsmith719@bellsouth.net

Local resources include the 1-800—CHILDREN help line, Families First at (770) 460-1445, Turning Point at (678) 364-8986, Clarkesville Counseling at (770) 358-8275 and Fayette DFACS at (770) 460-2560.

Child abuse and neglect, along with domestic violence, are two of the most unreported and underreported crimes in the United States.

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