Advocates rally community support during Child Abuse Prevention & Awareness Month

County, city and regional government leaders are joining child advocates, school and law enforcement representatives this month for April’s annual dedication to child abuse prevention and awareness.

At county courthouses in Frio and La Salle, judges are adding their signatures to proclamations following the precedent set by Associate Judge Melissa DeGerolami at the Child Protection Court of South Central Texas, who made her declaration last week, flanked online by members of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of South Texas.

In 2023, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services confirmed 31,475 children in state custody due to child abuse or neglect, including 280 in the counties of Atascosa, Frio, La Salle, Karnes and Wilson.

The CASA organization, the Children’s Alliance of South Texas (CAST), the Wintergarden Women’s Shelter, the Belong agency, community groups such as the Woman’s Club of Cotulla, and county sheriffs’ offices and emergency responders have rallied around the cause, marking April as the month they conduct additional awareness and education efforts to help increase understanding and recognition of child abuse.

That understanding, according to advocates, extends to learning means of intervention and reporting, and resources available to victims.

The issue, however, is not limited to April, as advocates reiterate the crisis of harm to children has continued for years and remains an ongoing concern for all agencies.

“Child abuse and neglect are serious problems affecting every segment of our community, and finding solutions requires input and action from everyone in our community,” Judge DeGerolami read from her proclamation last week. “Our children are our most valuable resources and will shape the future of Texas, and child abuse can have a long-term psychological, emotional, and physical effects that can have lifelong consequences for victims.”

La Salle County Judge Leodoro Martinez III made his proclamation in front of the county courthouse Monday, April 8.

“Our society has a responsibility to protect our children and help them thrive in a safe environment,” Judge Martinez read, “as every child is entitled to be loved, cared for, feel secure and be free from verbal, sexual, emotional and physical abuse and neglect.”

CASA of South Texas is one of the local advocacy organizations taking part in a range of promotional programs throughout the year to highlight issues of crisis, among them child abuse and domestic violence. Its members handle cases in Frio, La Salle, Atascosa, Karnes and Wilson counties.

The group’s volunteer advocates take on case files of children who have been removed from their homes by Child Protective Services and placed in foster care, potentially with a view to being adopted by new parents and going into what advocates call their “forever home” or being returned to their biological families after domestic issues have been resolved.

Advocates listen to the children’s immediate and long-term concerns, address their needs for protection, and speak up on their behalf in court during custody, foster and adoption hearings.

In doing so, the advocates become well acquainted with the children and everyone involved in their life, such as parents and other family members, foster parents, therapists, caseworkers and teachers, in order to develop a realistic picture of each child’s unique situation, according to the organization.

Judge DeGerolami believes the child advocates cannot accomplish their mission alone, and that preventing child abuse and neglect, protecting victims and ushering children into safe environments and loving homes can only be achieved when a community’s many organizations work together with a common goal.

“Effective child abuse prevention activities succeed because of the meaningful connections and partnerships created between child welfare, education, health, community, and faith-based organizations, businesses, and law enforcement agencies,” the judge said. “Communities must make every effort to promote programs and activities that benefit children and their families.

“We acknowledge that we must work together as a community to increase awareness about child abuse,” DeGerolami added, “and to promote the social and emotional well-being of children and families in a safe, stable, nurturing environment. Prevention remains the best defense for children and families.”

“Child abuse prevention is something we all need to learn more about,” CASA and Cotulla Woman’s Club member Louisa Franklin said at Monday’s ceremony in La Salle County. “We need to learn more about reporting. If you don’t know whether a child is being abused or neglected, then report it and let the people who know figure it out.”

CASA reports that it has already served 126 children in the region so far this year. Its case load was 153 for all of 2023.

“Our volunteers’ first priority is to keep families together whenever safe and possible,” CASA of South Texas Executive Director Joni Garcia said. “Foster care is only a temporary solution for the problems at hand. We need to create long-term support networks that work to care for families, make reunification a possibility, and help break the cycle for the next generation.”

Statewide, CASA reported this month that its 9,590 volunteers spoke up for 23,943 children in Texas last year, donating 361,517 hours of volunteer service for the youngsters’ best interests.

“The number of children coming into state custody is rising, and each and every child needs someone who will advocate only for them,” Garcia said of CASA’s efforts. “There is always a need for more CASA volunteers. By becoming a volunteer, you can take your efforts beyond just awareness, and do your part to help support children and families in crisis right here in your own community.”

“Every child in foster care deserves a CASA volunteer,” Judge DeGerolami said. “CASA of South Texas, Belong, foster parents, healthcare workers, teachers and others work to ensure that children in our community have a safe and happy future.”

“We always hope for the day when CASA, foster care and a national month dedicated to child abuse prevention are no longer needed because all children are growing up safe, secure and supported with their families,” Garcia said. “Until then, we will continue to seek more members of the community to join our mission’s work so that we can provide a CASA volunteer for every child in our community who needs one.”

“I urge all citizens to recognize this month by dedicating ourselves to the task of improving the quality of life for all children and families,” the associate judge said.

The toll-free number for reporting child abuse or neglect is (800) 252-5400 or via txabusehotline.org. Anyone who believes a child’s life is in danger should call 911, both Garcia and Judge DeGerolami said.

For more information on CASA of South Texas, visit casasouthtx.org.